AHL San Antonio Rampage

Rampage Weekly Notes

Published on March 4, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
San Antonio Rampage News Release


This Week's Games:

Wednesday, March 5 vs. Grand Rapids @ Van Andel Arena 6:00 p.m.
Friday, March 7 vs. Grand Rapids @ SBC Center 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 8 vs. Grand Rapids @ SBC Center 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 9 vs. Houston Aeros @ Compaq Center 5:00 p.m.

Last Week's Results:

Monday, February 24 - Chicago 2 at San Antonio 3 Eric Schneider scored a pair of goals as the San Antonio Rampage edged the Chicago Wolves, 3-2. Schneider gave San Antonio a 2-0 lead at 3:09 of the first period and tallied midway through the second for a 3-1 advantage. Mike Green scored on the power play and Dave Gove had a pair of assists for the Rampage, who ended their three-game winless streak. Wade Flaherty stopped 34 shots, including 12 in the third period, to earn his 11th win of the season. Mark Hartigan and Simon Gamache each had a goal for Chicago, which fell to 1-2-1 over its last four games after winning three in a row. Norm Maracle allowed three goals on 29 shots to take the loss.

Friday, February 28 - Grand Rapids 3 at San Antonio 2

Philippe Plante scored late in the third period to help the Grand Rapids Griffins edge the San Antonio Rampage, 3-2. Plante, who also had an assist, broke a 2-2 tie with 3:52 remaining. Jason Williams and Mark Mowers each scored a shorthanded goal and Stacy Roest had a pair of assists for Grand Rapids, which has won three straight games and eight of its last nine. Joey MacDonald had to make just 15 saves topick up his 11th win of the season. Filip Novak and Jeff Toms both notched a goal for San Antonio, which has dropped three of its last four games against the Griffins. Chris Mason stopped 37 shots but suffered the loss for the Rampage.

Sunday, March 2 - Milwaukee 3 at San Antonio 6

Eric Beaudoin registered a season-high four points with a goal and three assists as the San Antonio Rampage downed the Milwaukee Admirals, 6-3. Beaudoin gave San Antonio a 1-0 lead with a power-play marker 6:05 into the first period and had a pair of helpers on second period goals by Michel Periard and Andy Reierson. Mike Green, who leads the Rampage with 21 goals, scored early in the third period and Reierson added two assists. Chris Mason stopped 22 of 25 shots for San Antonio.

Monday, March 3 - Houston 2 at San Antonio 6

Michel Periard scored a pair of power-play goals and added an assist and Chris Mason made 38 saves as the San Antonio Rampage downed the Houston Aeros, 6-2. Periard, who has six points in six games with the club, gave San Antonio a 1-0 lead with 3:20 remaining in the first period and scored 25 seconds later for a two-goal advantage. Mason turned away 32 of 34 shots over the final two periods to earn his 18th win of the season.

Where They Stand: After 64 games the Rampage (29-23-10-2) are tied for second place in the West Division with the Chicago Wolves (30-23-7-3), who both have earned 70 points. Although Chicago (5th) sits one spot ahead of San Antonio (6th), in the Western Conference standings, as the Wolves have recorded one more victory than the Rampage. Houston (39-16-7-2) holds down the top spot in the division, while Utah (29-27-3-3) and Milwaukee (23-21-12-4) sit in fourth and fifth place respectively.

Rampage vs. Griffins: San Antonio and Grand Rapids will battle one another three times in four days this week, beginning with the Rampage's last trip to Western Michigan on Wednesday night, Mar. 5. The Griffins currently own a 4-2-0-0 advantage in the season series. In their most recent meeting the Griffins edged the Rampage 3-2 last Friday, Feb.28. San Antonio has earned wins over the Griffins on Jan. 29 (2-1) and Dec. 2 (5-3). Grand Rapids has also picked up wins over the Rampage on Nov. 22 (3-2), Dec. 20 (3-1) and Jan. 18 (4-2). Griffins' center Stacy Roest has tallied nine points (3-6-9) in six games while center Tomas Kopecky has notched six points (4-2-6) in five games against San Antonio. For the Rampage, centers Jeff Toms (5-1-6) and Mike Green (2-4-6) both have collected six points against the Griffins this season.

