The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Fights highlight rivalry between Gems, Rush

Dayton, Rapid City face off for the last time this season.

High school sports results for May 26
5/26/12
Reds' six-game winning streak broken
5/26/12
Annual Warrior Soccer Classic kicks off today
5/26/12
Dragons' rally falls short against Lansing
5/26/12
WSU baseball ousted from tournament
5/26/12
> More sports headlines

By David DiCenzo, Contributing Writer 8:18 PM Monday, January 30, 2012

TROTWOOD — Geographically, it’s a rivalry that doesn’t make sense. But four games in 12 days — on the heels of a hard-fought playoff series last spring — might explain why the Dayton Gems and the Rapid City (S.D.) Rush have a disdain for each other.

Incidents in recent meetings add fuel to a potential grudge match when the Turner Conference foes face off for the last time this season at Hara Arena tonight (puck drops at 6:30).

Last week in Rapid City, Anthony Perdicaro confronted Dayton’s new enforcer, Robin Richards, immediately after a line change, which earned the Rush rookie an automatic three-game suspension (a player has to be involved in a play before fighting). Last Friday, the Gems’ Kyle Bochek was hit with a one-game suspension for a kneeing major and game misconduct after injuring Rush scoring leader Jesse Schultz.

Bochek sat out Dayton’s 4-3 comeback win over the Evansville IceMen on Saturday, when a record crowd of 5,187 fans packed Hara.

“I understood the suspension,” said Bochek, a 23-year-old native of Port Severn, Ontario. “It was unintentional. Their player was hurt, which is terrible. I feel bad about it.”

Chatter between the two teams has been growing, but the Gems say they aren’t interested in extracurricular activity.

“We’re clawing to get back into it,” Dayton coach Brian Gratz said. “We’re just preparing to go out and win a hockey game.”

The Central Hockey League put the Gems on notice after Brett Lutes and Brandon Naurato were injured in the same game by former Fort Wayne Komet Danko Mironovic in a game last season. Gratz was told that any retribution outside the rules would be addressed.

Bochek, a mild-mannered guy off the ice, will be prepared whether or not the Rush received a similar warning. He said he knows how he’s perceived and that playing hard-nosed hockey means lines are sometimes crossed.

“If it were to happen to one of my teammates, I would do the same,” he said. “You have to step up and defend the logo on your jersey and your brothers on the team.”

Share this article