Rookie Zach Josepher scored his second goal of the season and Charles LaChance notched the assist but Rapid City scored three unanswered goals, including two in the third, to pull out a 5-1 win against the St. Charles Chill.
Both teams killed off a pair of power plays in the opening period but the Rush (29-18-1) took a 1-0 lead on a goal from Eric Giosa at the 6:32 mark. They carried that lead into the locker room despite the Chill putting on the late pressure and outshooting Rapid City 9-8 for the period.
The Rush stretched their lead to 2-0 midway through the second period on a power play goal, the first allowed by the Chill on the road trip, but St. Charles (10-34-5) battled back. Just over three minutes later, Zach Josepher notched his second of the year on an assist from Charles LaChance to close the gap at 2-1. Rapid City would not take long to respond, stretching their lead back to two goals just 35 seconds later on the tally from Winston Day Chief. The Rush would carry a 3-1 lead into the second intermission.
After getting outshot by eight in the second period, the Chill came out firing but could not crack the top goalie in the league, Tim Boron. Seemingly riding his momentum, the Rush took control of the game midway through the third when Kyle Stroh pushed the lead to 4-1 and less than a minute later Giosa added his second for a 5-1 lead.
The Chill kept the pressure on in the third, outshooting the Rush for the second straight period but Boron kept them off the board the rest of the period to pick up the 5-1 win.
St. Charles heads to Brampton for the last of three games in four days starting Friday at 6:00 p.m. before returning to the Family Arena February 28th for Brett Hull Night and Mascot Madness with a specialty jersey auction to benefit Mercy Kids. Pay What You Want Night is Saturday, March 1st with a family-oriented Mardi Gras Party. For more information on the Chill, or for group tickets, call 636.724.SHOT (7468) or visit www.stcharleschill.com.
