The Rapid City Rush are welcoming the Kansas City Mavericks to South Dakota for a three game series this week. The Rush enter this series still looking for their first win of the season.
Last Week
Both the Mavericks and Rush are coming into this series with a bit of a chip on their shoulders as both teams were swept last week in their respective matchups. The Mavericks had a rough start, losing their first game 1-4 and then narrowly falling 3-4 in a shootout to the Fort Wayne Komets in their second game. The Rush saw their losing streak get extended to seven games as they were swept in three games by the Wichita Thunder. The Rush lost their three games by scores of 1-3, 2-3, and 0-3.
Incoming Stats
The two teams have yet to face each other this season. But last season, the Rush were 2-6-1-0 against the Mavericks and the Mavericks had a record of 7-1-0-1 against the Rush.
The Rapid City Rush are coming into this weekend on a seven-game losing streak with a record of 0-5-1-1. They are currently converting at 11.1% on the powerplay and are at 76.5% on the penalty kill. The Rush are getting shots on net, averaging 34.29 shots per game, but they are also allowing an average of 32.71 shots against per game. On top of that, the Rush are averaging only 1.43 goals for per game and allowing an average of four goals against per game.
The Kansas City Mavericks are coming into the series on a two-game losing streak after being swept by the Fort Wayne Komets. The Mavericks are converting at 26.9% on the powerplay and 84.6% on the penalty kill. The Mavericks lead the league in goals scored for per game, averaging 4.50 goals per game and 35.17 shots per game. The Mavericks are allowing an average of 2.50 goals against per game and 27.33 shots against per game. The Mavericks have yet to lose a game on the road with a current road record of 3-0-0-0.
Players to Watch
The player to watch on the Kansas City Mavericks is forward Max Andreev. Andreev has played in six games for the Mavericks this season where he is averaging almost two points a game with three goals and eight assists for 11 points.
The player to watch on the Rush is newcomer Joni Jurmo. The 6’3″ defenseman is joining the Rush from the Calgary Wranglers. Jurmo was drafted 82nd overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the third round of the 2020 NHL draft. Jurmo has not played in any games with the Wranglers this season, and has yet to play in any games in North America. Jurmo won silver at the U20 World Juniors in the 2021-22 season with Finland. Joni Jurmo will be looking to have an outstanding weekend as he will be coming with a chip on his shoulder wanting to work his way back up to the AHL. It may take Jurmo a couple shifts or a game to get adjusted to playing with the Rush, but he should be a fun player to watch this series.
The Rapid City Rush and Kansas City Mavericks will kickoff their series in Rapid City Wednesday night with puck drop at 7:05 pm MST. The series will then continue Friday night and wrap up on Saturday night with puck drop at 7:05 pm MST both nights.
