TULSA, OK. – Peter Quenneville logged multi-goal games in back-to-back nights, ending it with the game-winner 16 seconds into overtime to vault the Rapid City Rush to a 3-2 win on Sunday afternoon over the Tulsa Oilers. The win gives the Rush the series against the Oilers with two out of three games and sole possession of 5th in the Western Conference, 0.032% behind Utah for the last playoff spot with 25 games remaining in the season.
The first goal of the game didn’t come until the second period, and it was Tulsa that struck in quick succession to build a lead. Vincent Marleau started things off for Tulsa on their second power play of the game when he got just enough of a net front rebound through traffic and past Rush net-minder Adam Carlson, giving the home side a 1-0 lead at 9:23 of the second (Gregg Burmaster and Austin McEneny assisted). Exactly 26 seconds later, Matt Lane led a three-on-one charge down the ice, took a pass from Marleau, and fired a shot off the glove of Carlson and in, instantly doubling the Oilers lead to 2-0 at 9:49 (Marleau had the lone assist). Moments later, Peter Quenneville struck for the first of two times to cut the deficit heading into the locker room. With 8:50 left in the period, Avery Peterson won an offensive zone draw cleanly to Quenneville, who launched a rocket over the shoulder of Tulsa goalie Devin Williams, halving the Oilers lead to 2-1 (Peterson had the lone assist).
Only one goal was scored in the third period and it belonged to the Rush, who used it to tie the game and force the eventual overtime period. At 7:32 of the third, Butrus Ghafari unleashed a pass up to Hunter Garlent, who cut to the center of the Tulsa zone. Garlent backhanded the puck towards Cedric Montminy’s stick, deflecting it past Williams to square the game at 2-2 (Garlent and Ghafari assisted). For a second straight game, “free hockey” was necessary to determine a winner.
If you blinked, you missed the overtime winner because it came 16 seconds into the seven minute period. After the Rush won the draw, the puck was worked up to Tyler Coulter, who dropped it for Quenneville up the near wall. Quenneville circled to the high slot and rifled a shot past Williams, sealing the win of both the game and the series for the Rush with a 3-2 victory.
Adam Carlson stopped 35 of 37 shots, earning the win in the rubber match (12-8-2-1).
The Rush briefly transition home for a three-game series against the Allen Americans. Puck drop for all three games on Wednesday, April 14th, Friday, April 16th, and Saturday, April 17th, is slated for 7:05 p.m. MDT at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Ice Arena.
