Rapid City SD – The building sounded subdued on the broadcasts for much of Sunday afternoon, a day after a 3-0 shutout loss, and the 2,764 fans at The Monument watched the Rapid City Rush outshoot the Kansas City Mavericks 41-33 and still come away with nothing.
Kansas City won 3-2 on Lucas Sowder’s first goal of the season midway through the third period, completing a weekend sweep in Rapid City. The Rush, 3-0-0 after Friday’s home opener, are now 3-2-0.
A quiet first
Neither team scored in the first period. Kansas City held a 12-10 edge in shots, and Rush goaltender Shane Farkas stopped all 12. Rapid City went 0-for-2 on the power play, drawing an Owen Lindmark interference call at 6:57 and an Aidan Fulp tripping minor at 19:38.
Two quick ones, then a reply
The Mavericks scored twice in 1:44 early in the second. Ryan Lautenbach opened the scoring at 3:53, from Lindmark and Zacharie Giroux, and Nolan Walker made it 2-0 at 5:37, from Justin Janicke.
Rapid City answered on the power play. With Alex Swetlikoff off for tripping, Ryan Mahshie scored unassisted at 10:08, his first of the season. The Rush controlled the rest of the period, outshooting Kansas City 20-11, but Mavericks goaltender Logan Terness kept it 2-1.
Shorthanded, and tied
Eric Parker went off for high-sticking at 2:32 of the third, and 50 seconds later Quinn Olson tied the game, shorthanded and unassisted, for his first goal of the season.
Sowder put Kansas City back in front at 12:26 at even strength, from Swetlikoff and Lautenbach. The Rush got one more power play when the Mavericks were called for too many men at 17:12, and pulled Farkas for an extra attacker for the final 53 seconds, but couldn’t find the tying goal.
The penalty kill
The bright spot for Rapid City was the kill. Kansas City went 0-for-4 on the power play, and the Rush scored a shorthanded goal. The unit is run this season by assistant coach John Mitchell, according to the Rush’s pregame broadcast. Mitchell joined the Rush in June from the NAHL’s Wisconsin Windigo, where he was named NAHL Coach of the Year in 2025.
In goal
Terness made 39 saves on 41 shots for the win and was named the game’s first star. He also played the final 35:43 of Saturday’s combined shutout, stopping all 15 shots he faced, and finished the weekend 54-for-56.
Farkas made 30 saves on 33 shots and was the second star. Sowder was third.
Backing up Farkas was Brett Mirwald, claimed off waivers from the Allen Americans on Thursday, a day after Allen released him. Mirwald made the drive up from Texas and was dressed as Farkas’s backup by Sunday afternoon, according to the Rush’s pregame broadcast. The 23-year-old went 5-0-1 with a 1.58 goals-against average and .950 save percentage for Allen late last season, opening his pro career with back-to-back shutouts.
Saturday
Kansas City won Saturday 3-0 in front of 3,245. Swetlikoff and Andrei Loshko scored in the second period and Lautenbach added an empty-net goal. Connor Murphy and Terness combined on the shutout; Owen Say took the loss for Rapid City with 28 saves on 30 shots.
Across the two home losses, the Rush scored twice.
Rapid City heads to Rio Rancho, N.M., for games against the New Mexico Goatheads on Oct. 30 and 31.
Game details are from the official ECHL game sheets for Oct. 24 and Oct. 25, 2026. Background on Brett Mirwald and John Mitchell, player names and the upcoming schedule are from Rapid City Rush and Kansas City Mavericks news releases. Additional color is from the Kansas City Mavericks and Rapid City Rush radio broadcasts.
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