Rapid City Rush
CityRapid City, South Dakota
LeagueECHL
ConferenceWestern
DivisionMountain
Founded2008 (In the CHL)
Home arenaThe Monument
ColorsRed, black, white
     
Owner(s)Idaho Steelheads
Head coachScott Burt
MediaKFXS "100.3 The Fox"
AffiliatesCalgary Flames (NHL)
Calgary Wranglers (AHL)
Websiterapidcityrush.com
Franchise history
2008–presentRapid City Rush
Championships
Division titles1 (2010–11)
Conference titles1 (2009–10)
Ray Miron President's Cup1 (2009–10)
Current season

The Rapid City Rush are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL based in Rapid City, South Dakota, and play their home games at The Monument. The Rush are currently a minor affiliate of the Calgary Flames NHL franchise.

History

On June 2, 2007, the Central Hockey League announced an expansion team for Rapid City, which began play in the 2008–09 season.[1] Two months later, the team named Joe Ferras as their head coach and director of hockey operations, and Jason Rent as general manager.[2] Rent resigned from the organization, and Tim Hill was named general manager in the spring of 2009. In September 2007, the Rush unveiled their name, colors, and logo. The team is owned in majority by Scott Mueller. Mueller was previously involved in ownership with the Colorado Eagles, also of the Central Hockey League. Barry Petersen and Donald Ward are minority owners.

In their second season (2009–10), the Rush defeated the Allen Americans 4–3 with 39.3 seconds left in double-overtime in Game 6 of the Ray Miron President's Cup Finals at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City to win the Ray Miron President's Cup. The Rush lost Game 1 of the series, but rebounded to win Game 2 in overtime on a Blaine Jarvis goal. The Rush then traveled to Allen for three straight games, where Allen won Game 3, but the Rush responded to win Games 4 and 5. In Game 6, the series returned to Rapid City, and initially looked as if there would be a Game 7 entering the third period with the score 3–1 in favor of the Americans. The Rush's Blaine Jarvis scored with 5:06 remaining in the third to bring the Rush within one. Exactly two minutes later, Brendon Cook scored, evening the score at 3 and forcing overtime. With 39.3 seconds left in the second overtime, a shot by Les Reaney deflected off the Allen goaltender Chris Whitley and the Rush's Scott Wray, rolling into the goal, sealing the win for the Rush and their first President's Cup.[3]

During the 2010–11 season, the Rush were the host to the 2011 Central Hockey League All-Star Game. The Rush ended up losing to the All-Stars 11–6. Also, the Rush made the playoffs for the second straight season. In the first round, the Rush swept the Dayton Gems. During the second round against the Fort Wayne Komets, the Rush's leading scorer, Ryan Menei, was blindsided in Game 2 on a dirty hit by the Komets' Sean O'Connor. O'Connor was suspended the rest of the series, and the Rush went on to win the series in seven games. Next, the Rush faced their arch rivals, the Colorado Eagles. The series lasted seven games but the Eagles came away with the series win.

The 2012–13 season brought new changes to the Rush organization. Assistant coach and former team captain Mark DeSantis accepted the head coaching position with the Fayetteville FireAntz of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) and head coach, Joe Ferras, became the lone bench boss for the season. Rush All-Star and fan favorite goalie Danny Battochio was able to return to the team after suffering a serious injury in the 2011–12 season. During the regular season, inconsistent play left the Rush battling for a play-off spot and were plagued with a low-scoring offense (last in the league). The Rush finished the regular season strong, finishing fourth in the regular season standings.

For the 2014–15 season, Rapid City announced that former assistant coach and team captain Mark DeSantis would return as an associate coach. DeSantis had a successful 2013–14 season as the head coach of the expansion Brampton Beast. In addition, several roster changes were made. Goaltender Tim Boron was released, and former CHL Rookie of the Year Danny Battochio was signed to replace him. Also, longtime team captain Scott Wray and Konrad Reeder both announced their retirements.

