(STATELINE, Nev.)—The Rapid City Rush, proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, play the middle game of their series against the Tahoe Knight Monsters. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PST (8:00 p.m. MST) on Friday at Tahoe Blue Event Center.

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LAST TIME OUT
Five different goal scorers found the back of the net for the Rapid City Rush and Arsenii Sergeev made 38 saves in a 5-2 victory over the Tahoe Knight Monsters at Tahoe Blue Event Center on Wednesday. The Rush never trailed in the game, securing their third win in the last four contests in this wire-to-wire effort. Ryan Wagner, Quinn Olson, and Briley Wood scored in the first two periods to give the Rush a 3-0 lead. Tahoe trimmed the lead down to one in the third, but Cameron Buhl and Xavier Bernard added insurance to secure the win.

GOALIE SWAP
The Rush goaltending corps experienced a whirlwind 24 hours, starting on Tuesday night. Just after the team landed in Reno, Connor Murphy was called up to Calgary due to an injury to Rush alumnus Ivan Prosvetov during the Wranglers’ game in Abbotsford. That meant Nathan Torchia would get on a flight to Tahoe Wednesday. However, snowy conditions in Denver meant a delayed arrival into Tahoe. Torchia made it on the bench just in time for the second period, backing up for Sergeev.

BIRTHDAY BURY
Cameron Buhl made his 27^th birthday a good one, scoring an insurance goal with under two minutes remaining to give the Rush a 4-2 lead. Buhl has already matched last year’s total with four goals on the season.

SERG SAVES
Arsenii Sergeev improved his record on Wednesdays to 2-0 with a 38-for-40 gem in net. The rookie has now won two of his last three starts and improved his save percentage to .915.

HE WOULDN’T GIVE UP
Quinn Olson has been a huge piece of the Rush’s recent success. He scored a shorthanded goal early in the second period on Wednesday, all while battling an attempted poke check and the stray stick that resulted on his way down the ice. Since returning from injury on November 21^st, Olson has a point in five of the six games.

BERN, BABY, BERN
Xavier Bernard had one of his best games with the Rush on Wednesday. Not only did he score his first goal of the season, the 25-year-old was plus-4 on the night for just the second time in the ECHL. Bernard is plus-7 with three points over the last four games.

ANOTHER MIDDLE PERIOD MASTERPIECE
The Rush put in another strong second period against Tahoe on Wednesday with two goals scored and just five shots against. In the season series, Rapid City has dominated the goal margin, 7-1, and the shot differential, 66-23. The Rush’s +12 goal differential in those periods is second in the ECHL (Fort Wayne, +13).

SCHEDULE CHANGE
The Rush announced a date change for their late-December home series against Tahoe. The Friday, December 26^th game has been moved to Sunday, December 28^th at 4:05 p.m. MST.

The Rapid City Rush take on the Allen Americans on December 11^th, 12^th, and 13^th at The Monument Ice Arena! Saturday, December 13^th is Teddy Bear Toss with a 4:05 p.m. start, presented by Black Hills Energy and Slumberland Furniture. Call the Rush office at 605-716-7825 or visit www.rapidcityrush.com to learn more and secure your seats today.