TULSA, Okla. – Keanu Yamamoto and Calder Brooks each had a goal and an assist but the Rush gave up an early lead and were beaten by the Tulsa Oilers in overtime 4-3 on Saturday night at the BOK Center.
Rapid City got the scoring started on its first shot of the game. Yamamoto gained the zone and saucered a pass to Zach Court cutting in from the left wing. In one motion, Court chipped the puck top shelf past Colten Ellis and the score was 1-0.
The Rush added to that lead later in the opening period on its first power play of the game. Ryan Zuhlsdorf found Yamamoto at the right wing and he skated the puck to the top of the right circle. Yamamoto darted a wrist shot through traffic that beat Ellis low on the glove side and the lead grew to 2-0.
Rapid City struck again just one minute into the second when Zuhlsdorf hit Max Coatta who gained the zone with a three-on-one advantage. Coatta found Brooks in the slot and he slung a shot high past Ellis’s blocker, pushing the lead to 3-0.
Tulsa got on the board five minutes later as a puck bounced to Max Golod alone at the right circle. He fired a wrist shot through traffic and past Daniil Chechelev to make it 3-1.
The Oilers then evened things in the third period with a pair of goals separated by just 36 seconds. First, Logan Nijhoff lunged to a loose puck and flicked it top shelf and in as he tumbled down to the ice. Then, Jarod Hilderman fired a wrist shot from the slot that ramped off a Rush defenseman’s stick. It caromed through Chechelev and into the net, tying the score at three.
From there the game moved to overtime and in the final minute of OT, the Rush turned the puck over in the defensive zone and Blake McLaughlin grabbed it along his left wing. He slid a pass to Eddie Matsushima in front of the net. Matsushima deked to his backhand and roofed a shot past Chechelev for the game-winning goal.
Brooks and Yamamoto each had a goal and an assist, Zuhlsdorf had two assists and Chechelev made 32 saves in the losing effort. The Rush earned a point and moved to 18-17-1-0 on the season while Tulsa improved to 11-14-6-1.
Rapid City will now head to Kansas City for a Monday night tilt against the Mavericks. Puck drop at Cable Dahmer Arena is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CT.
