Eagles vs. Rush – A Healthy Rivalry

WINDSOR, Colo. – The relationship between two or more opponents who regularly compete against each other – the definition in the dictionary pertaining to the word “rivalry”. Well, I think the Colorado Eagles and Rapid City Rush have established that, having played 12 games against each other this year already.  We all know the Eagles won nine of those contests, and somehow, even though both finished tied in points and Colorado won the season series, the Rush were awarded the Turner Conference Championship.  Having said this, ignore it and throw all regular season stats out. We are in the playoffs and nothing else matters, except the drop of the puck Friday night in Rapid City and the saga that continues to grow in the best rivalry in the Central Hockey League. With the proximity of the Rush to the Eagles, a rivalry is likely to happen, but with the success of both franchises on and off the ice, a championship rivalry has been born.  The Rush has stolen a page from the Eagles, if not the whole book in creating and molding their own championship franchise in Rapid City. This could be taken as a complement to the Eagles’ franchise and fans except there’s no room for complements in a rivalry of this magnitude. Let’s start at the top, they don’t have a Ralph Backstrom, a six-time Stanley Cup champion and NHL Rookie of the Year. I could go on and on with his vision and his leading the charge for this franchise. What CHL team could be so fortunate?   The Eagles have Martin Lind, majority owner who has brought so much to Northern Colorado with the Eagles – his vision of Water Valley and generosity with charity, donations and foundations, making the area that much more attractive and a pleasure to call home. Rapid City does have Scott Mueller, majority owner of the Rush, a former investor in the Colorado Eagles and good friend of Martin Lind. I have met Mr. Mueller myself, and he’s molded much like Mr. Lind with generosity, personality and vision.

He helped me get Rush tickets for my Rapid City rodeo buddy Julian, who was paralyzed at Cheyenne Frontier Days competing in bareback, who I befriended at Craig hospital. Even though Julian is from Rapid City, deep down he’s a Colorado Eagles fan for life and a big fan of Fraser Flipic for obvious reasons – they are both crazy. At the helm, holding the reins and boss behind the bench, the Eagles have the #1 all-time winning percentage coach in the CHL (.678), coach Chris Stewart. He has won multiple championships with the Colorado Eagles, as you know. But did you know that he coached and helped develop a staggering number of future NHL players during his days coaching Jr. A hockey in Western Canada? Coach Stewart has a knack for winning and gets the most out of his players with his uncanny skill of knowing who to play in any given situation on any given night. His #1 goal every year is to win the last game of the year, which means a championship on a Chris Stewart team, because you never miss playoffs.   Rapid City went out and got themselves an experienced winning coach in Joe Ferras, whose record and numbers don’t compare to coach Stewart, but who has something very important that Stewy wants…the Ray Miron President’s Cup. Assisting both head coaches are former players who have compiled thousands of games, points, penalty minutes and a few championships in many different leagues, levels and teams. I know what Greg Pankewicz brings to a team – passion, work ethic, insight, intensity and a winning mentality that rubs off on the players around him. Coach Pankewicz loves the game of hockey and brings great enthusiasm and energy to the rink every day.   Rush Assistant Coach Mark DeSantis is a very experienced offensive defenseman who played at a high level. I can only imagine he will have his defensive corps ready to defend a potent Eagles offense and at the same time ready to jump up in the play to contribute offensively as did DeSantis in his playing days. Both assistant coaches bring great hockey knowledge and experience to each of their individual teams and players. One of the greatest parts of this brief rivalry is the ability for you, the fan to travel to the opposing team’s arena and watch your team play in enemy territory. It’s not as close as our former in-state rival, the Rocky Mountain Rage, where we used to fill the Broomfield Event Center with as many, if not more Eagles fans than Rage fans.  The drive to Rapid City is around five hours according to which speed devil driver you talk to. Their fans and arena have great energy and makes for a great hockey rivalry atmosphere.  If you can find tickets to the game, as it’s a hot ticket much like an Eagles game, I would recommend you make the trip to Rapid City. I want you to experience this growing rivalry.   I’m hoping to make it to Saturday night’s game in Rapid City, so I can watch this rivalry grow and make my Rapid City rodeo buddy Julian wear his Colorado Eagles jersey (signed by the whole team) and rub an Eagles win in his face. All of these are great intangibles to this rivalry, but we know where the real battle is won – on the ice, the battlefield. We have heard that Rapid City may be bigger, more physical and that the Eagles are faster. My keys to winning are first, whose goaltender is going to step up and be the star of the series. Second are specialty teams, and which team’s power play is clicking and whose penalty kill is pressing and pursing. Discipline defines special teams – the amount of penalties you take and the discipline to work your teams’ PP or PK system. Third are the unsung heros. We all know who the big stars are on each team, but who’s stepping up on the third lines and scoring that big goal, making that big play for their team, decides the winner. Once again, if you can’t get the hottest ticket in town and make it down to the Budweiser Events Center next Tuesday and Thursday, tune into 107.9 The Bear and listen to the three amigos – McGlue, Bach, and Borsh and you won’t miss a minute of Eagles playoff action. Go Eagles! Small steps, Big prayers Borsh 33