(RAPID CITY, SD) – Eric Levine made 26 saves for the Colorado Eagles, who blanked the Rapid City Rush behind Jesse Mychan’s two-goal performance in a 3-0 win on Sunday afternoon.
Both teams failed to score until 10:26 of the second period, marking 30:26 of scoreless hockey. Jesse Mychan broke the scoreless deadlock with his first of two goals on the night, banking the puck off of Rush netminder Danny Battochio from behind the goal and in, giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead with 9:34 remaining in the second (Ludwig Karlsson and Collin Bowman received the assists).
That 1-0 score would remain until the early stages of the third period when Collin Bowman added his second point of the game with his seventh goal of the season. Battochio stopped a shot from Kyle Ostrow in the far faceoff dot and Bowman swooped in a knocked the rebound by an outstretched Battochio, doubling the Eagles advantage to 2-0 with 16:08 left in the game (Ostrow and Kyle Kraemer notched the assists). Mychan ended the scoring entries with his second on a deflection from a Joe Zarbo shot, that gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead with exactly five minutes remaining in regulation (Zarbo earned the only assist). Despite the best efforts of the Rush, out-shooting the Eagles 14-12 in the final period, Colorado goaltender Eric Levine hung on for his second shutout of the year, blanking the Rush by a 3-0 score on 26 saves.
Danny Battochio made 25 saves on 28 shots faced in the loss (8-6-2).
The Rush await their former CHL and ECHL Central Division rivals, the Tulsa Oilers, who come to town to take on the Rush on Thursday, December 31st, and Saturday, January 2nd, the latter of which marks the first game of the new year for the Boys from the Black Hills. Puck drop for the New Year’s Eve showdown is slated for 6:35 p.m. MST, while Saturday’s showcase, featuring “Halfway to Fourth of July Night” with baseball specialty jerseys, is set for 7:05 p.m. MST.
