The Rapid City Rush are welcoming the Wichita Thunder to the Black Hills this week for one last series of the 2023-24 ECHL season.
Last Week
Last week, the Rush saw themselves get eliminated from playoff contention after getting swept by the Idaho Steelheads in three games, losing by scores of 5-3, 7-5, and 4-2. The Rush saw a little success on their penalty kill as they went 13/17 on the kill, but they did give up at least one powerplay goal in all three games. The Rush did really struggle on the powerplay as they went 2/12 in the three games. While Idaho is a really good team, these were games that the Rush really needed points from to keep their playoff hopes alive. But they ended up taking zero of a possible six points, causing them to be mathematically eliminated from playoffs.
Milestones
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 36 games for the Rush, with two goals and 14 assists for 16 points. He has ten penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -6. In 98 ECHL games, Fergus has six goals and 32 assists for 38 points. He has 18 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -7.
Hot Hands
The Rush only have one player coming into this week on a point streak, but they do have a couple of other players who have been pretty hot recently. Rush forward Keanu Yamamoto is currently on a four-game point streak where he has one goal and three assists for four points. This season, Yamamoto has played in all 69 Rush games, where he has 17 goals and 24 assists for 41 points. He has 22 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -15.
Rush forward Alex Aleardi had three goals this past series against the Idaho Steelheads and has been pretty hot for the Rush all season. In 69 games played, Aleardi has 30 goals and 45 assists for 75 points. He has 57 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -2.
After recently joining the team, Rush forward Ilya Nikolaev had one goal and three assists for four points in his last two games. This season, Nikolaev has played in four games with the Rush where he has two goals and three assists for five points. He has two penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +1.
This Week
This week, the Rapid City Rush are back on home ice to finish off their 2023-24 season against the Wichita Thunder. The Thunder are currently sixth in the Mountain Division and are fighting for the final playoff spots in the division as the sit three points out of a spot. This season, the Thunder have a record of 27-33-8-1 for 63 points and a win percentage of .457. They are 8-19-5-1 on the road and are 4-5-1-0 in their last ten games. The Thunder are coming into this series on a five game point streak with a record of 4-0-1-0.
The Rush are currently last in the Mountain Division and have been eliminated from playoff contention. They have a record of 27-38-4-0 for 58 points and a win percentage of .420. They are 12-19-2-0 at home and 5-4-1-0 in their last ten games played. The Rush come into this series on a four-game losing streak.
This series for the Rush is really for having fun and trying to finish this season on a high note. But the Thunder are on the edge of making the playoffs and are currently on a point streak, so they are going to come in very seriously. They are looking to try and take as many points as they can out of this series. While this series does not mean a lot for the Rush, they could come out hot looking to end Wichita’s season and to send their fans into the offseason with some nice wins. The Rush have had the upper hand against the Thunder with a record of 5-2-0-0 against the Thunder this season and will be looking to come out on top in the season series against the Thunder this season. While these games do not mean a lot for the Rush, they should still come out hot looking to end their season with a bang, and hopefully, they will leave it all on the ice. Wichita will most likely be playing a more physical game, so if the Rush are wanting to steal points from the Thunder, they are going to have to play a physical game as well.
The series will kick off Thursday, April 11, and continue Friday, April 12. The 2023-24 season will wrap up for the Rush and possibly the Thunder on Saturday, April 13. Puck drop for all three games will be at 7:05 p.m. MDT.
