(STATELINE, Nev.)—The Rapid City Rush stormed from behind with four goals in the third period to take down the Tahoe Knight Monsters, 4-1, at Tahoe Blue Event Center on Friday.
Tahoe took their first lead of the series on a power play goal late in the second by Adam Pitters. The Rush had killed an earlier 5-on-3 and were just 20 seconds away from getting to even strength.
Rapid City erased the 1-0 deficit right out of the gates in the third. Rasmus Ekström took a faceoff win from Quinn Olson and wired a shot top-shelf just 19 seconds into the period. Then, Xavier Bernard scored his second goal in two games to give the Rush the lead with 10:35 remaining.
The Rush killed off a penalty later in the third with a one-goal lead, then found their insurance tallies with the empty net. Ryan Chyzowski and Cameron Buhl each scored empty netters to ice a 4-1 game.
The offensive onslaught in the third complemented stellar goaltending from Arsenii Sergeev. The 22-year-old rookie made 38 saves for the second straight night. He has stopped 76 of 79 in this series for a .962 save percentage and won three of his last four starts.
This is the second time this season the Rush have won a game after trailing at the second intermission. Both instances have come against the Knight Monsters, and both featured four-goal third periods.
Rapid City has now won two consecutive series and four of their last five games. Now standing at 9-9-2, the Rush can surge above .500 with a sweep tomorrow night.
Next game: Saturday, December 6 at Tahoe. 8:00 p.m. MST puck drop from Tahoe Blue Event Center.
The Rapid City Rush take on the Allen Americans on December 11th, 12th, and 13th at The Monument Ice Arena! Saturday, December 13th 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.
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