CHL Rapid City Rush

Rapid City Drops Division Rival For Second Win

Published on November 3, 2008 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Rapid City Rush News Release


(Wichita, KS) - The Rapid City Rush were able to take two big points from Northwest Division foe, the Wichita Thunder and maintain their second place slot. Leading the way for Rapid City were Les Reaney and reigning player of the week, Chris Lipsett, each with three points in the game.

The Rush came shooting out of the gate looking to get the early lead and did just that as Les Reaney and Gio Flamminio scored the first two goals of the game. Reaney's goal was an even strength marker at 4:17 just after a Wichita penalty expired. Paul Holder picked up his first professional point as he moved the puck down low to Lipsett who fed it to the top of the crease where Reaney scored in behind Thunder goaltender Krister Toews. Just over two minutes later, Flamminio extended the lead for Rapid City when he fired a shot off of a pass from Reaney to make it 2-0 at the 6:30 mark. Holder got the puck to Reaney who made a solid individual effort to beat the Thunder defense and then send a pass through the slot to the far side where Flamminio had joined the play and fired past Toews. The Thunder answered as leading scorer Jason Duda picked up the first of his two on the night. The Thunder gained the Rush zone on a three-on-two and a centering pass was redirected past Rapid City goaltender Lanny Ramage who made his second start of the year. Lipsett would again extend the Rush lead to two as he scored the first power-play goal of the game off of assists from Reaney and Rich Hansen. With only 38 seconds left in the first, Jason Duda scored his second for Wichita and once again cut the lead in half. A shot from the point deflected off of a body and the rebound was tapped in over the stick of Ramage for the second Thunder tally as Bryan Nathe and Scott Rozendal grabbed the assists.

After the first twenty minutes, five goals were scored between the two squads with Rapid City holding a 3-2 lead and a 12-9 advantage in shots.

After a 5-goal first, the second period took a different route as neither team was able to find the back of the net. Rapid City led in the shot department with a 10-8 margin.

In the final frame, the CHL's leading scorer would add to his total and also make history as Rich Hansen scored the first shorthanded goal for the Rush. Lipsett was able to deflect the puck to Flamminio in the Rush end who then gave a pass off the boards to a streaking Hansen who scored on the breakaway chance just 3:09 into the period. The Rush led by a score of 4-2 after that tally.

Rush goaltender Lanny Ramage made 26 saves and picked up his first professional win in his second attempt. In his previous start, he made 37 saves on a shootout loss to the Rio GrandeValley Killer Bees. On the other end, Krister Toews made 23 saves in the loss for Wichita.

Rapid City picked up a much-needed two points out of the contest as they entered the night tied with Wichita for second in the Northwest Division. Rapid City now moves to 2-1-4 on the year and sits in sole-possession of second place, behind only Colorado. Up next for the Rush is a game against the Amarillo Gorillas on Friday night where Rush player-assistants Mark DeSantis and Chris Lipsett once played, as did leading scorer Rich Hansen. Amarillo is also Rapid City Head Coach Joe Ferras' former team as he was the Head Coach from 2001-2006. On Saturday, Rapid City will face division rival Colorado.

Other Rush News:

The Rapid City Rush announced that individual tickets for the upcoming inaugural season went on sale on Saturday, October 25th at 10am. Individual tickets start as low as $15.00 for end seats.

The Rapid City Rush would like to invite fans to "The Rush Hour with Coach Joe Ferras" live at Boston's every Tuesday at 7pm. Weekly giveaways include signed, game-used sticks, signed pucks and Miller Light gear.

For more information on Rapid City Rush Hockey, log onto www.RapidCityRush.com or contact the Rush office at 605.716.PUCK (7825).

Check out the Rapid City Rush Statistics



Central Hockey League Stories from November 3, 2008


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