PORTLAND, Maine – The Rapid City Rush, proud affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, defeated the Maine Mariners 5-0 at Cross Insurance Arena on Friday night.
The Rush opened the scoring with Simon Boyko getting his first ECHL goal 8:31 into the first period. Boyko has now completed nine ECHL games, four of them with the Rush after his call-up from the SPHL’s Fayetteville Marksmen.
After holding a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period, the Rush exploded for three goals on ten shots in the second period. Maurizio Colella deflected in long shot from Keanu Yamamoto to extend the lead to 2-0. Less than a minute later, Brett Gravelle capitalized on a feed from Logan Nelson and get his 13th goal of the season.
At 11:32 into the second period, Riley Ginnell created a turnover and worked down the boards to find Yamamoto who scored to make it 4-0. Ginnell’s assist marked his first professional point after a stellar junior career in the OHL.
In the third period, Billy Constantinou earned his first goal as a Rush defensemen, beating his old team for his second overall goal of the year.
Matt Radomsky turned out 36 shots in his first professional shutout. Radomsky has now made 796 saves this season and leads the ECHL in saves made.
Rapid City’s victory snaps a five-game losing skid and puts the Rush within striking distance of the Mountain Division’s final playoff spot. The 5-0 victory is also the first regulation road win on a Friday this season for R.C.
The Rush and Mariners square off again tomorrow night at 4:00 p.m. MT from Cross Insurance Arena for the middle game of a three-game set.
