Gems pushed out of playoffs

“It’s been an underlying theme all year — underdog scrapper, until the end,” said an emotional Brian Gratz. “We pushed them pretty good.

“I believed in this team.”

Dayton pulled goaltender Derek MacIntyre for an extra attacker with 2:02 left and pressed but couldn’t come up with the tying goal.

“It was an incredible series,” said Rush coach Joe Ferras, relieved his veteran team was able to sweep the fast, competitive Gems. “The team that coach Gratz put together, that’s the new hockey.”

The season-ending loss was particularly tough on this tight-knit group.

“Everyone agrees, we’ve never been with a group of hockey players like this before,” said MacIntyre, who is retiring from the game. “It was truly a joy, which makes it worse that it’s come to an end.”

“We talked about how much we really enjoyed playing with each other,” said captain Greg Labenski, who is contemplating another year in hockey. “It showed all season long.”

The Gems displayed heart all night. Derek LeBlanc made it 2-1 for the defending CHL champions late in the first and Les Reaney extended the lead at 4:24 of the second. But Dayton stormed back 25 seconds later with a goal from Damian Surma. Moments later, Jonathan Ornelas rang a wrist shot off of Danny Battochio’s post, narrowly missing the equalizer.

A Dave Grimson power-play goal put Rapid City up 4-2 but again, Dayton hit back, this time with a Brandon Naurato power-play marker late in the second.

“Everyone was willing to work for each other,” said MacIntyre. “It’s a testament to the fight we had.”

“We showed a lot of courage,” added forward Mike Vaskivuo. “In the playoffs, you have to give it your all and have no regrets.”

Dayton was down early when Colt King converted a Josh Beaulieu pass for a short-handed goal 5:43 in. Matt Szypura responded immediately with a point shot that beat Battochio with just three seconds left in Dayton’s power play, which energized the small but loud Hara crowd.

“Hopefully, the group we have here we can bring back and use this experience to grow and improve,” said Gratz.