AHL San Antonio Rampage

Rampage Move Into Second with 3-2 Shootout Win

Published on February 29, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
San Antonio Rampage News Release


SAN ANTONIO - It was physical, it was intense, it felt like the playoffs.

It may very well be a postseason preview.

Mike Zigomanis netted two goals in the final 40 minutes, each assisted by Matt Murley, and Al Montoya stopped all four shootout attempts in his San Antonio debut to move the Rampage into a tie for second place in the AHL West with a 3-2 shootout victory over the division-leading Chicago Wolves Friday night in front of an AT&T Center crowd of 5,887.

With the teams deadlocked at one apiece after two periods, Chicago briefly pulled ahead with a power-play rebound from right wing Jesse Schultz at the 10:31 mark.

But the Rampage were about to "get Ziggy with it."

Enver Lisin set the equalizer up by skating through the neutral zone into Chicago ice, taking the defense's attention with him. He slid the puck to Murley on the left wall, who threaded a pass through an opening to Zigomanis at the top of the slot, about even with the circles.

Zigomanis fired the shot through the Chicago defense and by goaltender Ondrej Pavelec for the game-tying score with five minutes remaining in regulation.

A scoreless sudden-death overtime sent the game to a shootout, where Chicago had previously been unbeaten. Al Montoya stoned all four Chicago shooters, with Brendan Bell and Zigomanis scoring in the shootout to lift the Rampage to victory.

Coupled with Rockford's 7-4 loss to Lake Erie tonight, the Rampage pulled into a tie for the second spot in the West at 74 points each.

The Rampage overwhelmingly outshot Chicago for the second straight game, 43-24. They controlled the offensive attack by and large in the two-game series, outshooting Chicago 87-34 after the opening period of Wednesday night's game.

Left wing Colin Stuart gave Chicago the early lead with a short-handed tally at 5:44 of the opening frame.

Murley and Zigomanis connected for the Rampage's first game-tying goal of the night as well.

Murley centered a loose puck to Zigomanis. The center then beat Pavelec from the slot for his first goal of the night at 6:23 of the second period. With the two goals, Zigomanis reached 96 total in his AHL career.

The Rampage host the top team in the AHL, the Providence Bruins (42-12-2-1; 87 points), Wednesday night as they look to gain sole possession of second place. The puck drops at 7 p.m.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 29, 2008


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