The Rapid City Rush and South Carolina Stingrays played the second game of their three-game series on Saturday night.
First Period
After a rough first period for the Rush in game one, Rapid City came out with a lot more fire and aggression. The Rush found the back of the net only 26 seconds into the game after a Stingrays turnover. Defenseman Zack Hoffman scored the Rush goal and was unassisted.
The rest of the period was pretty quiet as the Rush took a 1-0 lead into intermission after being outshot 8-7 by the Stingrays.
Second Period
After a quiet first period for the Stingrays, they found their offensive game for the second period. 6:27 into the period, Ryan Hofer solved Rapid City Rush goaltender Matt Radomsky to tie the game up at one. Hofer’s first goal of the season was unassisted. The Stingrays took the lead 9:42 into the period with a goal from Ben Hawerchuk. Andrew Perrott assisted Hawerchuk’s goal.
The Stingrays were able to extend their lead with only 16 seconds left in the period. Stingrays forward Alexander Suzdalev scored his sixth goal of the season. Assisted by Kyler Kupka and Erik Middendorf.
After trailing at the end of the first, the Stingrays were able to take a 3-1 lead into the second intermission after outshooting the Rush 10-9.
Third Period
After a very busy second period, the two teams saw a very quiet third period. While both teams had their own chances in the third period, neither team could find the back of the net.
Rush defenseman Zack Hoffman and Stingrays defenseman Jordan Klimek decided to drop their gloves 6:10 into the third. While both players could get off a few good punches, it was not enough to get the momentum going for either team to find the back of the net again.
The Stingrays outshot the Rush 10-8 in the final period.
Rapid City Rush vs. South Carolina Stingrays Final Stats
The Stingrays won by a final score of 3-1 after outshooting the Rush 28-24. Both teams saw outstanding performances from their penalty kill. Rapid City went 0/3 on the powerplay, but were 2/2 on the penalty kill. South Carolina was 0/2 on the powerplay, but they were 3/3 on their penalty kill. Rush goaltender Matt Radomsky made 25 saves on 28 shots for a save percentage of .893. Stingrays goaltender Mitchell Gibson had 23 saves on 24 shots for a save percentage of .958.
Rush & Stingrays Three Stars
- Stingrays Forward Ryan Hofer (one goal, two shots, +2)
- Stingrays forward Ben Hawerchuk (one goal, one shot, +2)
- Stingrays goaltender Mitchell Gibson (23 saves on 24 shots)
The Stingrays will now be looking to complete the sweep, while the Rush will be looking to take at least two points out of their road trip. The two teams will be back in action to wrap up their series on Sunday, December ,8 with puck drop at 1:05 pm MT.
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