Last Rampage Win: 2-1 on 1/29/03
Last Rampage Win at the SBC Center: 5-3 on 12/2/02
Last Griffins Win: 3-2 on 2/28/03
Last Griffins Win at the SBC Center: 3-2 on 2/28/03

Griffins Scouting Report: Grand Rapids (39-15-8-2) enters the week with the Western Conference's best record, one point ahead of the Houston Aeros. The Griffins are riding a five-game winning streak and have lost just once in their last 10 contests. Michel Picard paces the Griffins and ranks second in the AHL with 69 points (24-45-69), while teammate Mark Mowers places second on the team and is tied for third in the league with 67 points (28-39-67). Griffins goaltender Marc Lamothe ranks among AHL leaders with a 2.17 goals against average (3rd), 26 wins (1st) and 2,764 minutes played (1st). As a team, Grand Rapids ranks first in the AHL holding their opponent's to just 2.19 goals per game and second in the league allowing 27.08 shots against them per game.

Grand Rapids Connections: Rampage center David Gove appeared in 17 games with Grand Rapids last season collecting two goals and four assists. Additionally, Gove played four years of college hockey at Western Michigan University, located about 50 miles south of Grand Rapids. Rampage defenseman Sean Gagnon played in 70 games with the Griffins during the 2000-01 campaign collecting 20 points (4-16-20) and 226 penalty minutes.

Rampage vs. Aeros: The Rampage battle their intrastate rivals the Aeros for the eighth time this year on Sunday night Mar. 9. The two clubs square off against one another a season high 12-times during the 2002-03 campaign and Houston currently holds the advantage with a 5-1-1-0 record versus San Antonio. In their most recent meeting on Monday, Mar. 3 the Rampage defeated the Aeros 6-2, earning their first victory over their intrastate foes. San Antonio and Houston skated to a 2-2 tie on Jan. 4, while the Aeros posted wins over the Rampage in their first five meetings of the season. Houston left wing Jean-Guy Trudel has picked up nine points (2-7-9) in seven games against the Rampage this season, while center Mark Cullen (5-3-8) has eight points in five games against the Rampage. Jim Campbell (1-4-5) has recorded five points against the Aeros, while Michel Periard (2-2-4) and Eric Beaudoin (1-3-4) each have four points against the Aeros this year.

Last Rampage Win: 6-2 on 3/3/03
Last Rampage Win at the SBC Center: 6-2 on 3/3/03
Last Aeros Win: 7-2 on 12/26/02.
Last Aeros Win at the SBC Center: 7-2 on 12/26/02.

Houston Scouting Report: Houston (39-16-7-2) sits comfortably atop the West Division 17 points ahead of both the Rampage and the Chicago Wolves. Left wing Jean-Guy Trudel paces the Aeros and ranks tied for third in the AHL with 67 points (24-43-67), while left wing Hnat Domenichelli ranks second on the club with 48 points (25-23-48). Curtis Murphy leads all Houston blue liners and ranks second in the AHL among defensemen with 43 points (20-23-43). As a team the Aeros rank second in the league averaging 34.16 shots per game while also ranking fourth in the AHL scoring 3.27 goal per game. Defensively, Houston ranks first holding their opponents to just 26.36 shots per game.

Tough Road Ahead: San Antonio concludes their regular season with 16 games against Western Conference teams who own a combined .618 winning percentage. They complete the 2002-03 slate with five games against the West Division leading Houston Aeros, four contests against the Central Division leading Grand Rapids Griffins, two against the Milwaukee Admirals, three against the Chicago Wolves and a pair versus the Utah Grizzlies. This week alone the Rampage face the Griffins three times and close out the week with a battle against their intrastate rivals the Houston Aeros on Sunday, who combine for a .685 winning percentage.

Making Moves: The Florida Panthers today traded right wing Joey Tetarenko to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for goaltender Simon Lajeunesse, who was assigned to San Antonio. Lajeunesse, 22, has appeared in 19 games with the Binghamton Senators this season, posting a 7-7-1 record and a 2.92 goals against average. He has also appeared in four games with the East Coast Hockey League's Peoria Rivermen, going 2-2-0 with a 2.01 goals against average. In addition, the Florida Panthers announced today that they have recalled left wing Eric Beaudoin and have reassigned left wing Pierre Dagenais. Prior to his recall, Beaudoin notched eight points in two games, tallying a goal and three assists in each of the Rampage's last two victories. At the same time, the San Antonio Rampage today released goaltender Peter Brady. Brady dressed as the back-up goaltender for each of the Rampage's last two contests.

