AHL San Antonio Rampage

Rampage Game Day

January 9, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
San Antonio Rampage News Release


A reminder that today's game against the Hartford Wolf Pack can be heard on KTKR Ticket 760 AM beginning at 7 p.m. (CST). Log on to http://www.sarampage.com/box_040109.shtml for real-time coverage and period-by-period recaps.

Today's Game...

Tonight's game against the Hartford Wolf Pack marks the second game of a three-game in four-night session for San Antonio as they entertain a five-game homestand which started with Worcester yesterday...This is the only encounter the Rampage (15-13-4-0; 34 pts.) and the Wolf Pack (21-12-4-1; 47 pts.) have here at the SBC Center... San Antonio, who has won two of their last three games, sits T-5th in the West Division while Hartford, who have won their last three games and are 5-5-0-0 in their last 10, leads the Atlantic Division...The Wolf Pack are one of two teams (other: Worcester) that San Antonio will play in the Atlantic Division this season... Following tonight's game, the Rampage host the Grand Rapids Griffins (20-12-4-0; 44 pts.) Sunday for a 5 p.m. matinee game.

Against Hartford Wolf Pack: Tonight's contest marks the first meeting (of two) between the two teams this season, while meeting for the third time in history...Last season, the Rampage went undefeated (1-0-1-0) against the Wolf Pack, including their 1-1 tie at the SBC Center on Nov. 19, 2002...Hartford is 6-5-1-0; 13 pts. in 12 games against non-division opponents, while the Rampage are 5-3-0-0; 10 pts. in eight games...San Antonio won their first and only game against an Atlantic Division opponent and the Wolf Pack are 2-1-0-0 against the Rampage's West Division.

Game Notes...

EXTRA SESSION: Last night's game against Worcester was the club's third overtime game in its last five. All told, San Antonio has played eight games with the extra session compiling an undefeated 4-0-4 record—making the Rampage one of three teams without an overtime loss.

HEY NOW...YOU'RE AN ALL-STAR: Left wing Eric Beaudoin was among 21 skaters and three goaltenders named to the Canadian roster for the 2004 Pepsi AHL All-Star Classic, held at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. The Ottawa, Ontario native will be making his first All-Star game appearance ever. He is the second Rampage player to represent San Antonio in the annual event (2003: Filip Novak-PlanetUSA).

WHEN THE TOUGH GET GOING: Starting on Jan. 2, the Rampage will play 10 games in the next 16 days. With yesterday's game, San Antonio will play seven games in 10 days. In fact, the Rampage will play 30 games in the next 60 days, with 20 of them away from home, including 14 road games in February, when the San Antonio Livestock Exhibition and Rodeo takes over the SBC Center.

VERSUS THE ATLANTIC DIVISION: Tonight's game against Hartford will be the second game against a team in the Atlantic Division this season. The Wolf Pack are one of two teams (other: Worcester) that San Antonio will play in the Atlantic Division this season.

NEDO CENTERING IN: Of the 12 games center Vaclav Nedorost has played (missed 10 games; recalled by Florida), he has improved his scoring from 2-1=3 pts. in his first five games to 4-2=6 pts. in his last five games.

BACK IT UP: So far this season, the Rampage have played six back-to-back sets (of 12 for the season) with a 5-7-1-0 record heading into tonight's game.

GOAL ORIENTED: The Rampage rank 9th in the AHL in goals for per game, accounting for a 2.69 average (86 GF in 32 GP).

TREMONDOUS TWO'S: The Rampage have an awesome track record when heading into the third period with a lead. The Rampage have an undefeated 10-0-1-0 record when leading after two periods. In fact, the Rampage also own an impressive 12-4-0-0 record when scoring the game's first goal.

THREE-N-THREE: San Antonio has played two sets (of 10) of three-games in three-night sessions and are 2-4-0-0.

MAKING THEIR POINTS: Defenseman Kristian Kudroc recorded his first point (assist) of the season in his first game with the Rampage on Jan. 2 against Rochester for his 16 th.AHL career point and assist..Petr Taticek notched his first AHL career point on Thur., Oct. 16 against Cincinnati in his first AHL game. Taticek, 20, signed a three-year deal with Florida on Oct. 14. He spent the last two seasons with Sault St. Marie (OHL)...After missing the first 10 games (off-season surgery) of the season, Vaclav Nedorost registered his first point (PPG) in his first game of the year on Nov. 7 against Milwaukee for his 55th AHL career goal.

LEADER OF THE PACK: Netminder Travis Scott is co-leads (tied w/ J. LaBarbera, HFD) all AHL goaltenders with his 14 wins (14-10-4 record) and in saves (867). In fact, Scott has notched his 10th win in only 15 games played—seven fewer than former Rampage netminder Chris Mason (1/8/03). He also has the fourth highest minutes played (1574 in 26 games played).

