AHL San Antonio Rampage

Rampage Top Stars for Sixth Straight Home Win

December 30, 2018 - American Hockey League (AHL)
San Antonio Rampage News Release


San Antonio Rampage goaltender Jordan Binnington makes one of his 37 saves
San Antonio Rampage goaltender Jordan Binnington makes one of his 37 saves
(San Antonio Rampage, Credit: Will Abate)

SAN ANTONIO, TX - Four different Rampage players scored goals and Jordan Kyrou extended his points streak to 11 games, as the San Antonio Rampage (15-17-1) skated to a 4-2 win over the Texas Stars (17-11-4) on Sunday night in front of 5,143 fans at the AT&T Center.

The Rampage earned their sixth straight win at the AT&T Center, as well as their tenth win in their last 11 games on home ice. Austin Poganski and Conner Bleackley scored goals for the second straight game, and Jordan Binnington made 37 saves in his return to the Rampage lineup.

Ryan Olsen opened the scoring for San Antonio at 9:02 of the first period, snapping a 13-game goal-scoring drought with his fifth goal of the season to make it 1-0 Rampage. Olsen redirected a Mackenzie MacEachern shot at the side of the Texas net through Stars goaltender Philippe Desrosiers, the sixth time in the past eight games that San Antonio has scored the first goal.

At 19:39 of the first period, Poganski extended the lead. Mitch Reinke threw the puck on goal from the right point as Poganski battled for position in front of the Texas net with Dillon Heatherington. The shot was stopped by Desrosiers, but Poganski spun around to pot the rebound for his fifth goal of the season.

Reinke earned his team-leading 16th assist of the season, ranked second among AHL rookie defensemen.

Joel L'Esperance scored his first of two goals on the night at 1:18 of the second period, finishing the rebound of a Gavin Bayreuther shot on a 2-on-1 rush to get Texas on the board at 2-1. The Rampage would respond later in the second period with two goals in a span of 33 seconds.

Kyrou forced a turnover in the neutral zone at 14:23 of the second period, leading Sammy Blais on a breakaway. Blais faked the shot and slid a pass to trailer Zach Sanford for a tap-in and his fourth goal in six AHL games this season. Sunday was Sanford's first game back in the Rampage lineup after being assigned by the Blues on Friday.

With assists, Blais extended his points streak to six games and Kyrou's reached 11 games, one game shy of Yanick Lehoux's franchise record set during the 2006-07 season.

At 14:56 of the second, a centering feed from Bleackley deflected off Bayreuther's stick and into the net to make it 4-1, Bleackley's third goal of the season with all three occurring in the past five games.

L'Esperance scored his second goal of the game 40 seconds into the third period on the power play, his team-leading 17th goal of the season and eighth power play goal. L'Esperance leads all AHL rookies in goal-scoring and ranks second in power play goals.

Binnington was assigned to San Antonio by St. Louis on Sunday morning after appearing in relief for the Blues the night before, and he made his first start since Dec. 8. Binnington's 37 saves were his second most in a game this season, and he improved to 9-4-0 on the season with wins in seven of his last eight starts.

The Rampage have won six of their last eight overall. They've won four of nine meetings with the Stars this season.

The Rampage finish their three-game homestand and open 2019 against the Manitoba Moose on Wednesday night at the AT&T Center, their fourth meeting with the Moose this season. Puck-drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT., with the game available on The Ticket 760AM and on AHLTV.

RAMPAGE STATS:

Goals: Olsen (5); Poganski (5); Sanford (4); Bleackley (3);

Jordan Binnington: 37 saves on 39 shots

Power Play: 0-for-4

Penalty Kill: 2-for-3

THREE STARS:

Zach Sanford - SA

Conner Bleackley - SA

Jordan Binnington - SA

Check out the San Antonio Rampage Statistics




Images from this story

San Antonio Rampage goaltender Jordan Binnington makes one of his 37 saves
San Antonio Rampage goaltender Jordan Binnington makes one of his 37 saves
(Will Abate)		   



American Hockey League Stories from December 30, 2018


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