The 2011-12 San Antonio Rampage went farther than any team in franchise history, advancing to the second round of the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs for the first time. While they did ultimately lose the series in five games, the Rampage generally fought hard in each of them, taking three of the final four games to overtime.
The first period on Friday began poorly for the Rampage with only 2 shots in the opening 14 minutes of the game, finishing the period with 7. Four seconds before the end of the first, Oklahoma City scored on a man advantage. The Barons would add another powerplay goal in the second, with the Rampage answering back with one of their own late in the middle period. The third was where San Antonio looked their best, limiting the Barons to only nine shots. OKC took a 3-1 lead two minutes into the third, but the Rampage tied the game with back-to-back goals 22 seconds apart. The tie would last 12 minutes, when Michal Repik was called for goaltender interference. The Barons scored on the powerplay and held the lead, resulting in a ticket to the AHL Western Conference Final. Recap and video after the jump…
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Final | |
| Oklahoma City Barons | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| San Antonio Rampage | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Scoring Summary
1st Period
- 19:56-OKC: Mark Arcobello 4 (power play) (Ryan Keller 5, Dylan Yeo 5) 1-0 OKC
2nd Period
- 9:26-OKC: Bryan Rodney 1 (power play) (Dylan Yeo 5, Mark Arcobello 6) 2-0 OKC
- 18:06-SA: Michal Repik 1 (power play) (Bracken Kearns 4, Mark Cullen 6) 2-1 OKC
3rd Period
- 2:12-OKC: Ryan Keller 3(Hunter Tremblay 2, Bryan Rodney 5) 3-1 OKC
- 4:55-SA: Scott Timmins 1 (Jon Matsumoto 9, Michal Repik 3) 3-2 OKC
- 5:17-SA: Mark Cullen 4 (Bracken Kearns 5, Bill Thomas 5) 3-3 Tie
- 17:54-OKC: Ryan Keller 4 (power play) (Philippe Cornet 4, Mark Arcobello 7) 4-3 OKC
The Good
- The Third Period: The Rampage had their backs against the wall, and fought hard with their playoff lives on the line. While the Barons did score two goals, San Antonio took advantage of OKC’s mistakes and tied the game up with two goals in 22 seconds. If it weren’t for the powerplay, the Rampage would have recorded more than just ten shots in the period./
The Bad
- The First Period: In a win-or-go-home situation, the team that can’t lose has to come out of the gate better than the Rampage did. After having a strong start in game four, San Antonio went back to their “slow firsts” with seven shots in the opener, two in the first 14 minutes, to the Barons’ ten./
The Ugly
- The Penalty Kill: After killing all 4 penalties Thursday, the Rampage’s PK allowed three goals on four Barons man advantages. The only penalty that was killed turned into a four-on-four with Oklahoma City’s Dylan Yeo getting called for cross-checking./
Video
May 11, 2012 – Game Five Highlights (via sarampage)
Further Reading
- “It was an even hockey game for 57 minutes, and it was just unfortunate that that became the turning point.” – coach Chuck Weber via MySA.com/Uminski /
Other Florida Prospects
- OHL: David Pacan had four PIMs in Niagara’s series loss to the London Knights, 2-1.
- USHL: Edward Wittchow and the Waterloo Black Hawks advance to the Clark Cup Finals where they will face the number one seeded Green Bay Gamblers. Series starts on May 12.