RAPID CITY, S.D. – Peter Quenneville hit pay dirt on the power play at 7:58 of the final period, and coupled with Hunter Garlent’s goal and assist, Cedric Montminy’s pair of helpers, and Dave Tendeck’s 22 saves, powered the Rapid City Rush to a 3-2 win over the Kansas City Mavericks on Friday night. The win gives the Rush four straight dating back to April 21st, and further maintains their 4th playoff position in the Western Conference with 18 games remaining.
Both teams traded three goals within a span of 2:16 in the first period, but the Rush left the opening frame up by one. Hunter Garlent started the scoring entries when he received a drop pass inside the blue line by Mike Hedden. Garlent went full wind up and unleashed a rocket of a shot over the shoulder of Mavericks goalie Matt Ginn, giving the Rush a 1-0 lead 10:36 into the game (Hedden and Cedric Montminy assisted). However, exactly 22 seconds later, Phil Marinaccio tied the game at 1-1 by burying a Brodie Reid pass right in front of the Rush net, squeaking it by Rush net-minder Dave Tendeck at 10:58 of the period (Reid and Rob Bordson assisted). Not to be outdone, Charlie Curti rounded out the scoring entries on an offensive zone draw 1:56 later. With 7:08 left in the first, Cedric Montminy won a faceoff clean to Curti at the blue line. He fired a shot through traffic that careened off of a Mavericks defender and past Ginn, re-establishing the lead at 2-1 for the Rush after 20 minutes (Montminy had the lone assist).
Both teams didn’t score in the second period, but the final 20 minutes saw the combatants power plays strike in the third frame. Rob Bordson tied the game from the high slot after a stellar passing sequence between Brodie Reid, Marcus Crawford, and Phil Marinaccio. Bordson’s shot whizzed by Tendeck, squaring the game at 2-2 (Marinaccio and Crawford assisted). However, the Rush received a power play of their own shortly after that, re-took the lead, and never looked back. After Avery Peterson won the faceoff back, the puck was worked all the way around to Hunter Garlent and down behind the goal line to Tyler Coulter. Coulter feathered a pass through traffic to Peter Quenneville on the backdoor, with the latter rifling a shot past Ginn to vault the Rush to a 3-2 advantage with 12:02 left in the game (Coulter and Garlent assisted). The Rush hammered the Mavericks with 18 shots in the final period, and staved off a late rally with Ginn pulled for the extra attacker, claiming the series opener with a 3-2 victory.
Dave Tendeck earned the win in his third straight appearance for the Rush, stopping 22 of 24 shots in the victory (7-8-0-0).
The Rush and Mavericks continue their “three-in-three” series tomorrow night in their second game. Puck drop for round two on “Kentucky Derby Night” is slated for 7:05 p.m. at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Ice Arena.
