Fitze and Manning Scored for Utah in 3-2 Loss at Rapid City
Rapid City, South Dakota – The Utah Grizzlies got second period goals from Dylan Fitze and Luke Manning but it wasn’t enough as the Rapid City Rush got 3 primary assists from Ryan Wagner and Nathan Torchia saved 44 of 46 to earn his first professional win in a 3-2 Rush win on a Wednesday night at The Monument.
Deni Goure gave Rapid City a 1-0 lead 6:54 in with Wagner and Blake Bennett getting the assist. Rush led 1-0 after 20 minutes of play as Utah outshot RC 13 to 8 in the period and 46 to 28 in the contest.
Manning got Utah on the board 3:24 into the second period as he picked up his 15th goal of the campaign. Manning has 7 goals in his last 14 games. Matt Araujo and Cooper Jones, both former Rush defensemen, got the assists. Just 36 seconds later Dylan Fitze scored his 9th of the season and 59th in a Grizzlies uniform to give Utah a 2-1 lead. Utah now has 88 second period goals on the season.
The Rush scored a pair of power play goals to make the difference in the game. Blake Bennett scored his 27th goal in just his 35th game of the season to tie up the contest 10:27 in. Ryan Wagner centered a pass to Chaz Smedsrud 17:34 in to give RC a 3-2 lead. Rush went 2 for 3 on the power play, Utah was 0 for 4.
Neither team scored in the third period as Utah outshot RC 19 to 5. Utah goaltender Jake Barczewski stopped 25 of 28 in the loss. His record goes to 14-15-2-1 on the season. Reilly Connors led Utah with 8 shots on goal.
The Grizzlies final road trip of the 2024-25 season continues at Rapid City on Friday night at 7:05 pm.
3 stars
Nathan Torchia (RC) - 44 of 46 saves. First pro win.
Ryan Wagner (RC) - 3 assists.
Chaz Smedsrud (RC) - 1 goal, 2 shots.
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