The Rapid City Rush are welcoming the Kansas City Mavericks to South Dakota for a two game series this weekend.
Last Week
Last week, the Rapid City Rush visited the Maine Mariners for the first time for a three game series. The Rush took the first two games by scores of 5-0 and 6-4, but the Mariners were able to take game three by a score of 3-2. The Rush were a very different team against Maine than what they have been recently, as they seemed to find their offensive game. But they were not getting a lot of shots on net, as they had less than 30 shots in two of the three games. They were still able to pull off a win, but the Rush are playing three of the top five teams in the league the next three weeks, so they are going to have to find more ways to get shots on the net and ways to score more goals. Rapid City was decent on special teams, as they went 2/13 on the powerplay and 13/15 on the penalty kill. The Rush are going to have to start converting on their powerplays in order to beat some of the teams higher in the standings.
Milestones
Rush forward Alex Aleardi could hit 100 ECHL goals as he currently sits at 99 goals. This season, he has played in 44 games for the Rush, where he has 16 goals and 29 assists for 45 points. He has 36 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -2. Aleardi has played in 216 ECHL games, where he has 99 goals and 112 assists for 211 points. He has 136 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +16.
If activated from injured reserve, defenseman TJ Fergus could play in his 100th ECHL game, as he currently sits at 98. This season, Fergus has played in 36 games for the Rush, where he has two goals and 14 assists for 16 points. He has ten penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -6. In 98 ECHL games played, Fergus has six goals and 32 assists for 38 points. He has 18 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -7.
Coming In Hot
The Rapid City Rush have a few players coming into the series with point streaks. The first player is Simon Boyko who is currently on a three game point streak with three goals and two assists for five points. He has played six games with the Rush where he has three goals and two assists. He does not have any penalty minutes but has a plus/minus of +3.
Rush forward Logan Nelson is currently on a six game point streak with two goals and five assists for seven points. Nelson has played in 42 games this season with the Rush where he has 14 goals and 26 assists for 40 points. He has 20 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +4.
Rush forward Alex Aleardi is on a five game point streak where he has three goals and four assists for seven points. Aleardi has played in 44 games this season with the Rush where he has 16 goals and 29 assists for 45 points. He has 36 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -2.
This Week
The Rush have a big series this weekend against the Kansas City Mavericks. The Mavericks are first in the Mountain division as well as first in the ECHL. They have a record of 33-8-2-1 for 69 points and a win percentage of .784. They have a record of 17-2-0-1 on the road and are 7-1-1-1 in their last ten games. The Mavericks are currently on a six game point streak with a record of 5-0-0-1 during that time. The Rush are sixth in the Mountain Division with a record of 19-23-2-0 for 40 points with a win percentage of .455. They have a record of 8-10-1-0 at home and are 3-7-0-0 in their last ten games. While Kansas City’s record is a lot better than Rapid City’s, it is not impossible for the Rush to beat the Mavericks and they have proved that this season with a record of 1-3-1-0 against the Mavericks this season. This weekend will be a huge test for the Rush as they have found a little bit of success against the Mavericks, but they have struggled a lot against the Mavericks. The team will need to find a way to control the pace of the game and the puck more if they want to take some points from this series, and they will need to find ways to get more shots on net.
The series will start Friday night with puck drop at 7:05 p.m. MST and wrap up Saturday night with puck drop again at 7:05 p.m. MST.