SIX-SHOOTERS: San Antonio's sextet of Eric Beaudoin (14g, 21a), Mike Green (9g, 18a), Denis Shvidki (7g, 16a), Lee Goren (9g, 10a), Michel Periard (4g, 10a) and Josh Olson (9g, 6a) currently accounts for 133 points—57.8% of the team's overall total of 230.

- In fact, the six pack have tallied 52 goals, equaling 60.4% of the team's 86 goals scored.

GREEN STREAK: Center Mike Green had an eight game scoring streak compiling 14 points (4g, 10a) from Nov. 20-Dec. 12. His streak was one game shy of teammate Ryan Jardine's (9 games: Mar. 20-Apr. 6, 2003) who owns the landmark.

CANADIAN CLUB: Victoria, British Columbia native Mike Green and Eric Beaudoin, a native of Ottawa, Ontario have now combined for 14 points in the last 10 games (8 in the last five).

- If you throw in Ukrainian native Denis Shvidki, the trio registers 20 points in the last 10 games (11 pts. in last five).

- If you throw in Grand Forks, ND native Josh Olson, the trio registers 18 points in the last 10 (11 pts. in last five).

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Center Scott Kelman tallied a pair of assists in his first AHL game of the season (2nd AHL career game) against Chicago on Dec. 5 after being recalled late the night before from Augusta (ECHL). Prior to being recalled from the Lynx, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound forward collected 11 points (5-6-11) in his last 10 games and registered a +4 plus/minus rating.

AT THE 10-SPOT: Comparing to last season, the Rampage notched their 10th win on their 26th game on Dec. 14, 2002 (vs. BRI; 4-2) while this year's squad eclipsed the 10 spot in 16 games with a 5-4 OTW against Lone Star rival Houston on Nov. 23.

QUITE A BEGINNING: The Rampage's 4-0-1-0 start was the club's best start in franchise history. Last season, the Rampages' inaugural season, the team opened the season 1-4-0-0 after their first five games. In fact, the Rampage continue to have a positive beginning with a 15-13-4-0 record in 32 games, while last season's squad was 11-14-5-2 after 32 games.

YOUTH IS SERVED: As Florida's AHL affiliate, the Rampage are the youngest team in the AHL, checking in at 23-years and one-month old. Along the same lines, for the second consecutive season, the Panthers are the youngest team in the NHL with an average age of 26, one year older than the average age of the club at the beginning of last season. The Cats are almost two years younger than the NHL average age (27.9).

- An interesting noteable, Jeff Paul is recognized as the lone veteran on the squad (currently called up w/ Florida).

SCOTT HAS RED HOT OCTOBER: Goaltender Travis Scott had an impressive opening month pacing all AHL goaltenders with a 6-1-1 record. Entering November, Scott was the only netminder to record six wins. His other accolades include: one shutout (T-2nd AHL); 259 saves (3rd AHL); .952 save percentage (4th AHL) and 486 minutes logged (5th AHL). His first shutout of the season against Cincinnati with a 3-0 victory on Sat., Oct. 18 was his 17th AHL shutout.

GREAT SCOTT: Goaltender Travis Scott recorded a club record on Thur., Oct. 16 against Cincinnati by saving 56 shots on goal, helping the Rampage defeat the Mighty Ducks (4-2) at the SBC Center. Scott eclipsed former Rampage netminder Chris Mason, who set the record (55) on Mar. 9, 2003 at Houston.

FAB FOUR: Michel Periard (2g, 3a) and Denis Shvidki (2g, 3a) began the season collecting a point in each of the Rampage's first four games (Oct. 10-18). Last season's individual high of nine games (Mar. 20-Apr. 6, 2003) was set by returning Rampage player Ryan Jardine.

O' CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN: Lee Goren will wear the "C" for the 2003-04 AHL season. Goren becomes the first Rampage player in team history to be named captain.

AROUND THE WORLD: The Rampage have six countries represented by this year's opening roster, according to players' citizenships:

- 16 players were born in Canada (Lajeunesse, Scott, Andrews, Huskins, Elliott, Paul, McNeill, Rossiter, Periard, Weiss , Campbell, O'Connor, Jardine, Green, Beaudoin and Goren)

- 3 players were born in the Czech Republic (Krajicek, Nedorost and Taticek)

- One player was born in Israel (Birbraer)

- One player was born in Slovakia (Kolnik)

- One player was born in Ukraine (Shvidki)

- One player was born in the United States (Josh Olson)

NEW FACES: The Rampage season-opener roster features 10 new faces: Travis Scott, Daryl Andrews, Kent Huskins, Jeff Paul, Grant McNeill, Stephen Weiss, Max Birbraer, Vaclav Nedorost, Petr Taticek and Lee Goren.

Check out the San Antonio Rampage Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from January 9, 2004


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