ECHL Rapid City Rush

Game Notes vs. Indy

Published on January 14, 2016 under ECHL (ECHL)
Rapid City Rush News Release


Where We Left Off: All Square - The Rapid City Rush scored twice in the first three minutes of the second period, but the Evansville IceMen, powered by two goals from Nathan Moon and 35 stops from Cody Reichard countered back and defeated the Rush by a 4-2 score on Wednesday night. After both teams skated through a scoreless first frame, offense became the story of the second period, with five goals total coming in the frame, and the first four of those five coming in the first 8 minutes. Just 1:25 into the period, Tyler Scofield, making his Rush debut, fired a shot by Evansville goaltender Cody Reichard off of an area pass from Danick Gauthier from behind the net to put his new club up 1-0 with the first score of the game (Gauthier and Mikhail Stefanovich notched the assists). Exactly 1:24 later, Daniel Barczuk received a neutral zone pass from Destry Straight and burned his oncoming attacker, finishing with a shot by Recihard to quickly double the lead to 2-0 (Straight and Brian O'Rourke recorded the assists). Evansville fired back, however, on a deflected goal from Nathan Moon. Moon deflected a shot from Alex Wideman that trickled just by Rush net-minder, Danny Battochio, that cut the IceMen deficit to 2-1 with 15:20 left in the period (Wideman and Jordan Sims received the assists). Moments later, Moon added a second as he wrapped around Battochio's net and just snuck the puck by him, evening the score with 11:57 left in the second (Vincent Dunn recorded an assist, with Jordan Sims earning his second of the night). The IceMen capped off their middle act rally with a third strike, this time from Alex Guptill, as he sprinted on a partial break and beat Battochio up high to give Evansville a 3-2 advantage with 6:55 left in the second (Spencer Humphries and Curtis Leonard, the latter making his debut with the IceMen, notched the helpers). Controversy filled the third period when the Rush took to the man-advantage for one of their four times in the frame, with a goal being waved off. Taylor Doherty, off of his blue line, came down towards Reichard's net and seemingly knocked the puck behind the former Hobey Baker Award finalist. The original signal on the ice was a goal, which would have brought the game even at 3-3 with 9:04 left in the game. Despite no video replay and minimal discussion, the head referee of the contest went back on the original call and waved off the goal. The Rush were unable to capitalize on the remainder of that power play and the ensuing five-on-three advantage they were awarded, which ultimately set up Daultan Levielle for his 16th tally of the season. Alex Wideman threw the puck into an open area in front of the net that went off of Leveille's stick and by Battochio, giving the IceMen a 4-2 lead with 3:44 left in the game (Wideman earned his second assist of the game, while Tyson Fawcett added his first). Despite 19 shots in the final period, the Rush couldn't even things up, and fell in the first game of their 4-game road trip through 3 different cities over 5 days.

The Roadie Continues - With one game down, the Rush now move to the busiest portion of their four-game road trip with a "three-in-three" that will take them to Indianapolis to play the Indy Fuel for the first time in team history, and then to Fort Wayne to rekindle their former CHL rivalry with the Fort Wayne Komets for two games on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

Well That Was Fast... - Last night, Coach Ferras and company debuted the newest forward of the Rapid City Rush, Tyler Scofield. The former standout at Bemidji State and in the Austrian professional league was yet another of the many immediate-impact players the Rush have acquired over the years. Scofield gave his new club life in the second period of Wednesday night's game, scoring his first goal in the first 1:25 of the second period, which sparked a 2-0 lead completed by Daniel Barczuk, who added his 8th of the season just 1:24 later.

Félicitation! - Tonight, veteran Rush forward Jimmy Bonneau will suit up in his gear for the 500th time in his career as he takes on the Indy Fuel tonight. Bonneau, who has enjoyed an 11-year career, has spent the majority of his career (to the tune of 348 games) in the American Hockey League, taking on the role of a leader and one of the most feared enforcers in minor-pro hockey. The native of Baie-Comeau, Quebec, was drafted in 2003 by the Montreal Canadiens (8th Rd-#241), and won a Kelly Cup Championship in 2007 with the Cincinnati Cyclones.

CRUNCHING NUMBERS: vs the Fuel - This is another team the Rush have yet to take on head-to-head, so let's compare once again:

1 - the number of points separating these teams from each other for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. It may seem too early to discuss the playoff scenario in the West, but the Rush are nearing the halfway point of the season (34th GP tonight) and Indy has passed it (38th GP tonight). With games-in-hand on Indy, tonight's game becomes that much more important.

2.47 - the combined goals-per-game average of both teams. This will be another grinding contest for sure, with both teams hovering around a 2.5 GPG, with the Rush clocking in at 2.58 (85 G in 33 GP) and Indy clocking in at 2.38 (88 G in 37 GP)

Check out the Rapid City Rush Statistics

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