Rapid City Rush The Rapid City Rush are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL which are currently affiliated with the National Hockey League ' s Arizona Coyotes and the American Hockey League ' s Tucson AHL team . Based in Rapid City , South Dakota , the Rush play their home games at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center . History . On June 2 , 2007 , the Central Hockey League announced an expansion team for Rapid City , which began play in the 2008 – 09 season . Two months later , the team named Joe Ferras as their head coach and Director of Hockey Operations , and Jason Rent as General Manager . Jason Rent resigned from the organization and Tim Hill was named General Manager in the spring of 2009 . In September 2007 , the Rush unveiled their name , colors , and logo . The team is owned in majority by Scott Mueller . Mr . Mueller was previously involved in ownership with the Colorado Eagles , also of the Central Hockey League . Barry Petersen and Luke Petersen are combined minority owners . In their second season ( 2009 – 10 ) the Rapid City Rush defeated the Allen Americans 4 to 3 with 39 . 3 seconds left in double - overtime in game 6 of the Ray Miron President ' s Cup Finals at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City to win the Ray Miron President ' s Cup . The Rush lost game one of the series but rebounded to win game 2 in overtime on a Blaine Jarvis goal . The Rush then traveled to Allen for three straight games where Allen won game 3 but the Rush responded to win games 4 and 5 . In game six of the series , it returned to Rapid City and looked as if there would be a game 7 when entering the third period with the score 3 - 1 in favor of the Americans . The Rush ' s Blaine Jarvis scored with 5 : 06 remaining in the third to bring the Rush within one . Exactly two minutes later , Brendon Cook scored , evening the score at 3 and forcing overtime . With 39 . 3 seconds left in the second overtime , a shot by Les Reaney deflected off the Allen goaltender Chris Whitley and the Rush ' s Scott Wray , rolling into the goal , sealing the win for the Rush and their first President ' s Cup . During the 2010 – 11 season , the Rush were the host to the 2011 Central Hockey League All - Star Game . The Rush ended up losing to the All - Stars 11 - 6 . Also , the Rush made the playoffs for the second straight season . In the first round , the Rush swept the Dayton Gems . During the second round against the Fort Wayne Komets , the Rush ' s leading scorer , Ryan Menei , was blindsided in game 2 on a dirty hit by the Komets ' Sean O ' Connor . O ' Connor was suspended the rest of the series and the Rush went on to win the series in 7 games . Next , the Rush faced their arch rivals , the Colorado Eagles . The series lasted 7 games but the Eagles came away with the series win . The 2012 – 13 season brought new changes to the Rush organization . Assistant coach and former team captain Mark DeSantis accepted the head coaching position with the Fayetteville FireAntz of the Southern Professional Hockey League ( SPHL ) and head coach , Joe Ferras , became the lone bench boss for the season . Rush All - Star and fan favorite goalie Danny Battachio was able to return to the team after suffering a serious injury in the 2011 – 12 season . During the regular season , inconsistent play left the Rush battling for a play - off spot and were plagued with a low - scoring offense ( last in the league ) . The Rush finished the regular season strong , finishing fourth in the regular season standings . For the 2014 – 15 season , Rapid City announced that former assistant coach and team captain Mark DeSantis would return as an associate coach . DeSantis had a successful 2013 – 14 season as the head coach of the expansion Brampton Beast . In addition , several roster changes were made . Goaltender Tim Boron was released and former CHL Rookie of the Year Danny Battochio was signed to replace him . Also , longtime team captain Scott Wray and Konrad Reeder both announced their retirements . On October 7 , 2014 , soon before the 2014 – 15 Central Hockey League season was set to begin , it was announced that the CHL had ceased operations and the Rush , along with the Allen Americans , Brampton Beast , Quad City Mallards , Missouri Mavericks , Tulsa Oilers , and Wichita Thunder , were all approved for membership into the ECHL for the 2014 – 15 season . On August 11 , 2015 , the Rush announced that they had signed a one - year affiliation agreement with the National Hockey League ' s Arizona Coyotes and the American Hockey League ' s Springfield Falcons . This marks the first time the Rush has ever been affiliated with an NHL team . On February 18 , 2016 , head coach and general manager , Joe Ferras , announced he was stepping down from his coaching position and promoting Mark DeSantis to head coach .