The Tulsa Oilers are traveling to the Black Hills to play the Rapid City Rush in Rapid City, South Dakota, in a three-game series.
Last Week
Last week, the Rush were on the road in West Valley City, Utah, taking on the Utah Grizzlies. The Rush were able to take the first game by a final score of 6-3 but then ended up falling to the Grizzlies 5-3 in the second game.
The Tulsa Oilers were also on the road last week, playing the Tahoe Knight Monsters. The Oilers won the first game by a final score of 4-3 in overtime. They lost the second game by a final score of 5-3 and then the third and final game of the series by a final score of 4-3 in overtime.
Incoming Stats
The Rush and Tulsa have already met twice this season, with the Rush holding a record of 0-2-0-0 against the Oilers.
The Rapid City Rush enter this series with a home record of 5-8-2-0 and an overall record of 7-15-4-3. They are currently converting at 15.9% on the power play (24th) and 79.0% on the penalty kill (20th). The Rush are averaging 32.34 shots per game but are also allowing an average of 33.34 shots against per game. They are averaging 2.55 goals per game while allowing an average of 3.83 goals against per game.
The Tulsa Oilers come into the series with a road record of 10-3-2-0 and an overall record of 17-9-3-0. The Oilers are converting at 21.3% on the power play (8th) and have a penalty kill rate of 82.5% (13th). They are averaging 3.55 goals per game while allowing an average of 3.03 goals against per game. The Oilers are averaging 34.52 shots per game and allowing an average of 30.52 shots against per game.
Milestones
The Rapid City Rush have a pair of players that could hit milestones this week. Rush forward Maurizio Colella could play in his 100th game with the Rush, having played 99 games with the Rush. Colella would only have to play in one of the three games against the Oilers to hit the milestone, but he will most likely hit it on Tuesday night. In 99 games with the Rush, Colella has 14 goals and 28 assists for 42 points. He has 57 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -29. This season, Colella has played in 27 games with the Rush where he has two goals and eight assists for ten points with 21 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -18. Last season, Colella played in all 72 regular season games for the Rush.
Rush defenseman Billy Constantinou could register his 100th ECHL point this weekend, as he currently sits at 97 career points. Constantinou has played in 195 ECHL games, where he had 20 goals and 77 assists, along with 92 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -71. Constantinou has played in 52 games with the Rush where he had six goals and 18 assists for 24 points. He has ten penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -21. This season, Constantinou has played in 28 games with the Rush, where he has four goals and eight assists for 12 points, eight penalty minutes, and a plus/minus of -15.
Constantinou could also play in his 200th professional game, as he currently has 199. He has played in 195 ECHL games and four AHL games.
Players to Watch
The player to watch for the Tulsa Oilers is forward Michael Farren, who is currently on a ten-game point streak and an eight-game road point streak. In his eight-game road point streak, Farren has nine goals and four assists for 13 points. He has 11 goals and five assists for 16 points in his ten-game point streak. This season, Farren has played in 24 games with the Oilers, where he has 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points, 18 penalty minutes, and a plus/minus of +6. Farren is going to be looking to stay hot this week, and the Rush will need to find a way to stop him.
The player to watch for the Rush is forward Luke Mylymok. Mylymok joined the Rush earlier in December and has since played in four games with the Rush, where he has three goals and one assist for one point with zero penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +2. Last week, Mylymok had not only his first multi-point game but it was also his first multi-goal game in Rapid City’s 6-2 win over the Utah Grizzlies. Mylymok has been off to a great start with the Rush and will be looking to continue that success this week.
The Rush and Oilers will kick off their series on Tuesday, December 31st,, with Rapid City’s NewYear’s’s Eve and Area 51 night. The series will continue on Friday, January 3rd, before wrapping up on Saturday, January 4th. Puck drop for all three games will be at 7:0p.m.pm MT.
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