ALLEN, Texas – The Rapid City Rush got goals from five different players and erased multiple deficits but were eventually beaten by the Allen Americans 7-5 in a wild, back-and-forth game on Sunday afternoon at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center.
Allen jumped out to an early lead thanks to three first period goals. Colton Hargrove cashed in with a pair of power play tallies, both one-timers from the right circle. And the Americans pushed their advantage to 3-0 after Hargrove found Hank Crone off a two-on-one break for a back side tap-in that got past a sprawling Daniil Chechelev.
Rapid City then got its scoring started after Tyson Helgesen had a backhanded shot attempt blocked. He dove for the rebound and nudged it to Max Coatta who snapped a shot on the short side. It beat Luke Peressini and the Rush were on the board.
Early in the second period Weiland Parrish sped down the left wing and sent a cross-ice pass to Zach Court at the right circle. Court clapped a one-timer past the lunging Peressini and the score was 3-2.
Rapid City tied it after Keanu Yamamoto rimmed a puck around the end boards that took a fortunate bounce from behind the net to the top of the crease. Matt Marcinew jumped on it and fired a shot past the unsuspecting Peressini to even things at three.
The Rush grabbed their first lead of the game following the conclusion of a power play chance. Yamamoto carried the puck from the left circle toward the front of the net. He flipped a wrist shot high on the glove side past Peressini to give the Rush a 4-3 lead.
Allen then regained the lead early in the third. First, Liam Finlay burst out of the defensive zone and charged in with a breakaway. He deked to his forehand and roofed a shot past Chechelev to tie the game. Later, Grant Hebert slid a pass to Crone on the back side for a one-timer from the right circle. He shot it past Chechelev and the Americans took a 5-4 lead.
Rapid City tied the game again later in the third after Alex Aleardi intercepted a pass in the attacking zone. He toe-dragged into a snap shot that got past Peressini high, squaring the score at five. But Allen answered as Stefan Fournier grabbed a rebound in front of the net and stuffed it through Chechelev for the go-ahead goal. The Americans then got an empty net goal from Mikael Robidoux with one minute remaining to push the score to its 7-5 final.
Marcinew scored for the fourth consecutive game and Aleardi and Yamamoto each had a goal and an assist in the loss. The Rush fell to 24-29-1-0 in the loss while Allen improved to 28-25-1-0. Rapid City will now return home for its next six games. It begins on Thursday night against the Wichita Thunder and puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at The Monument Ice Arena.
