RAPID CITY, S.D. – With a sold out crowd of 5,119 in attendance, the Rapid City Rush kicked off their 5th year anniversary in the Black Hills with a 3-2 win over the Denver Cutthroats on Friday night. 
Jordan Baker paced the Rush with two goals while Tim Boron turned away 37 shots in the first home game of the 2012-2013 season.
Spoiling the early festivities, the Cutthroats got on the board first, and in a hurry. Just 1:23 into the contest, a turnover by the Rush outside of their blueline led to a point-blank chance by Luke Fulghum who rifled a wrist shot from the right faceoff dot for the 1-0 lead.
Not to be outdone, the Rush lit the lamp just forty-five seconds into the middle stanza, tying the game on a rebound power play goal from Jordan Baker who tapped home a loose puck along the goal line. Then, with only 2:40 remaining in the period, hard work by Jarrett Konkle deep in the Denver zone led to a chance for Scott Wray who banked a shot in from the left faceoff circle to give the Rush a 2-1 lead heading into the third.
It took until the 15:40 mark, but Jordan Baker fired home his second goal of the evening to double the Rush lead by a play set up by Riley Weselowski. Not going down without a fight, the Cutthroats answered right back on the following shift with a goal from Luke Fulghum pulling the Cutthroats to within one. Despite a late penalty against the Rush, and with the goaltender pulled, the Cutthroats could not find the equalizer as the Rush held on for the 3-2 victory.
Special teams decided the game as the Rush went 2-for-4 on the power play while shutting down all eight of the Cutthroats man-advantage chances. The Rush now head to Denver to complete the home-and-home series against the Cutthroats tonight at 7:05 p.m. Contact comments@prohockeynews.com Follow us on Twitter @prohockeynews
