RAPID CITY, S.D. – Alex Aleardi scored his eighth goal in the past seven games but the Rapid City Rush could not manage anything else as they were beaten by the Allen Americans 4-1 on Thursday night at The Monument Ice Arena.
Allen opened the scoring in the first period after a Rush turnover in their defensive zone. Hank Crone snapped a pass to Colby McAuley who was alone in front of the net. He fired a shot that snuck through Adam Carlson and the Americans took a 1-0 lead.
The Americans extended that lead early in the second when Crone skated the puck along the left wing boards and found a trailing Kris Mylarri at the blue line. He one-timed a shot that blasted through traffic and between the legs of Carlson to make it 2-0.
Rapid City got on the board at the midway point of the period when Matt Marcinew found Rory Kerins at the top of the left circle. Kerins looked off the defense and snapped a pass to Aleardi at the right circle. He sent a slap shot sailing past Chase Perry and the lead was cut to 2-1.
The Rush dominated the third period and outshot the Americans 16-6 in the final frame but Perry made every save. Rapid City eventually pulled Carlson for an extra attacker but Allen cashed in with a pair of empty net goals from Mylarri and Mikael Robidoux, pushing the score to its 4-1 final.
Carlson stopped 21 of the 23 shots he faced and Perry made 40 saves on 41 shots in the Allen net. The Rush dropped to 30-33-1-0 while the Americans improved to 31-30-1-1. Rapid City and Allen will face off again on Friday night. It’s College Night and the first 500 fans 21 and over will receive a free Bud Light trucker hat. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at The Monument Ice Arena.
