RAPID CITY - The Oklahoma City Blazers overcame an early Rapid City lead for the second straight night Saturday to gain the weekend sweep and send the Rush to its eighth loss in the past 10 games, 3-1.
After being pushed around and outshot by the Blazers en route to a 4-2 loss Friday night, Rapid City (15-25-8 overall) withstood the Oklahoma City speed and physicality better, but still bowed at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Ice Arena.
The Rush showed some early flash Saturday. The contest was less than four minutes old when Derek LeBlanc took an assist from Jon Pelle on a breakaway and buried it on the league's top-ranked goalie, OKC's Doug Groenestege.
But like Friday, Oklahoma responded with three unanswered goals.
Tyler Fleck, Reagan Leslie and Jeff MacDermid tallied for the Blazers (29-13-6).
However, two apparent Rapid City goals were waved off after referee Tom Steinel ruled both to have resulted from hand passes.
Fleck's slapper from just inside the blue line clanked off the crossbar and tied the score on a power-play with 9:04 left in the first.
Leslie's long-range wrister gave the Blazers the lead just 1:31 into the second period.
Rapid City's Joey Olson celebrated what would have been the tying score with 6.5 seconds left in the period. But Jon Pelle's assist to Olson was ruled to be an illegal hand pass.
McDermid netted the insurance goal with 4:47 left, but another apparent Rapid City lamp-lighter was denied 1:47 later.
Matt Zultek appeared to touch up the rebound of Pelle's wrister, but Steinel also ruled that shot to have come off Zultek's hand.
Groenestege made 23 saves to pick up his 17th win. Rapid City goalie Miguel Beaudry stopped 24 but slipped to 13-15-6 with the loss.
Oklahoma City coach Doug Sauter saw no dispute in the waved-off goals.
"Both calls were good ones, we got a couple of breaks there. Another referee would have missed them," Sauter said. "It's one thing to get some bad calls that go against you, but in both cases they were hand passes."
"It was a hard-fought game all the way through. We worked hard and played what we call Blazer hockey in our own zone," Sauter said.
Rapid City coach Joe Ferras, ejected with 32 seconds left for a game misconduct call for abuse of officials, withheld final judgment on the goals that weren't until after review of tapes.
"I haven't seen the game tape, but the first goal looked like a good goal. The last one I still don't know because the video ran so fast," Ferras said.
"We played a great game. I thought we played well enough to win," Ferras said. "We had tons of chances but we can't score. It's been our dilemma all year long.
"The frustration level is enormous, but we've got to just keep playing through it," Ferras said.
The big winner for "Pink at the Rink" night was the cause of breast cancer research and awareness. The second straight sold-out crowd of 5,199 spectators helped raise more than $10,000 in donations, prompting Rush player R.G. Flath to have his head shaved during the second intermission.
An auction of special one-game pink game jerseys worn by the Rush was still going on at news deadline.
Net proceeds from the fund drive and auction were to be split between the Rapid City Regional Hospital Foundation and Susan G. Komen For the Cure.