Making His Point: Rampage center Mike Green has recorded at least one point in 20 of the Rampage's 29 victories this season.

Viva' Laredo: Since being recalled from the Laredo Bucks of the Central Hockey League, both forward Eric Schneider and defenseman Michel Periard have played crucial roles in each of San Antonio's last four contests. Schneider has scored five goals in his last five games, while Periard has collected four points (3-1-4) in his last two games played.

Don't Blink: Rookie defenseman Michel Periard set a franchise record for individual scoring, recording a pair of back-to-back goals just 25 seconds apart in the first period in San Antonio's 6-2 win vs. Houston Monday night.

Between the Pipes: Rampage goaltender Chris Mason ranks fourth among active goaltenders in the AHL with a 2.24 goals against average and places tied for second among active AHL netminders with a .929 save percentage. In addition, Wade Flaherty has posted wins in five of his last seven contests, and is unbeaten in his last four games played (3-0-1).

Goals Galore: The Rampage have had little trouble finding the net their past two games combining for 12 goals. San Antonio beat the Milwaukee Admirals 6-2 on Mar.2 with six different players lighting up the lamp. On Mar. 3, the Rampage continued their offensive onslaught with another six-goal performance beating the Houston Aeros 6-2.

On the PK: The Rampage place first in the AHL killing off 90.0% (144-160) of their opponent's power play opportunities inside the SBC Center. San Antonio ranks sixth overall in the AHL killing off 85.9% (305-355 of their opponent's power play opportunities.

With the Man Advantage: The Rampage have recorded nine power play goals in their last eight contests and place fourth in the AHL converting on 20.9% (28-134) of the power play chances inside the SBC Center. In addition, they have scored at least one power play tally in each of their last four games.

No Place Like Home: Mike Green has collected 28 of his 45 points on home ice, while Jim Campbell has picked up 24 of his 41 points inside the SBC Center so far this season.

Gotta Get the First Goal: The Rampage are 22-4-7-2 this season when they score the first goal of the game. San Antonio also boasts a 15-2-3-1 record when they lead after the first period.

The Wild West: San Antonio posts a 20-7-7-2 mark against clubs outside the West Division, while they have only managed a 9-16-3-0 mark against clubs within their division. Just eight points separate fifth from second place in the tightly contested West Division.

Leading After 40: The Rampage have yet to lose a game this year when leading after two periods of play, posting a 22-0-6-0 mark.

League Leaders: Filip Novak ranks second among league blue liners with a .125 shooting percentage, scoring nine goals on 72 shots. Rocky Thompson places first among league defenseman with 22 major penalties and first among blue liners with 224 penalty minutes.

Team Leaders: Mike Green (21-24-45) and Jeff Toms (20-25-45) lead the club with 45 points. In addition, Green also paces the team with 21 tallies. Filip Novak leads all blue liners with 23 points (9-14-23). Eric Beaudoin ranks first on the club with a +12 rating. Rocky Thompson's 224 penalty minutes leads the team.

The Panthers Den: The Panthers (20-25-12-9) sit in third place in the Southeast Division with 61 points. Florida edged the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 last night and remain six points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Florida hosts the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night.

Down on the Farm: The Jackson Bandits (27-23-7) sit in fifth place in the Southwest Division with 61 points. Jackson visits the Pensacola Ice Pilots this evening. The Laredo Bucks (37-14-6) sit in second place in the Southeast Division with 80 points. The Bucks battle the first place Austin Ice Bats tonight.

On The Web: Check out www.sarampage.com for all the latest news and information on the newest team in the Alamo City.

Ticket Information: Rampage full, half and flex ticket packages can be purchased by contacting a ticket sales representative at 210-227-GOAL (4625). Individual tickets can be purchased at the SBC Center Box Office, select Ticketmaster Ticket Centers including Foley's and Wherehouse Music stores, the Northwoods Ice Center, sarampage.com, ticketmaster.com and by phone at 210-225-TEAM (8326).

Check out the San Antonio Rampage Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from March 4, 2003


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