RAPID CITY, SD – Colorado put a season-high 41 shots on goal and launched a furious onslaught in the third period, but fell 2-1 to the Rapid City Rush on Saturday. Forward Luke Salazar scored the Eagles lone goal on the night, while goaltender Clarke Saunders provided a bevy of highlight-reel saves throughout the evening, stopping 24 of Rapid City’s 26 shots on net.
Despite being outshot 12-3 in the first period of play, the Rush would net the game’s first goal when forwards Mark Cooper and Ryan Misiak raced down the ice on a 2-on-1 breakaway with Misiak beating Saunders to give the Rush the 1-0 lead at the 11:24 mark of the opening frame.
After a scoreless second period, a Colorado turnover in the neutral zone led to a 3-on-2 rush down the ice for Rapid City, as forward Josh MacDonald tipped a centering pass into the net to extend the Rush’s lead to 2-0 just 1:23 into the third period.
The Eagles would continue their tenacious effort in generating scoring chances and Salazar would find Colorado’s first goal of the night when he smacked a puck out of midair and into the Rapid City net to cut the Rush’s lead to 2-1 with 9:46 remaining in regulation.
Colorado would earn a power play with 1:05 left in the contest and would create a 6-on-4 man-advantage when they pulled Saunders in favor of the extra attacker. The move would lead to multiple chances, but Rush goalie Adam Morrison would deny all of them, en route to a 40-save performance and a 2-1 Rapid City win.
Colorado continues their five-game road trip as the Eagles travel to Charleston, South Carolina to face the South Carolina Stingrays on Thursday, November 17th at 7:05pm MT.
With Colorado Eagles release
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