The Rapid City Rush are traveling to Charleston, South Carolina to take on the South Carolina Stingrays this weekend.
Where to Watch
Venue: North Charleston Coliseum
TV: FloSports
South Carolina: South Carolina Stingrays Broadcast Network
Rapid City: Rapid City Rush Broadcast Network
Last Week
Last week the Rapid City Rush were at home to take on the Allen Americans where the Rush saw some very tight games. The Rush won their first game by a score of 2-1 before losing the second game 3-4 in overtime and then losing the final game of the series 1-2. The Rush played pretty well against the Americans and even had two players earn AHL callups.
The Stingrays had three games last week with two games being on the road and one being at home. The Stingrays were able to beat the Jacksonville Icemen on the road by a score of 4-1, they then went on to beat the Greenville Swamp Rabbits at home by a final score of 5-2. They won their third game on the road against the Orlando Solar Bears with a score of 5-1 to complete their week sweep.
Incoming Stats
The last time these two teams met was in Rapid City for a three-game series from February 25-27, 2017, where the Rush took two of the three games against the Stingrays.
The Rapid City Rush are entering this series on a two-game losing streak with a record of 5-9-2-2. They are currently converting at 16.4% on the power play (19th) and 82.8% on the penalty kill (15th). The Rush are averaging 32.61 shots per game but are also allowing an average of 32.89 shots against per game. After struggling to score early in the season, the Rush are now averaging 2.33 goals per game but are allowing an average of 3.28 goals against per game.
The South Carolina Stingrays are coming into the series on a three-game winning streak with a record of 13-4-1. The Stingrays are converting at 27.0% on the power play (2nd) and have a penalty kill of 95.9%, which is the best in the league. The Stingrays lead the league in average goals per game, averaging 4.00 goals per game while only allowing an average of 2.00 goals against per game, which is third best in the league. They are averaging 31.28 shots per game and have an average of 28.78 shots against per game.
The Rush are coming into this series with a road record of 3-4-1-0, while the Stingrays have a home record of 7-1-1-0. Stingrays forward Micah Miller is currently tied for first in the league for game-winning goals with four. Both Stingrays goaltenders are in the top five in the league. Goaltender Seth Eisele currently leads all goaltenders in save percentage with .945, and goaltender Garin Bjorklund is third in the league with .941.
The Stingrays have five players in the top 20 for rookies this season. Forward Jamie Engelbert is currently tied for third among rookies in goals with ten, and defenseman Jayden Lee is tied for first among rookies in assists with twelve. Forward Alexander Suzdalev is tied for third among rookies in power play assists with five, and forward Charlie Combs has 61 shots this season, which is tied for second among rookies. Stingrays defenseman Jayden Lee leads all rookies in plus/minus with +13. Forward Kyler Kupka is tied for second with +12, and forward Charlie Combs is fourth with +11.
Stingrays defenseman Blake Thompson is third among defensemen in assists with fourteen, and defenseman Connor Moore has a shooting percentage of 33.3%, which is the best among defensemen. Moore also leads all defensemen in game-winning goals with two, and Moore and Jayden Lee are tied for third in plus/minus among defensemen with +13.
Rapid City Rush defenseman Brady Pouteau is currently second in the league and first among defensemen in shorthanded assists with two, and forward Ryan Wagner is fifth in the league in shots with 69. Defenseman Billy Constantinou is tied with the Stingrays’ Connor Moore for most game-winning goals among defensemen with two.
Players to Watch
The player to watch for the Rush is forward Chaz Smedsrud, who has four goals and eight assists for 12 points in 14 games. Smedsrud had a slow start to the season with the Allen Americans but has played extremely well since joining the Rush. With the Rush losing Trevor Janicke, who had recently been hot for the team, a player like Chaz Smedsrud may be the one to take over the offensive power for the Rush.
The player to watch for the South Carolina Stingrays is rookie forward Kyler Kupka. Kupka has nine goals and nine assists for 18 points in 18 games, with six penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +12. He leads the Stingrays in points, is second in goals, and is sixth in assists. Kupka had a very successful collegiate career at St. Cloud State University and has transferred that success to his professional career. Kupka has been extremely hot for the Stingrays with seven points in his last three games and will be looking to stay hot this weekend.
The Rapid City Rush and South Carolina Stingrays will kick off their series on Friday, December 6th, before continuing on Saturday, December 7th, and wrapping up on Sunday, December 8th. Puck drop will be at 5:05 pm MT on Friday and Saturday. Sunday’s puck drop will be at 1:05 pm MT.
Discover more from Inside The Rink
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
