Jeri-Leon's Pair Leads Rush to Victory
December 29, 2023 - ECHL (ECHL)
Rapid City Rush News Release
(RAPID CITY, S.D.) - The Rapid City Rush, proud affiliate of the NHL's Calgary Flames, defeated the Iowa Heartlanders 4-2 at The Monument on Friday night.
The Rush have now defeated the Heartlanders three times this season to claim the season-long series with Iowa.
T.J. Fergus opened the scoring with his second goal of the season, crashing the net on a rebound from a Logan Nelson shot. Nelson now has 17 assists this season, two shy of Alex Aleardi's team lead in the category.
Keltie Jeri-Leon scored his first of two goals on the night just two minutes later after a Jimmy Soper faceoff win. The Rush are now plus-nine in first period goal differential.
Both teams scored in the second period, with Mark Duarte potting his first since returning from an extended recall with the AHL's Calgary Wranglers, while Hunter Lellig's first of the year put Iowa on the board.
Duarte and Jeri-Leon combined to score the third Rush shorthanded goal of the season in the third period on a two-on-none rush. While Iowa's Pavel Novak would add one more later in the frame, the deficit was too much to overcome for Iowa.
The Rush killed all six penalties they took in the game, snapping a streak where they allowed a powerplay goal in the last 12 games where they had taken at least a penalty. The Rush did not score on the powerplay, but have scored six goals in their last five games on the man-advantage.
Rapid City now sits in sole possession of fourth place in the Mountain Division and trails Tulsa for third place by only three points.
The Rush and Heartlanders faceoff again tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. at The Monument on Star Wars Night, presented by the Hotel Alex Johnson.
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