Though the result was the same, San Antonio (1-3) put forth its best effort of the series, finishing the night with a slight advantage in shots (31-30). Both teams played a tight defensive first period, with the Rampage getting off to a solid start with two powerplay opportunities. They continued as the better team in the second, but couldn’t slip past the AHL’s best goaltender, Yann Danis, with 11 shots in the period. The Barons struck first on a Hunter Tremblay goal in the third period, but the Rampage evened it up soon after with Bill Thomas‘ fifth of the playoffs. Another tie game, another overtime, and sadly, another Oklahoma City victory. Both teams had one shot on goal in the extra frame, which was all the Barons needed to take a controlling 3-1 series lead. A few game notes and video after the jump.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | Final | |
| Oklahoma City Barons | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| San Antonio Rampage | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Scoring Summary
3rd Period
- 10:56-OKC: Tremblay 4 (Anton Lander 2, Ryan Keller 4) 1-0 OKC
- 15:09-SA: Thomas 5 (Bracken Kearns 3, Michael Caruso 4) 1-1 Tie
Overtime
- 1:05-OKC: Chris VandeVelde 3 (Teemu Hartikainen 3, Magnus Paajarvi 5) 2-1 OKC
The Good
- Jacob Markstrom: Markstrom has been San Antonio’s best player in games three and four. He made 28 saves on 30 shots (.933 Sv%) Thursday while bailing out his club at many points with solid positional play. With a more consistent defense in front of him, Markstrom skates away with a shutout.
- Penalty Kill: Stifled four Barons power play opportunities, all of which came when the score remained tied at zero. The Rampage PK is currently ranked ninth in the Calder Cup playoffs at 80.6%.
The Bad
- Goals Against: The first goal was scored when Tremblay picked up the puck in a goalmouth scramble that just hopped over Markstrom’s leg pad. The overtime gamewinner resulted when VandeVelde beat an outstretched Markstrom. Both goals were scored with the defense away from the play./
The Ugly
- Sean Sullivan: Defenseman is a minus-three with 1 SOG in two playoff games; started Thursday due to an upper-body injury to Colby Robak.
Highlights
May 10, 2012 vs. Oklahoma City, Game 4 Highlights (via sarampage)
A Deciding Game Five?
- Tonight, 8:00 pm EST. Win or lose, it’s the final home game of the second-round for San Antonio. LBC Live Thread at 7:30. /
Huberdeau Advances
- QMJHL: Jonathan Huberdeau scored two points (1G/1A) as the Saint John Sea Dogs swept Rimouski Océanic to win their second straight President’s Cup, advancing to the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup Tournament; play begins May 18 from Shawinigan.