The San Antonio Rampage won two out of three games this week and find themselves in fourth place in the Western Conference. The Rampage will be on the road for the rest of February.
Rampage 3, Stars 2 (OT)
The Rampage rallied from a brief third period deficit to edge in-state rival Texas 3-2 in overtime in Cedar Park. The Stars opened the scoring on Gemel Smith‘s goal at 3:43 of the first period. The Rampage evened things up 1:31 later when Connor Brickley scored from defensemen Jonathan Racine and Blake Parlett. Justin Dowling put Texas back on top with a power-play tally late in the second period. Rocco Grimaldi notched his eighth goal of the season just 38 seconds into the final frame to forge another tie. After Vincent Trocheck and the Stars Brendan Ranford scored in the skills competition, Grimaldi bagged the game-winner with his second round goal. Dan Ellis denied Dowling in round three to give San Antonio the bonus point. Ellis finished with 32 saves in the first 67 minutes of the game, while Anders Lindback made 40 stops for Texas.
Stars 5, Rampage 2
Texas took a 5-2 decision on Thursday to snap host San Antonio’s three-game winning streak. Mark Mancari opened the scoring with the only goal of the first period, from Connor Brickley. The Stars got goals from Matej Stransky and Julius Honka to take a 2-1 lead after forty minutes. Garrett Wilson scored early in the third, with Shane O’Brien and Bobby Butler collecting the assists, to tie the tilt at two. The Stars finished the Silver and Black off with goals from Greg Rallo, Jamie Oleksiak and Brendan Ranford. Rallo’s goal came with Texas on a power play and Ranford’s was an empty-netter. Travis Morin finished with three assists for the Stars. Michael Houser, who made 24 stops, took the loss while Anders Lindback turned aside 30 for Texas.
Rampage 5, Barons 3
The Rampage (27-15-4-0) bounced back with a 5-3 win on Saturday over visiting Oklahoma City. The Barons jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a first period goal from Brad Hunt and a second period shorthanded strike from Curtis Hamilton. Vincent Trocheck scored shorthanded midway through the frame, from Rocco Grimaldi and Shane O’Brien, to get the Silver and Black on the board. Brett Olson tallied, with assists going to Greg Zanon and Bobby Butler, to tie the game a few minutes later. The Barons retook the lead at 18:01 on a Ryan Hamilton marker. The Rampage scored three times in the first 9:51 of the final stanza to earn the victory. John McFarland bagged his fourth of the season, from Trocheck and Logan Shaw to knot the game at three. O’Brien potted the game-winner from Olson and Grimaldi. Butler completed the scoring with his twentieth goal, with Corban Knight and Olson collecting the helpers. Dan Ellis made 29 stops to post the victory while Richard Bachman finished with 25 saves for Oklahoma City.
San Antonio’s annual Rodeo Road Trip kicks off on Tuesday in Cedar Park, for yet another game against the Texas Stars. The grueling 11-game trek continues with Friday and Saturday games in Grand Rapids versus the Griffins and on Sunday in Rockford for the first of two against the IceHogs.
For more on the Florida Panthers‘ fine AHL affiliate, click here to visit the official site. Rampage player stats can be found here.