RAPID CITY - The players skate by, passing the puck quickly, as they descend on the goaltender in an odd-man rush. One fires a slap shot which the goaltender deflects to the corner, and the players drift to the sidewall where they take a breather as the next group of players race out to center ice, pick up the puck and begin the same drill again.

It is a feverish pace, and the players only get a short break between drills.

Well, not all of the players.

The goaltenders remain on the ice, kicking or flashing out their pads as pucks are blasted toward the net. It is a non-stop assault in preparation for the season, which begins in earnest in just one week, and Miguel Beaudry and Lanny Ramage are the busiest players in the Roosevelt Ice Arena this week.

The duo has seen thousands of shots and logged heavy minutes during the early days of training camp.

"Considering training camps are so short in this league, you've only got six or seven days to get ready for the season," Beaudry said. "It's important to get all of those shots early. It's tough at the start, but it will pay off at the end."

Beaudry, a five-year veteran of the Central Hockey League, and Ramage, a first-year pro, have drawn high praise from Rush head coach Joe Ferras.

"Their work ethic is off the charts," Ferras said. "The first (four) days of camp they have seen a ton of pucks and logged a ton of hours and zero complaints from either one of them. They just put their head down and go to work every day."

Ramage, who played at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, prior to joining the Rush, said the high-level of play during the first few days of training camp have been fun to watch, even if it means facing an increased workload and getting peppered in goal with a lot of shots.

"The guys are out here to work," Ramage, who racked up a 29-33-10 record at Acadia University, said. "There are a lot more guys here than roster spots, so it makes everyone work a lot harder."

Ramage said there is no real way of preparing during the offseason for facing the amount of shots he and Beaudry have faced so far in training camp.

"Once you get to camp I think you are just mentally focused," he said. "And you know what you are going to be facing and it won't be easy sometimes."

Beaudry is no stranger to the grind of a CHL training camp. The Verner, Ontario, native has played in the CHL for five years, starting his professional career with the New Mexico Scorpions in 2003, and most recently having played for the Austin Ice Bats. Beaudry has played in 208 games throughout his CHL career and has earned a career saves percentage of 91 percent, putting him as one of the top three in this category.

"Miguel played in our league, so I knew what kind of goalie he was," Ferras said. "I know it is three days into training camp, but (both goalies) just look so sharp and in-season form right now."

Even with all of the professional experience, Beaudry said he has traditionally been a slow starter and he's hopeful the increased workload during the early days of training camp will help him avoid the slow starts he's been accustomed to.

"I like to get as many shots as I can," Beaudry said. "For a goalie, it's always a little slower to start, cause you kind of have to zone in on the puck and get used to following the puck after four or five months off. It's tough to kind of get back in the groove."

The benefit of having two capable goalies will pay off during the long season, Ferras said, and already the two goalies have built a healthy bond during training camp.

"Miguel has come in here and is our No. 1 goalie and Lanny is going to compete every night. He wants playing time as well. We have two unbelievable goaltenders here," Ferras said. "The best part about the two of them is they both want to play but they are both great guys and their No. 1 priority is the team wins hockey games. They both push and pull for each other, which is fantastic, and to see the chemistry already between two guys already this early in the training camp is a bonus."

The team heads out of town for a pair of exhibition games, beginning today with Rocky Mountain in Broomfield, Colo., and Saturday with the Colorado Eagles in Loveland, Colo.