(RAPID CITY, S.D.)—The Rapid City Rush (6-2-0), proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, look to keep their winning streak and first-place position intact as they face the Tahoe Knight Monsters (4-6-1) on home ice. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. MST on Friday on Slumberland Furniture Ice at The Monument Ice Arena.

WATCH | LISTEN

LAST TIME OUT
Semyon Konopsky stopped all 14 shots he faced as the Rapid City Rush throttled the Tahoe Knight Monsters, 4-0, at The Monument Ice Arena on Wednesday. Marko Sikic and Alex Young handled all of the scoring for Rapid City, with each tallying twice in the shutout victory. Both men notched their first multi-goal games of the season. After a week and a half between games, the Rush held their own in the first period and outshot the Knight Monsters, 13-5. Rapid City finally cracked the dam late in the second. On their 31^st shot of the night, Sikic took a Young centering pass at the side of the net, darted across the crease, and tucked a low shot by Pavel Moysevich. With six minutes remaining in regulation, Tahoe opened the door for the Rush by taking three penalties in the span of under two minutes, giving the Rush back-to-back 5-on-3 situations. Alex Young scored on both occasions, each goal coming on a one-timer from deep in the left circle. Tahoe pulled their goaltender while on a power play, only for Sikic to seal the deal with a 195-foot shorthanded empty net strike.

HAD THAT DAWG IN THEM
On our first Meadow Ridge Pet Lodge Waggin’ Wednesday of the year, the Rush took ‘wire-to-wire victory’ to a new level. It was a convincing win in every facet: a 4-0 shutout, a 46-14 shot differential, 28-5 in scoring chances, and every single tangible measurement going Rapid City’s way. After a back-and-forth first period, the Rush turned the heat up in the second and had Tahoe on their heels for much of the night. They also saw some timely goaltending from Semyon Konopsky, who made some important saves with the score either 0-0 or 1-0.

SEMYON KONOPSKY. GOOSE EGG.
After failing to record a shutout all of last season, it took only eight games for the Rush get their first of this year. Semyon Konopsky blanked Tahoe with a 14-save performance on Wednesday. Konopsky, who suffered a mid-game injury on October 17^th, was set to make his return the prior Wednesday in Idaho, but had his start postponed due to ice conditions at Idaho Central Arena. The 20-year-old from Russia made off for lost time brilliantly, earning not only his first professional shutout, but first win.

MARKO SCORE-O
Marko Sikic opened the scoring with a net-front scramble goal 35 minutes into Wednesday’s game. He closed the book with his full-ice shorthanded empty net goal in the final minute. The third-year pro recorded his third career multi-goal performance, with the other two coming as a member of the Cincinnati Cyclones. Sikic is now tied for second in the ECHL with two shorthanded goals this season.

YOU WANT TO SEE ME DO IT AGAIN?
Alex Young banged home two 5-on-3 power play goals 1:37 apart to give the Rush insurance late in the third period Wednesday. Rapid City ran the exact same play: a pass from the middle of the slot to Young, staked out at the bottom of the left circle, for a one-timer. Importantly, the Rush screened the goaltender on both occasions, preventing him from reading the pass to Young.

WOKE UP IN FIRST
The Rush enter play tonight as the top team in the Mountain Division. Rapid City is in a four-way tie with 12 standings points, but their .750 points percentage stands alone, with the fewest losses in the division to this point. The Rush have also allowed the fewest goals in the Mountain and are tied for the most goals scored.

WHAT A RUN
Last time out, the Rush erased a two-goal deficit to stun New Mexico, then put together a complete effort in a 6-1 victory on Halloween Night. They somehow topped that performance on Wednesday. Ever since they trailed 3-1 on October 30^th in Rio Rancho, the Rush have outscored their competition, 13-1.

WINNING MONDAY, TUESDAY, AND WEDNESDAY
If having 11 days between games brought upon questions of rust, they were quickly put to rest with the Rush’s performance on Wednesday. Not only did the entire team take the ice for two optional practices last weekend, Dave Smith called Monday and Tuesday’s skates the best he has seen in two seasons as Head Coach. The Rush parlayed that focus into success in the opening game of the series.

WELCOME, LUKAS SILLINGER
Dave Smith made an intra-divisional trade on Wednesday afternoon, sending Rasmus Ekström to the Allen Americans for Lukas Sillinger in a swap of second-year forwards. Sillinger put up 12 points in 21 games with the Americans last season and has played in eight games this year. Lukas is the son of NHL veteran Mike Sillinger, adding to the National Hockey League connections on the Rush’s roster.

2026-27 Rapid City Rush season tickets, mini plans, and group experiences are on sale now! You can score the best deals on tickets and take advantage of exclusive perks, including season ticket holder-only events and discounts at the team store. Call the Rush office at 605-716-7825 or visit www.rapidcityrush.com to learn more and secure your seats today.