LOVELAND, Colo. – The shift to the Budweiser Events Center didn’t fare well for the Rapid City Rush who fell 7-4 to the Colorado Eagles Tuesday night. Colorado’s special teams scored four goals – two on the power play and two short-handed and Andrew Penner earned his seventh win of the post-season in the third game of the Turner Conference final. 
The tone of the game was set in the first two minutes of the game, with each team scoring on their first shot. Colorado got on the board first when a neutral zone turnover during a shift change for the Rush sent Daymen Rycroft on a breakaway, beating Danny Battochio to the back of the net to make it a 1-0 contest. Konrad Reeder answered in kind, beating Andrew Penner with his shot from the right circle, fed by Ryan Menei to tie it at 1-1. Just past the midway point of the frame, the roughhousing started up between Colorado defenseman Joe Grimaldi and Colt King, earning each a two minute cool down period in the penalty box. Les Reaney tallied his league-leading eighth goal of the post-season late in the period to give the Rush a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission with a 13-12 shot advantage. Colorado sent in just six shots in the middle frame but scored two special teams goals as a result starting with Jason Beatty’s short-handed and unassisted strike from the left circle at the 6:01 mark to make it a 2-2 contest. Three and a half minutes later, Kevin Ulanski made the best of a 5-on-3 opportunity, accepting a Riley Nelson’s pass from the right to the left circle and then sending a wrister home for the 3-2 lead. A slashing call on Adam Chorneyko at the 2:38 mark led to a power play tally by Brendon Hodge nine seconds later. Les Reaney’s shot hit the goal post and the puck landed at the ready for Hodge, who fired it into the net before Penner could react. The game was now tied at three. 39 seconds later, Chorneyko took advantage of a Rush turnover, wristing a shot over the glove hand of Battochio to take back the lead for the Eagles. Less than a minute later, Kyle Peto’s wrist shot from the blueline was tipped home by Daymen Rycroft for his second tally of the game. Les Reaney got into a scrap with Joe Grimaldi and his double minor provided time for another power play strike by the Eagles. This time, Dan Sullivan shot from the right hash marks, sending the puck through the five hole of Battochio, ending the goaltender’s night while establishing a 6-3 lead. Former Eagle Tim Boron entered the net in relief. Scott Wray sent in a wrap around at the 8:22 mark, making it a 6-4 contest but with less than three minutes to play, Riley Nelson netted another short-handed tally, providing the 7-4 win for Colorado. Andrew Penner stopped 33 of 37 shots to earn his seventh post-season win. Danny Battochio took the loss, stopping 20 of 26 shots faced in 45:53 behind the crease while Tim Boron stopped 5 of 6 shots faced in relief. G ame Four of the series will be played Thursday, May 5th at the Budweiser Events Center with a 7:05 p.m. MST start time. Contact the writer at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com
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