The Rapid City Rush and Allen Americans opened up their series on Friday night in Rapid City, South Dakota.
First Period
As the puck was dropped in Rapid City, the two teams saw back-and-forth action, with neither team getting shots on net. But only 1:14 into the game, Rapid City had a defensive zone breakdown, which led to a defensive zone turnover. Americans forward Kyle Crnkovic was able to convert on the turnover to give Allen an early 1-0 lead. Crnkovic’s goal was assisted by Patrick Polino.
After their early breakdown, Rapid City came back and controlled the puck and game more. On the back end of nearly back-to-back powerplays, Rush forward Blake Bennett received a cross-ice pass from Ryan Wagner and was able to put it home, tying the game at one. Bennett’s powerplay goal came 16:45 into the period and was assisted by Wagner and Charles Martin.
It did not take long for Allen to get their lead back after a shot from the blue line by Quinn Warmuth ended up in the back of the net. Warmuth’s goal came 17:28 into the period, only 43 seconds after Bennett’s goal, and was assisted by Brayden Watts and JC Brassard.
Allen took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission after being outshot 8-13 by Rapid City.
Second Period
After a shot heavy first, the Rush did not get as many shots on net in the second period, but they were able to find the back of the net more. Starting with a goal after Rush defenseman Brady Pouteau took a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle and got the puck past Americans goaltender Dylan Wells to help the Rush tie the game. Pouteau’s goal came 9:20 into the period and was assisted by Maurizio Colella and Deni Goure. Rapid City was then able to get their first lead of the night 16:46 into the period after a Billy Constantinou wrist shot from the right faceoff circle found its way to the back of the net. Constantinou’s goal was assisted by Tyler Burnie and Holden Wale.
Rapid City took a 3-2 lead into the third period after both teams got nine shots in the second period.
Third Period and Overtime
The two teams saw a pretty quiet third period, with Allen majorly controlling the puck. Rapid City was able to hold onto their one-goal game for most of the third period, but not long enough. Late in the third, Allen took a tripping penalty, giving the Rush a powerplay. The Americans were able to control the puck and keep it in the Rush zone, even throughout the Rush powerplay. With the Americans controlling the puck, they were able to pull their goalie for an extra skater as the penalty was getting ready to end. Only one second after the penalty ended, Americans defenseman Hudson Wilson took a shot from the blue line. Rush goaltender Christian Propp made the initial save, but Brayden Guy got ahold of the rebound and was able to put it in the back of the net to tie the game with only 34.5 seconds left in regulation.
The game was all tied up at three at the end of 60 minutes after the Americans outshot Rapid City 17-7 in the third period.
The two teams went into overtime and were both able to get shots on net with Rapid City receiving multiple breakaways and odd man rushes, but they were unable to convert on any of their chances. Rapid City outshot Allen 7-5 in overtime.
The game was still tied up at three at the end of the seven-minute overtime, and a shootout was needed to determine a winner.
Shootout
Allen Shooters:
Patrick Polino – No goal
Kyle Crnkovic – No goal
Brayden Watts – No goal
Rapid City Shooters:
Deni Goure – Goal
Blake Bennett – No goal
Ryan Wagner – No goal
Final Stats
Rapid City won by a final score of 4-3 after being outshot 37-39 by the Americans. Rush goaltender Christian Propp made 36 saves on 39 shots for a save percentage of .923 while Americans goaltender Dylan Wells made 33 saves on 36 shots for a .917 save percentage. In the shootout, Propp stopped all three attempts from Allen, while Wells stopped two of Rapid City’s three attempts. Rapid City went 1/3 on the powerplay and 4/4 on the penalty kill, while Allen went 0/4 on the powerplay and 2/3 on the penalty kill.
Three Stars
- Rush forward Deni Goure (shootout winner, one assist, three shots, +1)
- Rush defenseman Brady Pouteau (one goal, one shot)
- Rush defenseman Billy Constantinou (one goal, three shots)
Final Thoughts
Rapid City pulled off a nice win, but sloppy and laid-back play led to Allen’s game-tying goal late in the third. The Rush have struggled to play a full 60 minutes all season and will need to figure out how to play a full 60 minutes very soon to turn their season around.
The Rush and Americans will wrap up their series on Saturday, January 25th, with puck drop at 7:05 pm MT.
Discover more from Inside The Rink
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
