Rapid City Rush facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rapid City Rush
City	Rapid City, South Dakota
League	ECHL
Conference	Western
Division	Mountain
Founded	2008 (In the CHL)
Home arena	The Monument
Colors	Red, black, white
Owner(s)	Spire Sports + Entertainment
Head coach	Scott Burt
Media	Rapid City Rush on Mixlr"
Affiliate(s)	Calgary Flames (NHL) Calgary Wranglers (AHL)
Website	rapidcityrush.com
Franchise history
2008–present	Rapid City Rush
Championships
Division Championships	1 (2010–11)
Conference Championships	1 (2009–10)
Ray Miron President's Cup	1 (2009–10)
Current season

The Rapid City Rush is a professional ice hockey team. They are based in Rapid City, South Dakota. The team plays its home games at The Monument. The Rush is part of the ECHL league. They are also a minor team connected to the Calgary Flames in the NHL. This means they help develop players for the NHL team.

The Rush Begins!

The Rapid City Rush team started on June 2, 2007. The Central Hockey League announced this new team. They began playing in the 2008–09 season. A few months later, Joe Ferras became their first head coach. Jason Rent was named the general manager. Rent later left, and Tim Hill took over as general manager in 2009. In September 2007, the team showed off its name, colors, and logo. Scott Mueller is the main owner of the team. He also owned part of the Colorado Eagles team before. Barry Petersen and Donald Ward are also owners.

Winning the Championship

In their second season, 2009–10, the Rush had an amazing year! They played against the Allen Americans in the Ray Miron President's Cup Finals. The Rush won the championship in Game 6. The score was 4–3 in double-overtime. This exciting game happened at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City.

The Rush lost the first game of the series. But they came back to win Game 2 in overtime. Then, the teams traveled to Allen for three games. Allen won Game 3. However, the Rush fought hard and won Games 4 and 5. The series returned to Rapid City for Game 6. It looked like there might be a Game 7. The Americans were leading 3–1 in the third period.

But the Rush did not give up! Blaine Jarvis scored a goal with 5:06 left. This made the score 3–2. Exactly two minutes later, Brendon Cook scored to tie the game at 3. This forced overtime! With only 39.3 seconds left in the second overtime, Les Reaney shot the puck. It bounced off the Allen goalie and Scott Wray. The puck rolled into the net! This goal sealed the win for the Rush. They won their first President's Cup!

All-Star Game and Playoff Battles

During the 2010–11 season, the Rush hosted the 2011 Central Hockey League All-Star Game. The Rush team played against the All-Stars. They lost the game 11–6. The Rush also made it to the playoffs for the second year in a row. In the first round, they easily beat the Dayton Gems.

In the second round, they played the Fort Wayne Komets. The Rush's top scorer, Ryan Menei, got hurt in Game 2. The Komets' Sean O'Connor hit him. O'Connor was suspended for the rest of the series. The Rush went on to win the series in seven games. Next, the Rush faced their rivals, the Colorado Eagles. This series also went to seven games. But the Eagles won in the end.

Team Changes and New Challenges

The 2012–13 season brought some changes. Assistant coach Mark DeSantis left to coach another team. Joe Ferras became the only head coach. Goalie Danny Battochio returned after being injured. The team struggled to score goals that season. They finished fourth in the league standings.

For the 2014–15 season, Mark DeSantis returned as an associate coach. He had been a successful coach for another team. There were also changes to the player roster. Goalie Tim Boron left. Danny Battochio, a fan favorite, came back. Longtime team captain Scott Wray and Konrad Reeder retired from playing.

Joining the ECHL League

On October 7, 2014, something big happened. The Central Hockey League stopped operating. The Rapid City Rush, along with six other teams, joined the ECHL league. This was for the 2014–15 season. This was a new start for the team in a different league.

New NHL Connections

On August 11, 2015, the Rush made a deal. They became connected to the National Hockey League's Arizona Coyotes. They also connected with the American Hockey League's Springfield Falcons. This was the first time the Rush had a link to an NHL team!

On February 18, 2016, Coach Joe Ferras stepped down. Mark DeSantis became the new head coach. On July 14, 2016, the Rush continued their connection with the Coyotes. They also added the Tucson Roadrunners from the AHL.

After a season and a half, Coach DeSantis was replaced. Former Rush captain Daniel Tetrault became the head coach for the 2017–18 season. The Rush also changed their NHL connection to the Minnesota Wild. Their AHL team was the Iowa Wild. But this connection only lasted one season. For the 2018–19 season, the Rush played without a direct NHL team connection. They also missed the playoffs.

Changes in Ownership

On January 11, 2019, the team got new owners. Barry Peterson left. Jeff Dickerson and T.J. Puchyr from Spire Sports + Entertainment joined. Scott Mueller remained the main owner. On July 24, 2019, the Rush again connected with the Arizona Coyotes and the Tucson Roadrunners.

In May 2020, Spire Hockey became the only owners of the team. A former team manager had caused some financial problems for the team. These issues were investigated and later resolved.

After the 2020–21 season, Coach Tetrault left the team. He had coached the Rush for four seasons. He was replaced by Scott Burt in July 2021. On August 25, 2022, the Rush made a new connection. They joined with the Calgary Flames for the 2022-23 season.

Season Records

This table shows how the Rapid City Rush has done each season. 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