ECHL Rapid City Rush

What's the Rush?

Published on February 22, 2016 under ECHL (ECHL)
Rapid City Rush News Release


The Week That Was

---Monday, February 15th - UTAH GRIZZLIES 5,RAPID CITY RUSH 1

(UT: Walters-2 G, Krushelnyski-3 Ast); (RC: Stefanovich-G)

Utah ran away with the Monday matinee showdown, the final one of the season between the Rush and Grizzlies in the Maverik Center. The Grizz built a 2-goal lead in the first period and expanded it to 5-0 with 12:30 left in the game. Mikhail Stefanovich broke the shutout of Ryan Faragher with 3:02 left in the game, but the Rush fell 5-1.

---Wednesday, February 17th - RAPID CITY RUSH 2, IDAHO STEELHEADS 0

(RC: DeSantis- Rush Head Coaching Debut; Battochio - 24 save shutout, 2nd of year)

With emotion and a new voice on their bench in Idaho, the Rapid City Rush, powered by a Cody Ferriero power play goal, an empty-netter from Winston Day Chief, and the 24-save performance of Danny Battochio, blanked the then-co-West Division leaders, the Idaho Steelheads, by a 2-0 count in Boise.

---Friday, February 19th - RAPID CITY RUSH 3, ALASKA ACES 2

(RC: Pommells-2 G; O'Donoghue-GWG in 3rd); (AK: Sivak, Breton-G Each)

DeSantis home debut as the new Rush Head Coach went over just as well as his actual debut did two nights prior. Spencer Pommells tied the game twice in the first and third periods for his second two-goal performance of the season, and Dan O'Donoghue slammed a loose rebound home with 6:22 left in the game to earn the Rush a much-needed 2 points in a 3-2 win.

--Saturday, February 20th - ALASKA ACES 4, RAPID CITY RUSH 3 -F/SO

(RC: Power Play-3/6; Ferriero-PPG, 2 Ast); (AK: Sivak-G, 2 Ast, +2)

Another back-and-forth affair ensued between the West Division rivals, and saw the Rush turn the tide on the strength of their power play. Ryan Misiak tied the game up on a first period power play goal, and then Cody Ferriero provided one of his own to give the Rush a lead. After Alaska struck in quick succession thanks to Peter Sivak and Stephen Perfetto, James Melindy notched a man-advantage tally of his own to tie things up in the second, eventually forcing a shootout, where Alaska's Jacob DeSerres outlasted the Rush in seven rounds to give his team the second point in a 4-3 win.

--Sunday, February 21st - RAPID CITY RUSH 3, ALASKA ACES 1

(RC: Ferriero-Sparks-Misiak Line - all three goals; Ferriero- Back-to-Back 3-point performances)

Both teams skated to a scoreless draw, eventually setting up an offensive outburst from the line of Cody Ferriero, Lindsay Sparks, and Ryan Misiak. Within 39 seconds, the trio contributed with Sparks' second goal in a Rush uniform at 9:51, followed by Misiak's second tally in as many games at 10:30 to provide the Rush with a comfortable 2-0 lead. Alaska's Garrett Haar made things interesting with 10:45 left in the game to cut the Rush lead in half, but with less than a minute to go, Cody Ferriero put the icing on the cake with his empty-net tally to give the Rush 5 of a possible 6 points in the three-game Alaska series with a 3-1 win.

Notes and NumbersMagic MARK-er - Since taking over as the second Head Coach in Rapid City Rush history, Mark DeSantis has empowered his squad, fighting for a playoff spot in now the last 20 games of the regular season, with a renewed sense of confidence that has led to much success right off the bat. The former defenseman of 1,001 games and now third-time bench boss has earned points in each of his first four games since the change was made, taking home 7 of a possible 8 points on the table, including 5 of the 6 in this most recent series against the Alaska Aces.

Three Amigos - The story of the last week for the Rush has been the trio of Cody Ferriero, Lindsay Sparks, and Ryan Misiak up front on the forward lines. The three speedsters have showcased many aspects of their ability to score and put others in a position to score, combining for 13 points in the last five games, 6 of which have been ignitions of the goal lamp. Ferriero helped the point total with back-to-back 3-point performances on Saturday and Sunday against Alaska. Sparks now has 9 points in 11 games with the Rush. Misiak scored his third goal with the Rush on Sunday, the first in even-strength hockey, and now has 4 points in 8 games with his new club.

Power Point Presentation - Another major storyline of the Rush last week was the power play, that saw a banner performance on Saturday against the Aces, and was preceded by a game-winning tally earlier in the week. In the last four games against the Idaho Steelheads and the Alaska Aces, the Rush power play clocked in at a 28.6% scoring clip, going 4/14 in that timeframe.

The Race Heats Up - With crucial points picked up this week, especially in the last 72 hours of hockey, the Rush are fighting as hard as they can for a chance to compete in the 2016 ECHL Kelly Cup Playoffs. With 20 games to go, the Rush sit in 11th in the Western Conference, trailing their archrivals, the Colorado Eagles, by 7 points for the final playoff spot in the bracket. There are two remaining head-to-head showdowns between the two next month, making those games the last direct chance to gain on the Eagles. This week, the Rush play the Quad City Mallards, who sit one spot ahead of the Rush on the outside looking in, for the final two times this season. Quad City has a 6-point lead on the Rush and a game in hand on them as well.

Rush Stat Leaders

Goals - Mikhail Stefanovich (15)

Assists - Winston Day Chief (18)

Points - Winston Day Chief (29)

Plus/Minus - Brian O'Rourke (+6)

PIM - Daniel Barczuk/James Melindy (88)

The Upcoming Week

RAPID CITY RUSH (21-26-2-3, 47 Pts-4th West) @ QUAD CITY MALLARDS (24-22-3-2, 53 Pts-4th Midwest)

Friday, February 26th, 6:05 p.m. MST at the iWireless Center

Saturday, February 27th, 6:05 p.m. MST at the iWireless Center

RAPID CITY RUSH @ MISSOURI MAVERICKS (41-7-2-1, 85 Pts-1st in ECHL, Central)

Sunday, February 28th, 3:05 p.m. MST at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena

Check out the Rapid City Rush Statistics

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