Rush Complete Season Sweep of Thunder with 6-4 Victory
March 3, 2010 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Rapid City Rush News Release
(Rapid City, SD) - On Wednesday night, the Rapid City Rush picked up three powerplay goals and ninth victory of the season over the Wichita Thunder. Brendon Hodge, Scott Wray and Jamie VanderVeeken all posted three-point efforts as the Rush complete the season series a perfect 9-0-0. With the victory, the Rush maintain their six point lead in the Northern Conference and are now just one point behind the Odessa Jackalopes for tops in the league.
The Thunder got off to the different start they were looking for, netting the game's first goal at the 5:57 mark. Wichita captain Chris McAllister sent a wrist shot through a screen that was stopped by Beaudry, but Jason Reese was there to lift a rebound over the netminder for the powerplay tally. Brendon Hodge answered back for Rapid City at the 12:23 mark off of a strong individual effort. Hodge stepped inside the offensive end, faked a slapshot, stepped around the Thunder defense, and cut across the goal mouth before finishing a backhander for the 1-1 tie.
The two squads then had a very active second period, resulting in five combined goals, two of them on the powerplay. The Thunder would regain the lead at the 5:18 mark off of a wraparound goal by Tomas Klempa, his third in the last two games. The Rush would then get a 5-on-3 chance, and Jamie VanderVeeken would take full advantage. At the 8:07 mark, Hodge slid a pass along the top of the circles and VanderVeeken blasted a one-timer over the glove of Keserich. Just 52 seconds later, VanderVeeken would again beat Kesrich to the glove side, but this time, luck was on the defenseman's side. VanderVeeken got to the right faceoff dot and let a wrist shot go that deflected off of a defenseman and into the net to give the Rush its first lead of the game. Wichita would battle back for the second straight game, tying the game yet again with Joel Hanson's 11th goal of the season at 12:40. Rich Hansen came back with his 14th of the season with a backhander that snuck home at the 16:56 to give the Rush a 4-3 lead heading into the third.
In the final period, the Rush would net their third powerplay goal of the game when Brendan Cook sent a pass to an open Scott Wray at the goal mouth for the two-goal lead. Near the midway point of the period, Dave Grimson accepted a Derek LeBlanc pass and fired a slapshot from the top of the right circle that beat Keserich to the short side to give the Rush a three-goal lead. With around seven minutes left, Neil Clark would send home a rebound goal while on the powerplay to bring the game to its 6-4 final.
Miguel Beaudry stopped 35 shots for his 14th win of the season while Keserich made 44 stops in the loss. The Rush gave up two powerplay goals on seven chances, but went 3-for-5 on the man advantage.
The Rush now hit the road for a trio of games beginning with a matchup against Tulsa Oilers on Friday. The Rush will then take on the Texas Brahmas on Saturday before traveling to Odessa to face the Jackalopes on Tuesday night.
The next home games for the Rush will be on March 12th and 13th when the Allen Americans visit the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center for the first time. Tickets are still available for both games,
Other Rush News:
Flex Packs are available for as little as $160, call the Rush office to learn more. Quarter and Half Season Ticket passes are available starting at just $100.
Group tickets are available and start at $11. Groups of 15 or more receive two complimentary tickets to the same game. Contact the Rush office at 605.716.7825 for more information.
Stay informed on Rush happenings through the official Rapid City Rush team website, www.RapidCityRush.com.
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Central Hockey League Stories from March 3, 2010
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