(RAPID CITY, SD) – The line combination of Cody Ferriero, Ryan Misiak, and Lindsay Sparks scored all three Rapid City Rush goals as the home side claimed two points, and 5 of the possible 6 in their three-game series, in their finale against the Alaska Aces on Sunday afternoon, doing so with a 3-1 win.
Both teams skated to a scoreless first period, but the Rush offense came out in the second period striking twice in quick succession. With 9:51 played in the second, Cody Ferriero found Lindsay Sparks from the Rush blue line to the near wall of neutral ice, and Sparks came flying into the Aces zone. Sparks’ initial shot was stopped by Alaska goaltender, Jacob DeSerres, but Sparks grabbed the rebound and sent by the rookie, giving the Rush a 1-0 lead for the first time in this three-game set on his second goal with the Rush (Ferriero and Brett Kostolansky registered the assists). Exactly 90 seconds later, Ryan Misiak notched his third goal in a Rush uniform to double his club’s lead, hacking away at a loose puck to the side of DeSerres’ net that was set up by a James Melindy shot. The Rush carried that 2-0 lead into the final period, with the last goal coming on assists from Ferriero (his second of the game) and Melindy.
The Aces made things interesting when they cut their deficit in half at the 9:15 mark of the final period. With 10:45 left in the game, Garrett Haar notched his second of the year on a shot from the far faceoff circle in the Rush zone that beat Rush net-minder, Danny Battochio, to bring his team within striking distance at 2-1 (Ben Lake and Anthony DeLuca got the helpers). Cody Ferriero would help the Rush put the Aces out of the game with his third point of the game, waltzing the puck into an empty Aces net to eventually give the Rush a 3-1 win (Day Chief and Straight notched the assists).
Danny Battochio has won three starts in a row for the third time this season, stopping all but one of the 34 shots thrown towards his net (16-14-3).
The Rush will play in their second straight “three-in-three”, starting this Friday against the Quad City Mallards. Puck drop at the iWireless Center on February 26th is slated for 6:05 p.m. MST.
