RAPID CITY, SD – It was a good old-fashioned goaltenders battle in Rapid City, South Dakota on Friday, but it would be Rush netminder Daniil Chechelev coming out on top, stopping 33 shots to outduel Wichita Thunder goaltender Evan Buitenhuis in a 2-1 Rapid City victory. Buitenhuis finished with 25 saves. Dominic Dockery had the lone goal for the Thunder.

Wichita controlled play early on, getting several good scoring opportunities early in the contest, but it would be Rapid City who would take the lead 13:24 into the first period. Jon Martin made a nice move around a Thunder defenseman, moving in on Buitenhuis before beating him over the shoulder for his seventh goal of the year.

The one goal advantage remained until almost the identical point in the second period. That is when Brett Gravelle extended the lead to two. Matt Marcinew moved down the slot, leaving a drop past for Gravelle, who buried a wrist shot for his second goal of the year.

The Thunder had no answers for Chechelev and with good reason, as Rapid City was doing a great job of maintaining control the puck. That gave Wichita just 17 shots through the first two periods, but they would duplicate that number in the third, putting up 17 against the Rapid City netminder, enabling them to pull within a goal.

At 11:27, Dockery took a shot from the point that tipped off a Rapid City defenseman and past Chechelev for his first professional goal. That made it 2-1, but the Thunder could not find the equalizer. Chechelev stopped seven shots in the final seven minutes of the game, including four great opportunities in the span of 28 seconds just after the 13-minute mark.

The Thunder went 0-4 on the power-play and killed off both opportunities for Rapid City on the man advantage.

The Wichita Thunder (11-8-2) remain and Rapid City to take on the Rush (13-8-0) to complete their three-game set on Saturday. The puck drops at 8:05 Wichita time.

Gamesheet

by Robert Pannier