“Rampage Roundup” is a weekly feature at The Sunshine Skate to keep you in touch with your favorite future Panthers.
Summary:
Due to the Christmas frenzy and holiday travel, we’ve had to push back this week’s Rampage Roundup! The Rampage decided to celebrate with us though with their “Ugly Sweater Night”, a wild 7–3 victory over the Texas Stars last night.
Before we get into that: a flashback to last weekend, which saw the Rampage take a two game trip to Charlotte, North Carolina. The first game, on December 19th, couldn’t be decided in regular time and resulted in San Antonio’s fourth shootout of the season. The team ultimately grabbed the victory, winning 3–2. After a scoreless first period, Blake Parlett scored his third goal of the season, deflecting a shot by the ever-present Mark Mancari. In an active third, Charlotte scored twice, once during the power play with less than three minutes to go. The Rampage were able to tie it up and send the game into overtime with a goal by Ryan Martindale. Taking after their NHL team, the Rampage went seven rounds of the shootout before Alex Petrovic scored on Drew MacIntyre to win it.
Two nights later, the teams met again for a tight rematch, with Dan Ellis only facing three shots in the scoreless opening period. The Checkers got on board first, with a goal by Phil Di Giuseppe. The Rampage answered halfway through the second with Steven Hodges’ first AHL goal. However, Charlotte would retake the lead less than four minutes later with a goal by Chad LaRose. The third period was once again tight and aggressive, with multiple penalties on both sides and few shots on goal. A scuffle at the beginning of the third resulted in fighting penalties for Connor Brickley and Mackenzie Weegar along with Charlotte’s Kyle Hagel and Dennis Robertson. The Rampage’s effective power kill kept them in the game until Ben Holmstrom’s empty netter solidified the Checkers’ victory. Despite the loss, the Rampage managed to outshoot their opponent 26–15.
Last night’s game against the Texas Stars saw a new line combination, a breakout performance by Rocco Grimaldi, the long awaited return of Quinton Howden, and the continued dominance of the second line. Nine players notched at least a point, with six of those having a multi-point night. Bobby Butler returned to the lineup for the first time since the middle of the month with two assists along with the return of Howden, who played only his sixth game of the season. In a game riddled with fighting in the opening and closing periods as well as multiple power play opportunities for the Stars (and only one for the Rampage), all 10 of the goals were scored during even strength. Last night’s game was also one of the rare times the Rampage’s opponent outshot them (18–36), despite San Antonio’s high conversion rate. The 7–3 victory saw Dan Ellis facing 36 shots, defending all but three of them.
Impact players:
Alex Petrovic (2G, 10A) scored the only goal during the December 19th shootout to give the Rampage the victory and earned the first star of the game. Petrovic suffered a minor injury during that game, allowing for Jesse Blacker to making his debut for the Rampage. Blacker was traded along with a conditional draft pick by the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Colby Robak at the beginning of December. Petrovic returned to the lineup last night.
Steven Kampfer (7G, 6A) had a near-record 10 shots on goal during the Rampage’s first game against the Checkers. Despite not being able to score, Kampfer remained active and physical, spending some time in the box for roughing and holding penalties. He returned to form again last night with his seventh goal of the season, three SOG, and a +4 rating.
San Antonio’s second line, consisting of Connor Brickley, Drew Shore, and Mark Mancari, has been a major part of the Rampage’s offense and crucial to their November win streak. In the past 19 games, dating back to November 1st, that line has picked up 17 goals and 35 assists for a total of 52 points; Charlotte’s victory on Sunday can be attributed in part to their ability to shut down their offensive effectiveness. However, last night each picked up one assist in addition to a goal for Shore.
Last night’s game also featured a new line combination, consisting of Rocco Grimaldi centering Quinton Howden and Logan Shaw. That line resulted in three of the night’s goals and eight assists. Howden (0G, 5A on the season) had his first multi-point game since early March with four of those assists while Grimaldi had a career-high five point game (1G, 4A last night). Shaw, along with Garrett Wilson, had a multi-goal night, the first of his AHL career. Overall, Ryan Martindale’s absence due to the Spengler Cup in Switzerland proved to result in necessary lineup changes and a lively, entertaining game.
Upcoming games:
The Rampage continue their busy weekend with two more back to back games on December 27th and 28th. The Oklahoma City Barons visit on Saturday, while the Stars will get a rematch on Sunday at home. The struggling Stars (11–10–8–0) will look to avenge last night’s loss and try to inch back towards playoff contention, as they currently sit three points behind the Western Conference’s 8th ranked Hamilton Bulldogs, with two games in hand. The Barons (18–7–2–2) lead the West division and are second in Conference. The Rampage (17–9–2–0) will need solid victories against these division rivals before a monstrously busy first week of January, which will have them play five games in seven days.
Video Recap:
Missed “Ugly Sweater Night”? Check out the highlights!
Natalija can be reached for contact on Twitter.
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