The Rapid City Rush and Tahoe Knight Monsters faced off for the final game of the first-ever series between the two teams. Tahoe took the first game by a score of 3-1 and then took the second game by a score of 6-4 after a goal-filled first period.
First Period
After a very exciting first period on Saturday, the Rush and Tahoe saw a very quiet first period. The lone first-period goal came from a two-on-one odd-man rush for Rapid City, with Deni Goure finding the back of the net. Goure’s goal came 3:01 into the period and was assisted by Chaz Smedsrud and Parker Bowman.
Rapid City went into the first intermission after being extremely outshot 5-15 by Tahoe.
Second Period
After starting the scoring early in the first, the Rush were able to extend their lead even earlier in the second period off of a blue line shot from Holden Wale that ended up in the back of the net. Wale’s second goal of the season came 1:55 into the period and was assisted by Billy Constantinou and Maurizio Colella, marking Constantinou’s 100th ECHL point.
The Knight Monsters were able to get themselves on the board after Simon Pinard was able to find the back of the net from a shot in the middle of the zone. Pinard’s goal came 5:19 into the period and was unassisted.
Rapid City had a 2-1 lead at the end of the second after outshooting the Knight Monsters 13-10.
Third Period
The Rush and Knight Monsters saw a much quieter start to the third, but just like the first and second, Rapid City was able to start the scoring for the third period.
16:22 into the period, Ryan Wagner fed Chaz Smedsrud a pass and he was able to put it home. Smedsrud’s powerplay goal was assisted by Ryan Wagner and Deni Goure.
Tahoe was able to pull themselves within one 18:57 into the period with a pulled goalie and extra skater. With lots of bodies in and near the crease, Tahoe forward Luke Adam was able to pick up the loose puck and put it in the back of the net. Adam’s goal was assisted by Jakub Demek and Logan Nelson, which was Nelson’s first point against his former team.
The Rush outshot Tahoe 9-7 in the third period.
Final Stats
Rapid City won by a final score of 3-2 after being outshot 27-32 by Tahoe. Rapid City was 1/3 on the powerplay and 1/1 on the penalty kill. Tahoe was 0/1 on the powerplay and 2/3 on the penalty kill. Rapid City’s goaltender Christian Propp made 30 saves on 32 shots for a save percentage of .938 and Tahoe’s goaltender Jesper Vikman had a save percentage of .889 after making 24 saves on 27 shots.
Three Stars
- Rush forward Chaz Smedsrud (one goal, one assist, one shot)
- Rush defenseman Holden Wale (one goal, one shot, +1)
- Rush goaltender Christian Propp (30 saves on 32 shots)
Final Thoughts
While this was not Rapid City’s cleanest game, they showed that they can hang with and beat the top teams in the league. Rapid City’s defense was incredible, especially in the first period. While their defense was good, Rapid City is going to need to continue to tighten their defense up, as they will not always end up leading 1-0 after being outshot 15-5 in a period.
The Knight Monsters are back in action on the road against the Iowa Heartlanders. They will start their series on Friday, January 17th, before continuing it on Saturday, January 18th, and will then wrap it up on Sunday, January 19th. Puck drop will be at 5:00 pm PT on Friday, 4:00 pm PT on Saturday, and 1:00 pm PT on Sunday.
The Rush will be back in action on the road, visiting the Kansas City Mavericks. They only have a two-game series, so they will face off on Friday, January 17th, and Saturday, January 18th. Puck drop will be at 6:05 pm MT on Friday and 5:05 pm MT on Saturday.
ITR 39: Conference Finals – Inside The Rink
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