The Rapid City Rush and Wichita Thunder were back in action on Saturday night for the second game of their three game series. The playoff race is starting to heat up, and both teams are looking to take any points they can get. Neither team made a change in net, as the Rush stuck with goaltender Matt Radomsky and the Thunder stayed with goaltender Trevor Gorsuch.
First Period
Similar to Friday night, the Thunder were able to start the scoring first. The Rush turned the puck over in the neutral zone, and Thunder forwards Peter Bates and Michal Stinil charged into the zone. Bates passed the puck to Stinil, who got a shot off from the right faceoff circle and beat Rush goaltender Matt Radomsky on his glove side at 14:13 of the first.
The Thunder held a 1–0 lead at the end of the first after both teams recorded ten shots through the opening 20 minutes.
Second Period
The Rush were able to tie it up 5:12 into the first after captain Ryan Wagner received a pass from Blake Bennett. Bennett’s pass was a bit ahead of Wagner, so Wagner stuck his stick out and managed to get just enough contact with the puck to tip it five-hole and into the back of the net on Thunder goaltender Trevor Gorsuch. Wagner’s goal was assisted by Bennett and defenseman Chase Pauls.
The Rush then took the lead after Deni Goure picked up a rebound in front of the net. Goure did a 180 and was able to put the puck home. His goal came at 6:25 of the period and was assisted by Maurizio Colella.
The Thunder tied the game back up a little over a minute later while on the power play. Thunder forward Luke Grainger was left with a lot of open space near the right faceoff circle, allowing him to take advantage and beat Radomsky glove side. Grainger’s power-play goal came at 7:47 and was assisted by Jay Dickman and TJ Lloyd.
The game was all tied up at the end of two, after the Rush outshot the Thunder 16–7 in the period.
Third Period
The two teams saw a pretty offensive third period after the Thunder got things going. Thunder forward Will Zapernick received a pass from Declan Smith and was able to beat Radomsky, giving the lead back to the Thunder. Zapernick’s first professional goal came 4:14 into the period and was assisted by Smith and Spencer Blackwell.
Rapid City was able to tie the game 11:39 into the period. Ryan Wagner came cruising into Wichita’s zone and into the left faceoff circle. Wagner toe-dragged around a Wichita player and went top shelf on Gorsuch. Wagner’s goal was assisted by Blake Bennett.
With just 1:33 left in regulation, the Thunder had an odd-man rush coming into Rapid City’s zone. Radomsky was able to make the saves on the first few shots, but Peter Bates picked up one of the rebounds and put it past Radomsky, breaking the tie. Bates’ goal was assisted by Jay Dickman.
The Thunder sealed the deal with only 7.3 seconds left in the game after Tyler Jette passed the puck to Dickman, who put it into Rapid City’s empty net.
The Rush outshot the Thunder 12–9 in the third period.
Final Stats
The Thunder won by a final score of 5–3 after being outshot 38–26 by the Rush. Rapid City went 0/3 on the power play and 2/3 on the penalty kill, while the Thunder were 1/3 on the power play and 3/3 on the penalty kill. Rush goaltender Matt Radomsky made 21 saves on 25 shots for a save percentage of .840, and Thunder goaltender Trevor Gorsuch had 35 saves on 38 shots for a .921 save percentage.
Three Stars
- Thunder forward Peter Bates (game winning goal, one assist, six shots, +2)
- Rush forward Ryan Wagner (two goals, seven shots)
- Rush forward Blake Bennett (two assists, five shots)
The Rush and Thunder will be wrapping up their series on Sunday, March 23 for Rapid City’s Sensory Friendly night with puck drop at 4:05 pm MT.
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