February 3, 2010
Sundogs fall to Rapid City in overtime
PRESCOTT VALLEY – The Arizona Sundogs extended their points streak to four games falling in overtime, 6-5, to the Northern Conference-leading Rapid City Rush Wednesday night at Tim's Toyota Center.
For the second time in three games Arizona converted with the extra attacker to force overtime.
Trailing 5-4 with less than a minute to play in the contest, Marc Belanger connected on Linus Fagemo centering feed for his third point of the contest with just 21 seconds showing on the clock.
The second-year forward also collected a pair of assists in the overtime loss.
Les Reaney converted on a shortened power play 1:12 into the extra session sneaking a slap shot from the near circle through traffic and past Doug Groenestege.
The Sundogs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on a pair of goals by veteran forward Steve Potvin. Scoring on his club's first two shots, Potvin recorded his sixth and seventh goals of the season.
With his club on the power play, Potvin opened scoring 3:17 into the game redirecting a Belanger wrist shot from the slot past Danny Battochio. Chad Hinz recorded his first of three assists of the contest on the play.
Potvin secured his first multi-goal game of the year just over two minutes later slamming home a rebound at the near post, again from linemates Belanger and Hinz.
Scott Wray converted on Rapid City's second man-advantage chance of the first to cut Arizona's lead in half heading into the first intermission with his first of two markers on the night with 3:45 to play in the opening frame.
The Rush evened the score at two midway through the second period on Blaine Jarvis' ninth of the season as Groenestege collided with bodies in an attempt to make a play on the puck.
Playing in just his 23rd game of the season, Jason Visser reclaimed a one-goal lead for Arizona 35 seconds later with seventh of the year from Kyle Hood and Joey Sides.
Skating down the near boards, Visser snapped a wrist shot high far post past Battochio at 11:58.
Wray's second of the game knotted the score at three with 1:14 to play in the middle frame.
The second-year Rush grabbed its first lead of the game, 4-3, four minutes into the third period as Luke Erickson intercepted a Sundogs outlet pass in the slot, beating Groenestege on a second-chance effort after the netminder made the initial save.
Exiting the penalty box, Jamie VanderVeeken stretched his team's lead to two with his ninth of the year at the 9:33 mark, mishandling the puck on a breakaway chance but seeing the puck cross the goal line.
Fagemo collected his fourth goal in three games a minute later to pull Arizona back to within one with 9:27 to play in the contest sneaking the puck between Battochio's legs and the far post on a wrap-around chance.
Groenestege made 30 saves in the overtime loss while Battochio turned aside 30 shots in the win.
The Sundogs converted twice on six power-play chances while the Rush finished 2-for-4 with the man-advantage.
Earning a point in the overtime loss, Arizona (15-24-5) sits just seven points back of the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, the Corpus Christi IceRays and the Southern Conference's fifth and final playoff spot.
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