Rapid City Closes Playoff Gap with Sunday Win
March 24, 2024 - ECHL (ECHL)
Rapid City Rush News Release
(RAPID CITY, S.D.) - The Rapid City Rush, proud affiliate of the NHL's Calgary Flames, went wire-to-wire in a win over the Utah Grizzlies on Sunday afternoon, 4-1.
The Rush opened the scoring in the last stages of the first period when Brett Gravelle nudged a puck to Mark Duarte, but it struck a Utah skate and bounced into the net. The Rush for the second straight night would not give up the lead.
In the second period, Alex Aleardi snapped a shot off the stick of Brett Davis and by Grizzlies goaltender Dante Giannuzzi to extend the lead to 2-0. Davis now has two goals since being acquired in a trade with the Florida Everblades, and the Rush powerplay would go on to score twice in the game.
Rookie netminder Christian Propp got the start in net for the Rush after a 55-save showing from Matt Radomksy last night. The Wilfrid Laurier University-product turned aside 25 shots including a highlight-reel pad save on NHL-prospect Alex Beaucage in the third period. Propp recorded his first pro win and first-star honors, with the lone blemish coming on a shot from Beaucage in the second period.
The play of the game was Propp's rimmed assist to Gravelle who scored on the breakaway set-up. It's the first time this season a Rush goaltender has recorded an assist.
Rapid City would add one more on the powerplay from Aleardi in the third period. Aleardi's goal marks his 66th point of the season, his highest professional output in his career, surpassing 65 points last season.
The Rush now have 25 wins, and are on a two-game home winning streak entering Wednesday's contest against the Allen Americans. The elimination number for the Rush is still frozen at 10 for the time-being, with Rapid City eight points out of the playoff picture.
With the fifth-place Americans coming in to town, Rapid City is only four points in back of Allen in the Mountain Division standings. The Rush went 1-2-0 in their only trip to Texas this season.
Wednesday's puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at The Monument.
• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...
ECHL Stories from March 24, 2024
- Rapid City Closes Playoff Gap with Sunday Win - Rapid City Rush
- Rush Defeat Grizzlies 4-1 on Sunday Afternoon - Utah Grizzlies
- Royals Fall in Series Finale to Railers, 6-3 - Reading Royals
- K-Wings Fall at Fuel, 3-2 - Kalamazoo Wings
- Fuel Defeat K-Wings 3-2 on Sunday Afternoon - Indy Fuel
- Cyclones Hold on for 3-2 Win - Wheeling Nailers
- Lions Drop 3-2 Heartbreaker to Stingrays - Trois-Rivieres Lions
- Stingrays Tame Lions with 3-2 Victory - South Carolina Stingrays
- Cyclones Grab Two Points in Wheeling - Cincinnati Cyclones
- Railers Take Down Royals 6-3 to Wrap up Weekend - Worcester Railers HC
- Thunder Closes Weekend Series with Loss at Iowa - Wichita Thunder
- Heartlanders Sweep Wichita, Win 3rd Straight, 2-1 - Iowa Heartlanders
- Mariners Complete 5-1 Home Stand with 5-3 Win - Maine Mariners
- Admirals Capture Pivotal Series against Adirondack with Sunday Victory - Norfolk Admirals
- Growlers Fall 5-3 to Mariners - Newfoundland Growlers
- Thunder Clinch Playoff Berth Despite Loss to Admirals - Adirondack Thunder
- ECHL Transactions - March 24 - ECHL
- ECHL Announces Fines, Suspensions - ECHL
- Game Notes: March 24 - Utah Grizzlies at Rush - Rapid City Rush
- Wichita Closes Season-Series Today at Iowa - Wichita Thunder
- Comeback Bid Falls Short as Rush Defeat Grizzlies 4-3 - Utah Grizzlies
- Rush Break Home Slide, Defeat Utah - Rapid City Rush
- Rush Break Home Slide, Defeat Utah - Rapid City Rush
- Steelheads Drain The Oil Out Of Tulsa In 10-1 Victory - Idaho Steelheads
- Nardi Forces Overtime, Smith Scores Game-Winner In Royals' Comeback Victory Over Railers, 2-1 - Reading Royals
- Americans Fall 3-1 as KC Takes the Three-Game Series - Allen Americans
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.
