The San Antonio Rampage took two of three games on home ice to move into fourth place in the Western Conference with just fifteen games remaining on the regular season slate.
Rampage 3, Admirals 2
San Antonio ran its winning streak to three games with a 3-2 overtime victory over visiting Milwaukee. Goaltenders Michael Houser and Marek Mazanec kept the game scoreless until well into the second period. Brett Olson finally broke the ice with a shorthanded goal at the 14:38 mark, beating Mazanec over the shoulder after taking a pass from Bobby Butler. The Admirals struck back a few minutes later on Mark Van Guilder‘s even-strength tally. San Antonio regained the lead in the third period when Dany Heatley scored his first in a Rampage uniform. Corban Knight and Jesse Blacker collected the assists on the veteran’s third of the season. Austin Watson beat Houser at 11:46 to tie the game and the teams would eventually head to overtime. Blacker bagged the winner just 18 seconds into the extra session to give San Antonio the bonus point. Olson and Butler each picked up their second point of the night with the helpers. Houser, making his fourth straight start, finished with 33 saves to pick up his 12th win. Manazec made 21 stops for Milwaukee.
Monsters 4, Rampage 0
The Silver and Black got blanked 4-0 by Lake Erie on Friday night in the first of a back-to-back set with the Monsters. Ben Street opened the scoring with one second left in the first period. Defenseman Ben Youds tallied a power-play goal in the middle frame. Kenny Ryan scored with six minutes remaining in the third to make it 3-0 and Trevor Cheek completed the scoring with an empty-net goal at the 16:25 mark. Calvin Pickard made 31 saves for the shutout while Michael Houser stopped 26 of the 29 shots he faced.
Rampage 5, Monsters 2
The Rampage exploded for three goals in the second half on the opening period to spark a 5-2 win over the Monsters. Wade Megan scored shorthanded at 10:08 to start things off. Dany Heatley scored later in the frame, from Connor Brickley and Mark Mancari to extend the lead. Blake Parlett fired in a power-play goal with 13 seconds left to complete the barrage. Brett Olson and Garrett Wilson collected the helpers on Parlett’s fifth of the season. Wilson notched his twentieth goal of the campaign, with Olson getting the lone assist, at 15:06 of the second period. Andrew Agozzino scored 44 seconds later to finally get Lake Erie on the board. Healtey scored again, into an empty-net, from Brickely, to register San Antonio’s final goal. Michael Schumacher completed the scoring with a meaningless goal with 21 seconds left on the clock. Michael Houser made 21 saves to get the win while Calvin Pickard made 29 stops for the Monsters.
The Silver and Black (35-20-5-1) host the Charlotte Checkers on Tuesday, visit the Oklahoma City Barons on Friday before returning home for a weekend back-to-back with the Hamilton Bulldogs.
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