Rush Eliminated in Game 7, Fall to Mallards 3-1
April 16, 2014 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Rapid City Rush News Release
(RAPID CITY, SD) - The series came down to Wednesday night. The Rapid City Rush and Quad City Mallards squared off for what would be their final matchup of the season in a winner-take-all Game 7 in Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. The Mallards looked to win their first Game 7 in their last three appearances in that situation, and behind 26 saves from Thomas Heemskerk, the Mallards would eliminate the Rush with a 3-1 win.
Scoring didn't pick up until the second period, where the Mallards cashed in early. Jordan Mayer threw the puck at the net past Tim Boron, giving the Mallards a 1-0 lead just 1:33 into the frame. Moments later, capitalizing on a two-on-one break, Thomas Frazee would go in on Boron one-on-zero and flip the puck by him, extending the Mallards lead to 2-0 with 12:59 left in the period. Exactly 2:01 later though, the Rush would cut the deficit in half 2-1 going into the third period on the power play on Winston Day Chief's first goal of the playoffs, crashing the net on a Jesse Schultz effort. That score would hold on until late in the third period, where the Rush would be called for an elbowing minor with just over three minutes to play. The penalty did no favors for the Rush, with Vladimir Nikiforov rifling a power play goal past Boron to all but seal the game for the Mallards, who would go on to eliminate the Rush in Game 7 by a 3-1 score.
Tim Boron made 19 saves in the loss, his third of the playoffs (2-3). The Rush scored their second power play goal of the playoffs from Winston Day Chief in the second period, which was his first of the postseason. The Rush are eliminated from the playoffs in the first round for the third consecutive year, and lose their second Game 7 in franchise history. The Mallards advance to play the defending champion Allen Americans in the CHL semifinals.
• Discuss this story on the Central Hockey League message board...
Central Hockey League Stories from April 16, 2014
- Americans Host Quad City Friday Night as Semifinals Open in Allen - Allen Americans
- Rush Eliminated in Game 7, Fall to Mallards 3-1 - Rapid City Rush
- Mallards Win Game Seven in Rapid City, Advance to Meet Allen in CHL Semi-Finals - Quad City Mallards
- CHL Conference Finals Set; Begin on Friday - CHL
- Rush and Mallards Battle Tonight in 29th Game 7 in CHL History - CHL
- Mavericks' Season Ends in Game 6: Fall 4-3 in 2OT - Kansas City Mavericks
- Americans Open Round 2 Friday at Home - Allen Americans
- Sundogs Win Another Double Overtime Game 4-3 - Arizona Sundogs
- Rush Stave off Elimination, Force Winner-Take-All - Rapid City Rush
- Oilers Season Ends in Game 6 Overtime Heartbreaker - Tulsa Oilers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
