Mavs Drop Two of Three in Rapid City

RAPID CITY, SD - The Mavericks began a three game road trip to Rapid City on Wednesday night to face-off with the Rush.  The two Mountain Division foes would conclude the series with a weekend set on Friday and Saturday night.

On Wednesday night, the Mavericks came out firing with chances coming left and right.  Rapid City goaltender David Tendeck was equal to the task, shutting down the Mavericks in the first period.  Kansas City goaltender Daniil Chechelev recorded a perfect period as well, and the first period would finish scoreless.

In the second period, the Rush would score the lone goal of the 20 minutes taking a 1-0 lead to the third.  It was in the third period where the Mavericks hit their stride.  Bryan Lemos put the Mavericks on the board 4:43 into the period and then, Jesse Mychan would score the game winning goal at 9:50.  Kansas City would outshoot the Rush 42-25 and go on to win 2-1.  View the full box-score here.

Friday night would be a different story.  The Rush jumped out to a 2-0 lead after one period and by the 18:51 mark of the second, they had extended their lead to 4-0.  The Mavericks would get one back late in the second on a goal by Tommy Muck at 19:32.

In the third period, the teams each traded two power play goals, but the Rush added an equal strength goal at 13:58 to defeat the Mavericks by a final of 7-3 on Friday night.  View the full box-score here.

The Mavericks would look to bounce back on Saturday night to close out the trip, but would fall behind quickly yet again.  The Rush scored the first three goals of the game, including one just 1:16 in being the teddy bear toss goal.  After the bears were all picked up off the ice, the Rush struck again on back to back power plays at 5:41 and 12:46 to make it 3-0 Rapid City.  Kansas City would respond with a goal at the 18:10 mark by Ben Johnson.

The Rush would score two more power play goals in the second, making the deficit 5-1 for the Mavericks.  Tommy Muck would score his second of the series in the third period short-handed.  However, the Rush would shut down all Maverick attempts after that and go on to win by a final of 5-2.  View the full box-score here.