UTAH – The Rapid City Rush were strangers to overtime this season until the third period horn sounded Saturday night.
That unfamiliar territory didn’t seem to faze them, however, as 35 extra seconds of their first overtime this year were all that were needed as a rebounded puck found its way to Hunter Garlent, who dropped to one knee and fired a one-timer into an open net to end the game and hand the Rush a 5-4 victory over the Utah Grizzlies at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.
“You’ve just got to be ready to shoot those right away,” Garlent said. “It rolled right right onto my stick and fortunately it went into the net, and we could get two points.”
The win for Rapid City came after it squandered a two-goal lead in the second period and a pair of one-goal leads in the third. The Rush end their eight-game homestand with a 4-4 record and have now won three of their last four games.
“It’s a big confidence-booster, and guys are starting to get some chemistry,” Rush head coach Daniel Tetrault said. “There were a lot of different scorers tonight, and that’s a good sign that we have a lot of skill and talent. If we can keep scoring goals offensively, we should be fine.”
Tyler Coulter collected three points for Rapid City (5-10-0), scoring a goal and adding two assists, including shooting the rebound that Garlent put away for the game-winner. Cedric Montminy tallied two goals and Peter Quenneville added two assists. Gordy Defiel made 29 saves in net.
Matthew Boucher collected one goal and two assists for Utah (6-4-4), and Riley Woods chipped in two assists. Kevin Carr stopped 25 shots in his first game for the Grizzlies.
“It’s a great learning experience today, especially with the style of going up-down up-down,” Coulter said. “Pulling out a win is really good for this club.”
Sporting festive jerseys to celebrate “Rodeo Night,” the Rush didn’t take long to grab an early lead. A rebounded shot from Coulter found its way to Avery Peterson, who buried the second chance effort to get Rapid City on the board 3:04 into the first period.