Rage Pads Division Lead; Defeats Blazers 4-2
February 26, 2008 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Rocky Mountain Rage News Release
Broomfield, Colo. - The Rocky Mountain Rage hockey team defeated the Oklahoma City Blazers 4-2 Tuesday night at the Broomfield Event Center. The Rage concluded the five game season series with a 4-1-0 record over the Blazers.
Rocky Mountain advanced to 33-14-5 overall (71 points). The win padded Rocky Mountain's lead to four points over the Colorado Eagles with a game in hand in the race for the Northwest Division title. The Blazers fell to 23-24-6 (52 points) for third place in the Northwest Division.
Both teams saw an uneventful first period with few penalties, few whistles between play, few scoring chances and no scoring. Rocky Mountain's Nathan Rosychuk attempted to start where the Rage left off in their high scoring game against the Eagles on Sunday. Rosychuk went one-on-one with Blazers goaltender Jason Wolfe on a breakaway within the first two minutes of play, but could not get a shot off in the last second. Until just over five minutes into the game, Wolfe had yet to see a shot on goal by the Rage. By the 15 minute mark, Rocky Mountain's Daymen Rycroft went one-on-one with Wolfe, but again could not capitalize on the opportunity for the Rage.
In the second period, Oklahoma City's Gordon Bell broke away from Rage defenders at center ice, skated in and beat Rage goaltender Terry Dunbar on the glove side short-handed at 2:16.
The Rage answered back at 9:50 when Brent Cullaton intercepted a pass by the Blazers in the Rage offensive zone and wristed it into the top left corner of the net. Just 1:32 later on the powerplay, Rage blueliner Tyler Butler dumped the puck behind the Blazers net and Rosychuk picked it up for a quick pass out front to the left of Wolf. Trevor Weisgerber chipped it in to give the Rage a 2-1 lead.
Oklahoma City tied the score at 18:50 going into the third period with a goal by defenseman Mike Burgoyne. It marked the team-leading scorer's 47th point this season.
Rocky Mountain defenseman Clay Plume added what would eventually become the game-winning goal at just 15 seconds into the third period. Cullaton and Rycroft assisted on the powerplay goal.
Rycroft added an empty net goal at 19:45 to secure the win. The Blazers outshot the Rage 39-28.
Rocky Mountain returns to the road to play Bossier-Shreveport on Thursday (Feb. 28) and Mississippi on Saturday (March 1). Fans can listen in to The New ESPN Radio 1600 starting at 5:55 p.m. MT both nights, or tune in to CHL Network at www.RockyMountainRage.com for LIVE video.
The Rage returns home for their next home game on March 4 when they host the Arizona Sundogs. Single-game tickets for all home Rage games are on sale now and range in price from $16-$40 per seat (parking included), and may be purchased through Ticketmaster. Season tickets, mini-packs, and group plans are also available for the 2007-08 season by calling 303-439-RAGE. For more information, visit www.RockyMountainRage.com.
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Central Hockey League Stories from February 26, 2008
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