Rush ready for a break from the long road trips

By Jim Holland, Journal staff | Wednesday, November 26, 2008

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RAPID CITY — You don’t have to tell the Rapid City Rush that life on the road is tough.

They know.

The Central Hockey League expansion team started its inaugural season with a league-record 14 road games because of ongoing construction at the team’s home arena, a $24 million addition to the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.

As the northern-most franchise in the 17-team league, Rapid City has faced bus rides of more than 24 hours in length to play teams in south Texas. A road swing to Prescott Valley, Ariz., was more than 18 hours — one way.

“That’s a lot of hours and a lot of miles,” said Rush head coach Joe Ferras. “But we knew back when we started that’s how it was going to be.”

 

The shortest commute on the schedule? A mere six-hour ride to northern Colorado, that Ferras said was almost like a home game compared to the longer jaunts.

Ferras and the Rush were striving to come out of the road skein with a .500 record, but Rapid City has won just three times in 13 starts. The team has yet to see victory in five overtime or shootout games during the string, but the one point awarded for a tie at the end of regulation has kept the Rush in second place in the CHL’s Northwest Division.

“It’s difficult to win on the road, playing a team that’s been sleeping in its own beds and skating in its own barn,” Ferras said.

Fatigue has caught up with the Rush as the road trip nears an end.

“The travel has been pretty excessive. I think it caught up to us a bit in the later stages of the 14 games,” said Rapid City defenseman Gio Flamminio. “There are no excuses, but it’s been hard to focus, night after night, to get the job done.”

Not being able to establish a home routine has been difficult, said forward Kyle Sheen.

“You’re on the road for four days and you’re home for two, back on the road for four, home for two,” he said. “It’s hard not being able to get settled at home. A lot of the guys like to go to the gym.”

Then there’s playing night after night in front of a hostile crowd. Sheen says at least that’s not a problem.

“I enjoy it. It’s funny to listen to what some people come up with and say. I build off of it personally,” he said. “Most guys have been playing for four or five years, you’re used to it. So you tune it out most of the time. It can be annoying, depending on how drunk the guy is sitting behind the bench.”

Forward Matt Miller, a newcomer just joining the team last week after playing in England, has seen very little of his new hometown.

“I’ve only been in town three or four days. I got here on Wednesday and we left on Thursday,” he said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the community.” 

Miller and the rest of the Rush will get that chance starting on Saturday when a seven-game home stand starts with the Rush’s first game on home ice at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center at 2:05 p.m.

“It’s been a long time coming, a good opportunity to get back on track. We’ve been struggling pretty heavily the last four games to get much done,” Flamminio said. “The guys are pretty excited about it. It’ll be nice to be able to feed off the crowd and hopefully get some wins.”

Ferras said Saturday’s home debut will be the culmination of more than 16 months work to establish the new franchise.

“We know when we come out of that tunnel Saturday that the place is going to be sold-out and it’s going to be rocking,” he said.