Rapid City wins game two

INDEPENDENCE , Mo. – After an embarrassing 5-1 defeat in Game One of the Northern Conference Semi-finals, the Missouri Mavericks looked to salvage a split of the first two games of the series. The Mavericks could not afford to lose both games at home, before traveling to Rapid City for the next three games of the series. Doing so would be catastrophic to their hopes of moving on to face the winner of Colorado and Bossier-Shreveport.
Missouri had a tough time matching the intensity and fast pace of the Rush in Game One.   That wouldn’t be a problem in this game, however, as Missouri went toe to toe with Rapid City all night long.
The Mavericks came out in the first period with a lot of intensity, and their sense of urgency was palpable. Missouri would out shoot the Rush in the first period 10-3, but neither team found the back of the net in the opening session.
The first period was an obvious boost of confidence for the Missouri team, but that would change when Rapid City’s Les Reaney knocked a rebound past Mavericks goalie Gerry Festa to give the visitors the first lead of the game at the 8:01 mark.
The Mavericks, possibly showing their youth, seemed to let that first goal get under their skin, as they had dominated the game play over the first thirty minutes of play. However, the veterans on Missouri’s roster stepped up and put the team back on track. Missouri center Bill Vandermeer would tie the game, on an unbelievable individual effort, with his third goal of the playoffs at the 14:56 mark. Vandermeer’s tally was an apparent shot in the arm for the Missouri team, as they continued to take it to the top-seeded Rush for the rest of the game.  
In the third period, the Mavericks appeared to take the lead when Rush goalie Danny Battochio had a attempted shot squeeze through his pads and Mavericks forward Jeff MacDermid poke it across the goal line. However, the referee had already blown the play dead, and the goal would be disallowed.  
Rapid City would take advantage of their good fortune and a few minutes later, David Wray would streak into the Mavericks zone and rip a wrister past Festa for his second goal in as many nights to put the Rush ahead 2-1.  
The Mavericks had several chances to knot the game back up, as they peppered Battochio with 17 shots on goal in the final frame. However, the Rush net minder was equal to the challenge, as he was in Game One as well, and would lead his team on to a crucial road sweep of the Missouri Mavericks.  
The series now shifts to Rapid City and their home arena for the next three games of the series. The two teams will face off for Game Three Wednesday night at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center as the Rush will try to strengthen their hold on this series.  
Contact the author at joe.rozycki@prohockeynews.com