What's the Rush?
Published on February 15, 2016 under ECHL (ECHL)
Rapid City Rush News Release
The Week That Was
---Wednesday, February 10th - RAPID CITY RUSH 4, COLORADO EAGLES 1
(RC: 3 PPG; Ferriero-G, 2 Ast; Sparks-3 Ast)
After trailing early 1-0, the Rush took advantage of a flagrant lack of discipline on the part of the Eagles and buried three five-on-three power play goals, ending their 10-game skid with a 4-1 win.
---Friday, February 12th - COLORADO EAGLES 5, RAPID CITY RUSH 3
(RC: Bonneau, Sparks, Misiak-G Each); (COL: Zahn-2 G, including GWG)
Playing in their 8th annual "Pink at the Rink" game, the Rush earned a 1-0 lead before allowing two Eagles strikes to end the first period. The Rush knotted things up in the second on Ryan Misiak's power play goal, but the Eagles would take the lead once more. Despite Lindsay Sparks' goal to put the Rush behind one, the Eagles notched an empty-netter to hang on for a 5-3 win.
---Saturday, February 13th - COLORADO EAGLES 2, RAPID CITY RUSH 0
(COL: Saunders-23 Sv Shutout)
In a close game that saw Colorado hold a 1-0 lead for almost 54 minutes of regulation, Clarke Saunders stole the show by denying the Rush of any ignitions of the goal lamp. The Eagles would win 2-0 behind Saunders' 23 stops.
Notes and NumbersFirsts All Around - Friday night marked another outstanding offensive performance from the Rush, who went back-to-back games scoring three goals or more, including at least 1 on the power play. Lindsay Sparks, Ryan Misiak, and Jimmy Bonneau all scored their first goals in a Rush uniform, with Misiak's and Sparks coming in their home debut. With his power play goal in the second period last night, Misiak recorded his second point in as many games with the Rush (2 pts in 3 heading into this week), while Spark's third period goal kept him on a point-per-game pace with his new club (now 5 pts in 6 games heading into this week). Bonneau notched his first of the season on a 100+ foot goal from in front of his own bench that went off of Colorado goaltender Eric Levine's pads and in.
Power Rangers - In the three-game set against the Eagles last week, the Rush power play has put on a clinic, clocking in at a 23.5% scoring clip (4/17). Four different players have notched the man-advantage tallies: Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel, James Melindy, Winston Day Chief, and Ryan Misiak.
Straight Up Killin' It - With Saturday's 3/3 performance on the penalty-kill, the Rush set a new season high with their 19th straight penalty successfully killed off. Heading into Valentine's Day, the Rush maintain their stalwart positioning as one of the league's best penalty-kill units, clocking in at 87.2%, which is good enough for third in the ECHL just 1.6% behind the league-leading Florida Everblades.
Daytime Drama - For the first time since the 2013-14 CHL season, the Rush will play in a day-game matinee. Their showdown against the Utah Grizzlies comes at 1:35 p.m. MST. The last time the Rush played in the day time was against the Arizona Sundogs at 10 a.m. MST on Wednesday, January 29, 2014 in Prescott Valley Arizona.
Rush Stat Leaders
Goals - Mikhail Stefanovich (14)
Assists - Winston Day Chief (17)
Points - Winston Day Chief (27)
Plus/Minus - Jonathan Narbonne/Michael Young/Brian O'Rourke (+4)
PIM - Daniel Barczuk (84)
The Upcoming Week
RAPID CITY RUSH (18-25-2-2, 40 Pts - 5th West) @ UTAH GRIZZLIES (27-19-2-1, 57 Pts - 2nd West)
Monday, February 15th at the Maverik Center - 1:35 p.m. MST
RAPID CITY RUSH @ IDAHO STEELHEADS (27-19-4-1, 59 Pts - 1st West)
Wednesday, February 17th at CenturyLink Arena - 7:10 p.m. MST
RAPID CITY RUSH vs ALASKA ACES (19-25-2-3, 43 Pts - 4th West)
Friday, February 19th at Premier Home Mortgage Ice in Rushmore Plaza Civic Center - 7:05 p.m. MST
Saturday, February 20th at Premier Home Mortgage Ice in Rushmore Plaza Civic Center - 7:05 p.m. MST
Sunday, February 21st at Premier Home Mortgage Ice in Rushmore Plaza Civic Center - 4:05 p.m. MST
ECHL Stories from February 15, 2016
- Radio Recon Welcomes Connor Knapp and Scott Tanski on Tuesday - Reading Royals
- Swamp Rabbits Weekly - Greenville Swamp Rabbits
- Stingrays Weekly News and Notes - South Carolina Stingrays
- Mallards Weekly Update - Quad City Mallards
- Rush Fall in Utah - Rapid City Rush
- Thunder Weekly - Wichita Thunder
- Jackals Receive Allan McPherson and Spiro Goulakos from Rochester - Elmira Jackals
- ECHL Transactions - February 15 - ECHL
- Mallards Host Chick-Fil-A Night Saturday - Quad City Mallards
- Thunder Acquire Goaltender Peter Di Salvo - Adirondack Thunder
- Wheeling Nailers Weekly Report - Wheeling Nailers
- Americans Deal Disalvo to Adirondack - Allen Americans
- Ladies Night Tomorrow Features Free Admission for Women & $2 Beer - South Carolina Stingrays
- Cyclones Weekly - Cincinnati Cyclones
- Successful road trip moves Stingrays into second place of South D - ECHL
- Oil Drops: Weekly Report - Tulsa Oilers
- Michael Pelech Returns to Norfolk from Loan to San Diego Gulls - Norfolk Admirals
- Komets Collect Four Points for Week 18 - Fort Wayne Komets
- McFarland Makes NHL Debut - Cincinnati Cyclones
- Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report - OSC Original by Dan Krieger
- Monarchs Weekly Preview - Manchester Monarchs
- ECHL Today - February 15 - ECHL
- What's the Rush? - Rapid City Rush
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