The Rapid City Rush continue their Stock Show Road Trip in Portland, Maine, this weekend, looking to end their road trip on a high note.
Last Week
The Rush had a rough start to their Stock Show Road Trip last week in West Valley City, Utah, where they took on the Utah Grizzlies. The Rush were swept by the Grizzlies, losing by scores of 2-4, 3-6, and 2-4. This was a series where there were not a lot of positives to take away from the series, but there were a lot of plays that the Rush will be able to use to learn and grow from. The Rush were able to score one powerplay goal during the series, allowing them to go 1/6 on the powerplay. They were also able to prevent Utah from scoring any powerplay goals, going 6/6 on the penalty kill, and they were even able to score a short-handed goal against the Grizzlies. Even though the Rush were able to find some success with their special teams, nothing else seemed to click for the team. The biggest issue the Rush had was playing a full 60 minutes. The Rush had multiple leads slip away from them due to them stepping off the gas and not playing a full 60 minutes. As the Rush gets closer to the end of the regular season, the team is going to struggle more if they are not able to play a full 60 minutes.
Milestones
The main milestone that could be hit this weekend is forward Alex Aleardi hitting 100 ECHL goals as he currently sits at 97 goals. In 41 games played this season, Aleardi has 14 goals and 26 assists for 40 points. He has 26 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -2. In 213 ECHL games played, Aleardi has 97 goals and 109 assists for 206 points. He has 126 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +16.
There are two other milestones coming up for Rush players, but both players are currently on injured reserve. If activated from injured reserve, defenseman Kenton Helgesen could play in his 100th game with the Rush, as he currently sits at 98. This season, Helgesen has played in eight games where he has zero goals and one assist for one point. He has 14 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -2. With the Rush, Helgesen has played in 98 games where he has seven goals and 31 assists for 38 points. He has 141 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +1. In his ECHL career, he has played in 212 games where he has 18 goals and 59 assists for 77 points. He has 235 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -23.
The second player who could hit a milestone, if activated from injured reserve, is defenseman TJ Fergus, who 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.
Roster Moves
The Rush saw a few changes to their roster this week, with a couple of players leaving and a new player signed. The Rush announced earlier in the week that defenseman Will Riedell has been called back up to the Calgary Wranglers in the AHL. Riedell has played 18 games with the Rush this season, where he has two goals and five assists for seven points. He has 11 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -5. With the Wranglers, he has played in seven games where he has zero goals and three assists for three points. He has seven penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +1.
The Rush claimed defenseman Billy Constantinou off waivers from the Maine Mariners as well. In 29 games played with the Mariners, Constantinou had one goal and ten assists for 11 points. He had ten penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -12.
The Rush also announced that they have placed defenseman Nick Parody on waivers. Parody played in 12 games with the Rush, where he had zero goals and one assist for one point. He had zero penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -6. Parody was claimed off waivers by the Savannah Ghost Pirates.
Familiar Faces
While the Rush have not played the Mariners before, there are some familiar faces on the Mariners team. Mariners defenseman Jason Horvath had a short stint with the Rush last season, where he played in ten games. With the Rush, he had zero goals and three assists for three points. He had six penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -2. Horvath recently joined the team after playing overseas and in a Canadian league. In two games with the Mariners, Horvath has yet to get a point or penalty minute but has a plus/minus of +4.
Mariners goaltender Brad Arvanitis spent time with the Rush at the end of the 2021-22 ECHL season as well as the start of the 2022-23 season. In six games played with the Rush, he had a record of 3-2-1. On 214 shots faced, Arvanitis had 197 saves and 17 goals against for a goals against average of 2.84 and a save percentage of .921. This season, Arvanitis has played in 18 games with the Mariners, where he has a record of 11-4-1. He has faced 548 shots where he has 509 saves and 39 goals against for a goals against average of 2.39 and a save percentage of .929.
This Week
The Rush faceoff against the Maine Mariners for the first time this weekend. Both teams have been having rough seasons and are looking to make a potential push for a playoff spot. The Mariners are currently 19th in the league with a record of 17-17-5-0 for 39 points and a win percentage of .500. They are 6-4-0-0 in their last ten games and have a record of 7-9-3-0 at home. The Rush are currently 25th in the league and have a record of 17-22-2-0 for 36 points and a win percentage of .439. The Rush are 3-7-0-0 in their last ten games and are 9-12-1-0 on the road. This weekend could be an interesting series as neither team has played each other prior to this weekend. The first game may be a slower-paced game, specifically the first period, as both teams will be figuring out how the other team plays, but the rest of the series could be very fun and interesting to watch as the two teams fight to earn the most points out of the series.
Start times for this series are different than usual for Rush fans as the team is in the Eastern Time Zone. The series will start Friday evening at 5:15 p.m. MST, continue on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. MST, and conclude Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. MST.
