WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – Alex Aleardi scored and Adam Carlson made 29 saves but the Rapid City Rush were beaten by the Utah Grizzlies 3-1 on Wednesday night at Maverik Center.
The Rush struck first in the opening period during the waning seconds of a penalty kill. Ryan Zuhlsdorf forced a turnover along the blue line and chased down the puck in the neutral zone. He hit Aleardi speeding into the attacking zone. Aleardi carried the puck in on net and flipped a wrist shot past Trent Miner to put the Rush on top, 1-0.
Utah answered one minute later with a power play strike. Andrew Nielsen took a slap shot from the point that navigated traffic and beat a screened Carlson, tying the game at one.
The Grizzlies then took the lead in the second when Nielsen hit Cameron Wright with a stretch pass and sprung him for a breakaway. Wright sent a snap shot top shelf past Carlson’s glove and Utah led, 2-1.
That lead held until the final minutes of the third period when the Rush pulled Carlson for an extra attacker. After a flurry of chances, Matt Marcinew had a shot blocked and Brandon Cutler ran it down for Utah. He held off Marcinew and Zuhlsdorf on his way down the ice and backhanded the puck into the empty net, pushing the score to its 3-1 final.
Aleardi scored the lone goal for the Rush and Carlson made 29 saves on 31 shots in the loss. Rapid City fell to 20-19-1-0 while Utah improved to 17-20-1-0 in its win. The Rush and Grizzlies will meet again on Friday night in West Valley City. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. at Maverik Center.
