RAPID CITY, S.D. – Back on home ice after a pair of losses on the road, the Rapid City Rush took an early lead and never looked back as they defeated the Fort Wayne Komets 6-1 on Sunday evening before a crowd of 4,399 at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Arena. 
Konrad Reeder led the home team with four points, including the opening and closing goals and Tim Boron put on a goal tending clinic in net for Rapid City, remaining cool under pressure as he stopped 42 of 43 shots faced. In the final game of the best-of-five conference semi-final dubbed the “battle of the Champions”, Reeder set the tone early with the first shot of the contest, 1:01 into the first period. In the midst of a flurry of activity in front of the Komets’ net, Reeder backhanded a shot home from the left of the crease. Ryan Menei and Colt King were in on the assist. A tripping call on Colin Chaulk led to the second score, this time by Les Reaney who deflected a Vlad Hartinger shot at the 6:05 mark. Jesse Schultz was credited with a secondary assist. Just under five minutes later, the Rush went up 3-0, again on the power play after a Kneeing call on Fort Wayne defenseman Matt Krug. Riley Weselowski tapped home a rebound with the assists going to Reeder and Hartinger. After a no-goal call by referee Jon McIssac deflated Chaulk, who thought he had scored, the Komets finally got on the board at the 13:56 mark on a power play strike by Derek Patrosso; his first post-season tally. With 16 seconds remaining, the Komets turned the puck over in the offensive zone, resulting in a 3-on-2 rush. In an odd play, the puck was deflected straight up in the air and landed among a group of players before Scott Wray knocked it into the net, giving the Rush a 4-1 lead after one period. The Komets led the shot count 18-12 but the game was firmly in the grasp of the home team. Rapid City sent a message again the second just 2:06 in when Derek LeBlanc deflected a Reeder shot to make it 5-1, putting the kibosh on any thoughts of a Fort Wayne comeback. Kevin Reiter was pulled from the Komets’ net and replaced by Nick Boucher, who looked good in relief, stopping the next 11 shots. The Rush led the shot count in the middle frame 12-9 and had to hold on for 20 minutes more to secure the win. Rapid City would score once more in the third period for the 6-1 victory with Reeder collecting his second goal and fourth point of the night when he netted a rebound from the left circle, securing the 6-1 win for the Rush. The final shots favored the Komets 43-31. Boron tied a personal season-high with 42 saves in the victory, pushing his record with the Rush to 12-3. Reiter was issued the loss with eight saves on 13 shots faced. Nick Boucher stopped 17 of 18 in relief. The Rush will now face the rival Colorado Eagles in the Turner Conference Final.
Both teams finished the regular season with identical records at 40-22-4 and will square-off in a best-of-seven series to earn the Turner Conference crown and a spot in the Ray Miron Presidents’ Cup Finals. The complete schedule, released late on Sunday evening, is as follows: Game 1 – COL @ RPD; Friday, April 29 (7:05 MDT)
Game 2 – COL @ RPD; Saturday, April 30 (7:05 MDT)
Game 3 – RPD @ COL; Tuesday, May 3 (7:05 MDT)
Game 4 – RPD @ COL; Thursday, May 5 (7:05 MDT)
Game 5* – COL @ RPD; Saturday, May 7 (7:05 MDT)
Game 6* – RPD @ COL; Monday, May 9 (7:05 MDT)
Game 7* – COL @ RPD; Wednesday, May 11 (6:35 MDT)
* – If necessary
Contact the writer at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com
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