The Rapid City Rush made their first trip out to Boise, Idaho for the 2024-25 ECHL season looking to build off of their momentum from their last series.
Starting Lineups
Starting with the visiting team, the Rapid City Rush started with a forward trio of Trevor Janicke, Connor Mylymok, and Parker Bowman. The Rush had Joni Jurmo and Charles Martin on the blue line with goaltender Matt Radomsky between the pipes.
On the other side, the Idaho Steelheads started with Brendan Hoffman, Lynden McCallum, and Mark Olver up front. The Steelheads had a defensive pairing of Romain Rodzinski and Patrick Kudla with goaltender Bryan Thomson in net.
First Period
After having a rough start to their season and finally getting their first win last weekend, the Rush came into this game with a lot of fire and energy. The Rush were able to use that energy to get themselves on the board first with a goal from Brett Davis 8:58 into the first period. Davis’ goal was the first time the Rush have struck first this season and was also Rapid City’s first shorthanded goal of the season. Davis’ goal was assisted by Brady Pouteau.
Davis’ goal was the only goal in the first period allowing the Rush to go into the intermission with a 1-0 lead after being outshot 8-20 by the Steelheads.
Second Period
After being outshot in the first, the Rush came out with a shooter’s mentality in the second, helping the team extend their lead. The Rush were able to find the back of the net again 6:20 into the second with a powerplay goal from Rush forward and Captain Ryan Wagner. Wagner’s goal gave the Rush a 2-0 lead and was assisted by Charles Martin and Simon Boyko.
Rapid City extended their lead just 1:10 later when Brett Davis scored his second goal of the night. The lone assist on Davis’ goal came from Patrick Bajkov, marking his first point in a Rush jersey.
The second period ended with Rapid City up 3-0 after outshooting the Steelheads 17-15.
Third Period
The Steelheads were not going to go down without a fight, scoring their first goal of the game exactly five minutes into the third period. The goal came from Steelheads forward Justin Ertel and was assisted by Trevor Zins and CJ Walker. The Rush were able to strike back 9:16 into the third with a goal from Chaz Smedsrud, making the score 4-1. Smedsrud’s goal was assisted by Ryan Wagner and Deni Goure.
The Steelheads kept the scoring momentum going with a goal from Lynden McCallum at 11:13 into the third period, reducing the deficit to two. McCallum’s goal was assisted by Thomas Caron and Matt Register. The Rush sealed the game at 18:06 into the third period with an empty-net goal from Brett Davis, completing his first professional hat trick. Davis’ hat trick goal was assisted by Deni Goure and Maurizio Colella.
The Rush were outshot 12-14 by the Steelheads in the third.
Three Stars
- Rush Goaltender Matt Radomsky (47 saves on 49 shots)
- Brett Davis (three goals, five shots, +2)
- Ryan Wagner (One goal, one assist, four shots, +2)
Final Stats and Thoughts
The Rush earned their first road win of the season, beating the Steelheads by a final score of 5-2. Rapid City finished the game with 37 shots and ten penalty minutes while Idaho finished the game with 49 shots and two penalty minutes. Rapid City went 1/1, on the powerplay and 5/5 on the penalty kill. Meanwhile, the Steelheads were 0/5 on the powerplay and 0/1 on the penalty kill. Rapid City’s goaltender, Matt Radomsky, made an incredible 47 saves on 49 shots for a save percentage of .959. Idaho’s goaltender, Bryan Thomson, had 32 saves on 36 shots for a save percentage of .889.
This game was by far Rapid City’s best game of the season. The Rush have struggled against Idaho the past few seasons, having last beat them December 16, 2023 by a score of 7-4. The Rush have especially struggled in Boise with their last win in Boise happening on December 15, 2021 in a 2-1 win for the Rush. This game really showed that the Rush can hang with teams like Idaho and have what it takes to win. Rapid City’s special teams were spectacular with both the penalty kill and powerplay being perfect on the night. The Rush were able to really minimize Idaho’s chances on the powerplay and Rapid City was able to execute on their own powerplay. That being said, Idaho is going to come out angry on Friday looking to take down Rapid City. As long as the Rush are able to play like they did in this game while allowing Idaho less chances and continuing to play the Rapid City way, the Rush should be able to pull off another win.
The Rush and Steelheads will faceoff again at 7:10 pm MT on Friday, November 15, before wrapping up their series at 7:10 pm MT on Saturday, November 16.
