The Rapid City Rush and Iowa Heartlanders opened up their series on Thursday night in Rapid City. Rapid City started Connor Murphy in net while the Heartlanders started Kyle McClellan.
First Period
After having a dominant start to the period, the Heartlanders were able to get on the board first. Exactly two minutes into the period, Heartlanders forward Ryan Miotto was able to retrieve the puck from below the left faceoff circle and pass it up to forward Austen Swankler, who was at the top of the left faceoff circle. After Swankler got his shot off, Murphy was able to make the initial save, but lost the puck in the paint and forward Yuki Miura was able to put it in the back of the net to give the Heartlanders a 1-0 lead.
The Rush were able to tie it up 16:10 into the period after forward Ryan Wagner was able to force a turnover near the bottom of the right faceoff circle in Iowa’s zone. Wagner got the puck to forward Blake Bennett and with no Heartlanders’ players in sight, Bennett was able to get right in front of the net and put the puck up and over the shoulder of Kyle McClellan’s glove side.
The two teams were all tied at one at the end of the first 20 after the Heartlanders outshot the Rush 11-5 in the first period.
Second Period
Rapid came out looking to earn a lead in the second and were able to do just that. Undisciplined play led to multiple penalties for the Heartlanders giving the Rush a 5-on-3 advantage. Ryan Wagner was able to get a shot off from the top of the zone and Kyle McClellan was able to make the initial save. But the puck snuck under his arm and was sitting in the paint. With less than a second left on the first penalty, Deni Goure was able to pick up the rebound and put it home. Goure’s powerplay goal came 10:25 into the period and was assisted by Wagner and Blake Bennett.
Back on the powerplay, Rapid City only needed 11 seconds to to extend their lead, scoring off their first shot of their powerplay. With Billy Constantinou at the top of the zone and Blake Bennett in the right faceoff circle, Ryan Wagner, who was at the top of the left face off circle was able to get a pass to Constantinou. Constantinou fed a pass to Bennett who shot the puck and beat McClellan on his blocker side. Bennett’s goal came 14:29 into the period and was assisted by Constantinou and Wagner.
The Rush had a 3-2 lead at the end of the period after outshooting the Heartlanders 21-13 in the second.
Third Period
After two periods with many goals, the Rush and Heartlanders saw a much quieter third with only one goal being scored. After multiple attempts throughout the game, the Heartlanders were finally able to convert on the powerplay. 12:04 into the period, Heartlanders defenseman Andrew McLean took a shot from the blue line. McLean’s shot was tipped into the net by Zach Dubinsky to tie the game. Dubinsky’s powerplay goal was assisted by McLean and former Rush forward Keltie Jeri-Leon.
After 60 minutes of play, the two teams were all tied up at three after Rapid City outshot Iowa 10-9 in the third.
Overtime
The overtime period started with a little bit of back and forth possession between the two teams, but neither team was able to get any good looks. That was until a couple of huge saves from Rush goaltender Connor Murphy kept the Rush in the game. With all three Iowa players deep in the Rush zone, the Rush forced a turnover as Rush forward Blake Bennett was able to get behind the Iowa players and went down the ice on a breakaway. Bennett was able to hold the puck a couple seconds longer and over Iowa’s goaltender winning the game for Rapid City only 54 seconds into the extra period. Bennett’s goal was unassisted.
The Rush and Heartlanders both had one shot in overtime.
Final Stats
The Rush won by a final score of 4-3 after outshooting the Heartlanders 37-34. Rapid City went 2/4 on the powerplay and 3/4 on the penalty kill while Iowa went 1.4 on the powerplay and 2/4 on the penalty kill. Rush goaltender Connor Murphy had 31 saves on 34 shots for a save percentage of .912 and Heartlanders goaltender Kyle McClellan had 33 saves on 37 shots for a save percentage of .892.
Three Stars of the Game
- Rush forward Blake Bennett (three goals, one assist, seven shots, +2)
- Rush forward Ryan Wagner (three assists, four shots, +2)
- Rush forward Deni Goure (one goal, one shot, -1)
The two teams will be back in action on Friday, March 14th and will wrap up their series on Saturday, March 15th. Puck drop is at 7:05 pm MT both nights.
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