Rage Taste Victory in Arizona...Finally
January 30, 2009 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Rocky Mountain Rage News Release
Prescott Valley, Ariz. - The Rocky Mountain Rage earned their first-ever win on the Arizona Sundogs' home ice, riding their special teams units to a 6-3 decision at Tim's Toyota Center. Colt King and Simon Watson each had two goals, and Daymen Rycroft recorded three assists to lead the way. The victory avenged a 4-2 loss to the 'Dogs on Wednesday, setting up tomorrow night's rubber match in the finale of the season series between the two clubs.
It was Tyler Butler who scored the first of four power play goals for the Rage, rifling home a slapshot at 14:15 of the opening period. Arizona responded with its own effort on the man advantage, Adam Perry scoring unassisted at 15:47. Rocky Mountain grabbed the lead back in the waning moments of the frame when Rycroft snapped a perfect pass to King at the far post for another power play tally at 19:49.
With the Rage leading 2-1 to begin the middle period, Rycroft set-up King again at 2:52, the latter becoming the first Rage player to reach 20 goals this season. Once Rocky Mountain established a 3-1 lead, the team called upon its penalty killing units to control the rest of the period. The Sundogs skated on five consecutive power plays and failed to convert on all of them. During the stretch of short-handed situations, David Morelli scored on a clean break-away on the first of the five chances at 5:04, and the eventual game-winner gave the Rage a 4-1 edge through 40 minutes.
The teams traded two pairs of power play goals in the third. Watson, who now has four power play markers in the last three games, tallied at 9:11 and 15:03, while Arizona's Perry and Matt Craig scored on the man advantage at 13:40 and 17:38 for the final 6-3 margin.
The victory was the Rage's first in Arizona in eight tries, moving the team to 1-5-2 all-time in Prescott Valley. Rocky Mountain is now 23-18-4 with 50 points this season. The team remains in the fifth and final playoff spot out of the Northern Conference, two points behind the Mississippi RiverKings and five points back of both the Oklahoma City Blazers and Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs.
The Rage and Sundogs complete both this three-game set and their season series tomorrow night. All the action can be heard live on ESPN Radio 1600 beginning at 6:55 p.m. with the pre-game show. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. Live audio and video streaming will also be carried on the CHL Network at www.rockymountainrage.com.
Rocky Mountain is on the first leg of a stretch of 12 of 13 on the road and does not return to Broomfield Event Center until a showdown with the RiverKings on Sunday, Feb. 15, at 3:05 p.m.
Individual tickets for the tilt against Mississippi are available for as low as $5 for kids 12 and under (with the purchase of at least one adult ticket) and cost just $10 for students with a valid ID. Tickets may be purchased at the BEC Box Office, www.Ticketmaster.com, (303) 830-TIXS, and all Ticketmaster retail outlets.
For more ticket information, visit www.rockymountainrage.com, or contact the Rage Ticket Sales Staff at (303) 439-RAGE or tickets@broomfieldsports.com.
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Central Hockey League Stories from January 30, 2009
- Special Teams Struggles Spell Disaster for Arizona in 6-3 Loss - Arizona Sundogs
- Rage Taste Victory in Arizona...Finally - Rocky Mountain Rage
- Bucks Hang On For 3-2 Win - Laredo Bucks
- First Period Burst Leads Eagles Past Scorps - Colorado Eagles
- K.C.'s Help Mudbugs Slow the Rush - Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
- Eagles Fly Past Scorpions - New Mexico Scorpions
- Gorillas tap third period well, beat Oilers 2-1 - Amarillo Gorillas
- Jaeger Salves, Deitsch Delivers - Fort Worth Brahmas
- Brahmas Beat RiverKings in OT, 3-2 - Mississippi RiverKings
- Jackalopes Beat IceRays 4-1 - Corpus Christi IceRays
- Thunder Lose Classic in OT - Wichita Thunder
- Tulsa Oilers Weekend Broadcasts - Tulsa Oilers
- Shots from the Point - CHL
- Bucks, Bees Go Again Tonight At LEC - Laredo Bucks
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