The Rapid City Rush are hitting the road this week to take on the Kansas City Mavericks in Independence, Missouri, for a two-game series.
Last Week
Last week the Rush were at home taking on the Tahoe Knight Monsters. The Rush lost the first two games by scores of 1-3 and 4-6. The Rush were able to flip it around for the third game and end the week on a high note, beating the Knight Monsters 3-2.
The Mavericks were in West Valley City, Utah, last week, where they were taking on the Utah Grizzlies and ultimately got swept in the two-game series, losing by scores of 2-5 and 4-5.
Incoming Stats
The Rapid City Rush and Kansas City Mavericks have met three times this season, where the Rush have a record of 1-1-0-1.
The Rapid City Rush entered this series with a road record of 4-8-3-0 and an overall record of 10-18-4-3. They are currently converting at 14.7% on the power play (25th) and 79.8% on the penalty kill (18th). The Rush are averaging 31.80 shots per game but are also allowing an average of 32.66 shots against per game. They are averaging 2.57 goals per game while allowing an average of 3.71 goals against per game.
The Kansas City Mavericks come into the series with a home record of 5-5-2-1 and an overall record of 20-10-3-1, currently on a three-game losing streak. The Mavericks are converting at 18.6% on the power play (14th) and have a penalty kill rate of 77.0% (23rd). The Mavericks home powerplay is currently third in the league, converting at 25.0%. They are averaging 3.53 goals per game while allowing an average of 2.82 goals against per game. The Mavericks are averaging 34.68 shots per game and allowing an average of 25.91 shots against per game.
Mavericks forward Cade Borchardt currently leads the league in goals and plus/minus as he has 22 goals and a plus/minus of +27. Mavericks forward Max Andreev is tied for third in the league in plus/minus with a plus/minus of +23. Andreev has played in 29 games where he has eight goals and 22 assists with 50 penalty minutes.
Mavericks forwards Jackson Berezowski and Cam Morrison come into the weekend on three-game home goal streaks, with both players having three goals in their last three home games. Berezowski has played in 34 games this season, where he had 13 goals and nine assists for 22 points with a plus/minus of +2 and 16 penalty minutes. Berezowski also leads the team with five powerplay goals. Morrison has played in 22 games where he had nine goals and ten assists with a plus/minus of +1 and 12 penalty minutes. Morrison is second on the team in powerplay goals with four.
Rush forward Brett Davis leads the league in shorthanded goals and assists with four shorthanded goals. Rush forward Ryan Wagner is fourth in the league in shots with 122. Rush defenseman Brady Pouteau is tied for first amongst defensemen in shorthanded assists and points with two shorthanded assists. Rush defenseman Billy Constantinou leads defensemen in game-winning goals with three.
Players to Watch
The player to watch for the Kansas City Mavericks is forward Cade Borchardt. Borchardt leads the Mavericks in goals and points and is second on the team in assists. In 30 games played, Borchardt has 22 goals and 18 assists for 40 points with 16 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +27.
The player to watch for the Rush is returning forward Blake Bennett. Bennett is returning to the Rush after spending the first part of the season overseas. Last season with the Rush, Bennett played in all 72 games, where he had 35 goals and 28 assists for 63 points with 38 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -8. Bennett will be returning to the team looking to start where he left off last season after having five goals and eight assists in his last ten games last season with two goals and three assists coming in the final three games of the 2023-24 season.
The Rush and Mavericks will start their series on Friday, January 17th, and will wrap up the series on Saturday, January 18th. Puck drop on Friday will be at 6:05 pm MT and 5:05 pm MT on Saturday.
ITR 31: Let Them Fight – Inside The Rink
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