On October 7, 2014, soon before the 2014–15 CHL season was set to begin, it was announced that the CHL had ceased operations and the Rush, along with the Allen Americans, Brampton Beast, Quad City Mallards, Missouri Mavericks, Tulsa Oilers, and Wichita Thunder, were all approved for membership into the ECHL for the 2014–15 season.[4][5]

On August 11, 2015, the Rush announced that they had signed a one-year affiliation agreement with the National Hockey League's Arizona Coyotes and the American Hockey League's Springfield Falcons. This marks the first time the Rush has ever been affiliated with an NHL team.[6] On February 18, 2016, head coach and general manager, Joe Ferras, announced he was stepping down from his coaching position and promoting Mark DeSantis to head coach.[7] On July 14, 2016, the Rush and the Coyotes organization renewed their affiliation along with the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL.[8]

After one-and-a-half seasons, DeSantis was fired.[9] He was replaced by former Rush captain Daniel Tetrault for the 2017–18 season as head coach.[10] The Rush also changed their affiliations to the Minnesota Wild (NHL) and the Iowa Wild (AHL)[11] but ended it after one season.[12] The Rush entered the 2018–19 season independent of an affiliate after three seasons of affiliations and missed playoffs.[13]

On January 11, 2019, the Rush announced an ownership change with Barry Peterson departing and Jeff Dickerson and T.J. Puchyr of Spire Sports + Entertainment joining. Scott Mueller remained the majority owner.[14] On July 24, 2019, the Rush began a two-year affiliation agreement with the Arizona Coyotes and the Tucson Roadrunners.[15] By October 2019, Federal Authorities had launched a criminal investigation into possible embezzlement by the team business manager.[16] Spire, as Spire Hockey, became the sole owners of the team in May 2020, and the former business manager was indicted and later pled to embezzlement charges.[17] The former finance manager of the team was found to have stolen nearly $700,000 from the team between 2010 and 2018, eventually being sentenced to three years in prison and $1 million in restitutions.[18]

Following the 2020–21 season, head coach Tetrault and the Rush agreed to end his contract. Over four seasons, Tetrault had led the Rush to a 116–134–25 record and never made a playoff appearance.[19] He was replaced by Scott Burt in July 2021.[20]

On August 25, 2022, the Rush reached an affiliate agreement with the Calgary Flames for the 2022-23 season.[21]

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL=Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalty infraction minutes

Regular season Playoffs
Season GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA PIM Standing Year 1st round 2nd round 3rd round Finals
2008–09 64 22 33 2 7 53 183 231 1376 3rd, Northwest Division 2009 did not qualify
2009–10 64 43 14 1 6 93 253 197 1334 1st, Northern Conference 2010 — W, 4–0, MO W, 4–3, B-S W, 4–2, ALN
2010–11 66 40 22 1 3 84 210 200 1285 1st, Turner Conference 2011 W, 3–0, DAY W, 3–2, FW L, 3–4, COL —
2011–12 66 38 22 1 5 82 226 176 1142 4th, Turner Conference 2012 — L, 2–4, FW — —
2012–13 66 35 24 2 5 77 177 179 1118 4th, CHL 2013 — L, 2–4, MO — —
2013–14 66 39 23 1 3 82 220 189 1088 4th, CHL 2014 — L, 3–4, QC — —
2014–15 72 37 28 2 5 81 218 206 1229 3rd, Central Division 2015 W, 4–3, QC L, 2–4, ALN — —
2015–16 72 30 35 3 4 67 177 210 974 4th, West Division 2016 did not qualify
2016–17 72 26 38 8 0 60 215 256 917 7th, Mountain Division 2017 did not qualify
2017–18 72 25 41 3 3 56 203 268 1161 7th, Mountain Division 2018 did not qualify
2018–19 72 30 33 5 4 69 168 225 1541 6th, Mountain Division 2019 did not qualify
2019–20 60 29 25 5 1 64 181 200 974 5th, Mountain Division 2020 Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 71 32 35 3 1 68 197 232 847 7th, Western Conference 2021 did not qualify
2021–22 72 36 25 6 5 83 241 232 888 2nd, Mountain Division 2022 W, 4–1, ALN L, 2–4, UTA — —
2022–23 72 33 34 5 0 71 242 272 973 6th, Mountain Division 2022 did not qualify

