Rush 'Leap' into Third Place After 8-4 Victory Over Sundogs
March 1, 2012 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Rapid City Rush News Release
(Prescott Valley, AZ) - With an 8-3 victory over the Arizona Sundogs, the Rapid City Rush pulled out the weekend sweep and 14th-consecutive win over the Berry Conference foe. The Rush are now in sole possession of third place in the Turner Conference and are 5-0-2 over their last seven games. The team will now head to Missouri to face the Mavericks in a pivotal Turner Conference matchup set for Friday at 6:05pm MST.
For the second straight game, the Rush got on the board first, this time with a powerplay goal from leading scorer Shawn Limpright on a play assisted by defenseman Dominic D'Amour and Riley Weselowski. Rapid City later took full control with a pair of goals from Konrad Reeder who became the first Rush player to reach the 30-goal plateau this season. His first tally came at 15:59 mark after a scramble at the goal mouth that allowed Rapid City's top goal-getter to tap a loose puck into the empty net. Reeder's second goal was set up by a beautiful backhand pass from rookie Patrick Knowlton who placed his pass on the back post where Reeder redirected it in for the 3-0 lead.
Rapid City's offensive attack continued into the second period on a goal from defenseman Dominic D'Amour who snapped a wrist shot to the top-right corner for a 4-0 advantage. The Sundog's made it a contest, picking up four of the next six goals. Kevin Petovello's shot from the high slot glanced off of the left post and in at the 7:39 mark got the Sundogs on the board. The Rush responded just eighteen seconds later when Andrew Smale rifled home a one-timer from the left faceoff circle to regain the four-goal advantage. At 11:56, Arizona's leading scorer, Craig Macdonald slammed home a rebound off of a Tyler Butler shot to make it 5-2. Rush captain Scott Wray capped off a five-goal second period with a back-door tap in after Jeff Kyrzakos slid him a pass on a 2-on-0 chance.
The early going of the third period made the game interesting as the Sundogs picked up a pair of goals. The first came at 3:26 from Luke Erickson who capitalized on a Rush defensive zone turnover. Kyle Hood then scored a shorthanded goal at the 7:40 mark, just eight seconds into a Rush powerplay, pulling the Sundogs to within two. However, goals from Jeff Kyrzakos and Mike Vaskivuo secured Rapid City's 8-4 victory and sole possession of third place in the Turner Conference.
Tim Boron is now 6-1-1 in his last eight decisions after turning aside 29 shots on the night.
Other Rush News:
Prorated full and partial season ticket packages are still available. Groups of 10 or more receive discounted tickets by calling 716-PUCK (7825).
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- Rush 'Leap' into Third Place After 8-4 Victory Over Sundogs - Rapid City Rush
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