The Rapid City Rush came into the weekend having only two wins on the season, including a win against the Steelheads on Wednesday night.
Friday Night Game 2
After helping the Rapid City Rush earn their first two wins of the season, goaltender Matt Radomsky got his third start in a row for the Rush.
Unlike Wednesday night, the Idaho Steelheads were the first team to find the back of the net on Friday with a goal from Lynden McCallum. McCallum’s goal came only 2:31 into the first and was assisted by Matt Register and Connor MacEachern. Rapid City then tied things up at 10:40 into the first with a goal from forward Maurizio Colella. Colella’s first goal of the season was assisted by Joni Jurmo and Brett Davis. Friday night’s game was also Colella’s 100th ECHL game.
Rapid City took their first lead of the game a little over two minutes later with a goal from Brett Davis, assisted by Joni Jurmo and Chaz Smedsrud. But Idaho was not going to go into intermission down by a goal, with Lynden McCallum getting his second of the game and period with only two seconds left in the period. McCallum’s second goal was assisted by Ty Pelton-Byce and Thomas Caron.
After a four-goal first period, both teams came out shooting in the second, with the Rush getting 15 shots and Idaho getting 17. However, both teams’ goaltenders came out strong and did not allow either team to find the back of the net in the second period.
In the third, Rush wasted no time taking the lead, scoring just 1:08 in the period, with an unassisted goal from Deni Goure. The Steelheads would tie things up again 11:21 into the period with a goal from Hank Crone, assisted by Thomas Caron and Patrick Kudla. After 60 minutes of play, the two teams were still tied at three, and extra time was needed to decide a winner.
After being outshot 6-12 in the third period, the Rush came to win in overtime, outshooting the Steelheads 5-1. Rapid City took the win with a breakaway goal from Deni Goure. Goure’s second goal of the game was assisted by Joni Jurmo and Billy Constantinou.
The Rush won 4-3 after being outshot 44-38 by the Steelheads. Both teams were unable to find any success on the powerplay as the Rush went 0/5 and the Steelheads went 0/6. But with that, both teams were extremely successful on the penalty kill, with the Rush going 6/6 and the Steelheads going 5/5. Rush goaltender Matt Radomsky made 41 saves on 44 shots for a save percentage of .932, while Idaho’s goalie Ben Kraws had 34 saves on 38 shots for a save percentage of .895.
Friday’s Three Stars
- Rush Forward Deni Goure (two goals, five shots, +2)
- Steelheads Forward Lynden McCallum (two goals, six shots, +3)
- Rush Forward Brett Davis (one goal, one assist, five shots, +1)
Saturday Night Game 3
Compared to Wednesday and Friday’s games, Saturday’s game was a lot quieter. After an even first period with both teams getting seven shots, Idaho came out and outshot the Rush 17-5 in the second. But neither team was able to find the back of the net.
In the third, the Steelheads were getting a lot of shots off still, but the lone puck ended up in the back of the Steelhead’s net. Rush defenseman Billy Constantinou was able to deke around all of the Steelheads players and take the puck to the front of the net to put the puck home himself. Constantinou’s goal came 13:49 into the third and was assisted by Brett Davis.
Rapid City pulled off the win, with Connor Murphy getting his first ECHL shutout in their 1-0 win.
The Rush were outshot 17-37 by the Steelheads, but having the most shots does not always win games. Both teams went 0/5 on the powerplay and 5/5 on the penalty kill, as both teams were able to allow minimal shots when on the penalty kill. Rush goaltender Connor Murphy made 37 saves on 37 shots for a save percentage of 1.00, while the Steelheads goaltender Bryan Thomson made 16 saves on 17 shots for a save percentage of .941. Connor Murphy’s performance earned him the Flashing the Leather award for the night.
Saturday’s Three Stars
- Rush Goaltender Connor Murphy (37 saves on 37 shots)
- Rush Defenseman Billy Constantinou (one goal, two shots, +1)
- Steelheads Goaltender Bryan Thomson (16 saves on 17 shots)
This series was by far Rapid City’s best series in a long time. Every player showed up for 60 minutes all three nights, and the team never backed down. Every player was on the ice, wanting to win and trying to win. This series marks the first time that the Rush have swept the Steelheads in Boise.
The Rapid City Rush and Idaho Steelheads will face off again, but this time, they will be in Rapid City, South Dakota. The two teams will play a two-game series on Friday, November 22, and Saturday, November 23, with puck drop at 7:05 pm MT both nights.