Players

Current roster

Updated December 2, 2023.[22][23]
Team roster
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
42 United States Alex Aleardi (A) C R 31 2022 Fort Wayne, Indiana Rush
91 United States Blake Bennett F L 25 2023 Grand Island, New York Rush
10 Canada Maurizio Colella LW L 26 2023 Tottenham, Ontario Rush
– Canada Ty Enns LW L 25 2023 Cartwright, Manitoba Rush
19 Canada T.J. Fergus D L 26 2023 Oakville, Ontario Rush
11 Canada Riley Ginnell LW L 21 2023 Calgary, Alberta Rush
23 United States Brett Gravelle F L 28 2021 Forest Lake, Minnesota Rush
77 Canada James Hardie LW L 22 2023 Barrie, Ontario Rush
8 Canada Kenton Helgesen (C) D L 29 2021 Fairview, Alberta Rush
44 Canada Tyson Helgesen D L 26 2022 Fairview, Alberta Rush
3 Canada Zack Hoffman D R 26 2023 Newcastle, Ontario Rush
9 Canada Keltie Jeri-Leon RW R 24 2023 Kelowna, British Columbia Rush
59 Canada Rhett Kingston LW L 26 2023 Okotoks, Alberta Rush
47 Canada Charles Martin D R 25 2023 Blainville, Quebec Rush
32 United States Connor Murphy G L 25 2023 Hudson Falls, New York Wranglers
28 United States Logan Nelson (A) C R 30 2021 Rogers, Minnesota Rush
12 United States Weiland Parrish C L 26 2023 Bloomington, Minnesota Rush
29 United States Jason Pawloski G L 28 2023 Omaha, Nebraska Rush
31 Canada Matt Radomsky G L 24 2023 Winnipeg, Manitoba Wranglers
13 Canada Jimmy Soper LW L 28 2023 Waterloo, Ontario Rush
20 United States Keanu Yamamoto RW R 27 2022 Spokane, Washington Rush
– Canada Brandon Yeamans C R 25 2023 Maple, Ontario Rush

References

  1. ^ "Rapid City, SD to join Central Hockey League in 2008-09". National Hockey League. June 2, 2008. Retrieved March 14, 2012.[dead link]
  2. ^ "Rapid City Names GM & Head Coach". Central Hockey League. August 2, 2007. Archived from the original on November 11, 2007. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
  3. ^ "Rush Win Ray Miron President's Cup With Double OT Win". OurSports Central. May 5, 2010. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  4. ^ "CHL Clubs Join ECHL for 2014-15 Season". Central Hockey League. October 7, 2014. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  5. ^ "ECHL Accepts Seven Members". ECHL. October 7, 2014. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  6. ^ "Coyotes Announce New Affiliation Agreement with Rapid City of ECHL". Arizona Coyotes. August 11, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  7. ^ "Ferras Steps Down". OurSportsCentral. February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  8. ^ "Rush Re-Affiliate with Coyotes". OurSports Central. July 14, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  9. ^ "DESANTIS RELIEVED OF COACHING DUTIES". Rapid City Rush. April 21, 2017. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  10. ^ "TETRAULT NAMED RUSH HEAD COACH". ECHL. June 9, 2017. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  11. ^ "RUSH JOIN FORCES WITH MINNESOTA, IOWA". ECHL. June 19, 2017. Archived from the original on June 19, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  12. ^ "Rush and Wild Part Ways". OurSports Central. June 29, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  13. ^ Preston, Geoffrey (October 1, 2018). "Rush hit the track to start training camp". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  14. ^ "RUSH ANNOUNCE CHANGE IN TEAM OWNERSHIP". Rapid City Rush. January 11, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  15. ^ "RUSH TO BE PROUD AFFILIATE OF NHL'S ARIZONA COYOTES". Rapid City Rush. July 24, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  16. ^ Thompson, Nathan (October 4, 2019). "Rapid City Rush ownership seeks investigation into team's finances". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  17. ^ Long, Steve (May 16, 2020). "Spire Hockey purchases majority interest in Rush: Committed to Rapid City". KOTA-TV. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  18. ^ Zionts, Arielle (October 19, 2020). "Former finance manager gets 3 years in prison for stealing $700K from Rapid City Rush". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  19. ^ "Tetrault and Rush Mutually Agree to Part Ways". OurSports Central. June 15, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  20. ^ "Scott Burt Named Rapid City Rush Head Coach". OurSports Central. July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  21. ^ "Flames name Rapid City Rush as ECHL affiliate". Calgary Sun. August 25, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  22. ^ "Rapid City Rush Elite Prospects". EliteProspects. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  23. ^ "Rapid City Rush roster". Rapid City Rush. December 2, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2023.

External links

Calgary Flames
Calgary Wranglers
ECHL (2023–24)
Central Hockey League (1992–2014)
Sports teams based in the Dakotas
Rapid City, South Dakota
Categories