AHL San Antonio Rampage

Rampage Weekly Notes

Published on March 17, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
San Antonio Rampage News Release


Smile for the Camera: This Saturday night's game against the Utah Grizzlies will be televised on WB 35 with Andrew Monaco handling the play-by-play and Brian Shantz providing the color commentary.

Two for $10: Fans who bring any valid Diamond Shamrock receipt or special coupon from participating Diamond Shamrock locations to the SBC Center Box Office, may purchase two tickets for just $10! Offer good for all remaining games in March and subject to seating availability.

Last Week's Results:

Tuesday, March 11 – Houston 4 at San Antonio 7 W

Pierre Dagenais scored twice and Jeff Toms had a goal and a pair of assists as the San Antonio Rampage beat the Houston Aeros, 7-4. Dagenais gave San Antonio a 5-2 lead early in the second period and scored on the power play 5:01 into the third. Toms, who leads the team with 52 points, closed the scoring with a tally 8:33 into the final period. Jim Campbell, Pascal Trepanier and Eric Beaudoin each notched a goal and an assist for the Rampage, who have won five of their last seven games. Chris Mason turned aside 29 shots to record his 21st win of the year. Rastislav Pavlikovsky had a goal and two assists and Jean Guy-Trudel scored 75 seconds into the third period and added a helper for Houston, which is winless over its last six games on the road. Derek Gustafson allowed five goals before being replaced by Peter Brady in the second period.

Thursday, March 13 – Chicago 1 at San Antonio 8 W

Pierre Dagenais and Juraj Kolnik combined for three goals during a 3:19 stretch of the second period to help the San Antonio Rampage defeat the Chicago Wolves, 8-1. Dagenais scored on the power play at the 7:03 mark and Kolnik tallied just 1:21 later to give San Antonio a 5-1 lead. Kolnik buried a shorthanded goal with 9:38 remaining in the middle period and Dagenais added a shorthanded tally of his own midway through the third. Mike Green was credited with his fourth game-winning goal of the season with 9:39 remaining in the first period for the Rampage. Eric Beaudoin and Serge Payer each contributed a goal and two assists for San Antonio, which has scored 15 goals over its last two games. Chris Mason stopped 29 shots, including all 21 he faced over the final two periods.

Saturday, March 15 – Grand Rapids 2 at San Antonio 0 L

Marc Lamothe made 26 saves and Michel Picard scored a goal and assisted on another to help the

Grand Rapids Griffins blank the San Antonio Rampage, 2-0. Lamothe, who stopped a season-high 52 shots on Thursday, turned away eight shots in the first period, 12 in the second and six in the third for his career-best fifth shutout of the season. Picard set up Mark Mowers, who scored his 30th goal of the season 37 seconds into the match for his team-high seventh game-winner. Picard also tallied his 27th goal at 4:23 of the first period for the Griffins. Chris Mason stopped 24 of 26 shots, including 17 over the final two frames, for San Antonio, which fell to 6-2-0-1 in March.

Where They Stand: After 71 games the Rampage (33-25-10-3) sit in third place in the West Division, just two points behind the second place Chicago Wolves (35-24-7-3). Houston (42-19-7-3) holds down the top spot in the division, while Utah (33-29-3-4) and Milwaukee (26-25-13-5) sit in fourth and fifth place respectively.

Calder Cup Watch: If the Calder Cup playoffs were to start today, the Rampage would not have to play in the best-of-three qualifying round. Once the qualifying round was complete, San Antonio would meet their divisional rivals the Chicago Wolves in the Western Conference quarterfinals, a best-of-five series.

Rampage vs. Aeros: The Rampage battle their intrastate rivals, the Houston Aeros for the tenth time this year on Thursday night, Mar. 20, at the SBC Center. The two clubs who square off against one another a season-high 12 times, meet for the fourth time this month. Houston currently holds the advantage in the season set with a 6-2-1-0 record versus San Antonio. In their most recent meeting on Tuesday, Mar. 11, the Rampage handed the Aeros a 7-4 loss. Two days earlier on Mar. 9, the Aeros skated past the Rampage 4-1, while firing an AHL season-high 59 shots. On 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, before dropping their first five contests against Houston to open the 2002-03 campaign. Houston left wing Jean-Guy Trudel has picked up 11 points (3-8-11) in nine games, while center Mark Cullen (6-3-9) has nine points in seven games against San Antonio. For the Rampage, Jim Campbell (2-5-7) has recorded seven points in seven games, while Jeff Toms (2-4-6) and Eric Beaudoin (2-4-6) both have notched six points against the Aeros.

Last Rampage Win: 7-4 on 3/11/03.

Last Rampage Win at the SBC Center: 7-4 on 3/11/03.

Last Aeros Win: 4-1 on 3/9/03.

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

Houston Scouting Report: Houston (42-19-7-3) who clinched a playoff berth last week sits atop the West Division standings. Left wing Jean-Guy Trudel paces the Aeros and ranks tied for third in the AHL with 72 points (26-46-72), while left wing Hnat Domenichelli ranks second on the club with 50 points (25-25-50). Curtis Murphy leads all Houston blue liners and ranks tied first in the AHL among defensemen with 48 points (21-27-48). As a team, the Aeros place second in the league averaging 34.61 shots per game and fourth averaging 3.24 goals per game. Defensively, the Aeros rank first holding their opponents to just 26.61 shots per game.

Rampage vs. Grizzlies: The Grizzlies makes their final trip to the Alamo City to battle with the Rampage on Saturday, Mar. 22 and Monday, Mar. 24. After going head-to-head six times this season, the series is tied at three games apiece. In their first meeting on Oct. 18, the Rampage picked up their first win in franchise history, a 5-4 come from behind win over the Grizzles. The following night Utah responded by handing San Antonio a 5-3 setback. In their first meeting in Southern Texas on Dec. 4 the Rampage doubled up the Grizzlies 4-2. San Antonio's last trip to West Valley City didn't fare so well with the Rampage dropping consecutive games to Utah on Dec. 11th (5-3) and Dec. 13th (2-0). In their most recent meeting in San Antonio, the Rampage knotted the season series at three handing the Grizzlies a 4-1 loss on Jan. 10 at the SBC Center. For the Grizzlies, Jim Montgomery has handed out six assists in six games against San Antonio. Serge Payer has been the catalyst in the Rampage's offense versus Utah picking up six assists in six games. Jeff Toms (2-3-5) and Filip Novak (3-2-5) both have five points in six games against the Grizzlies.

Last Rampage Win: 4-1 on 1/10/03.

Last Rampage Win at the SBC Center: 4-1 on 1/10/03.

Last Grizzlies Win: 2-0 on 12/13/03.

Last Grizzlies Win at the SBC Center: N/A

Utah Scouting Report: The Grizzlies (33-29-3-4) sit in fourth place in the West Division, six points behind San Antonio. Utah enters the week seventh in the Western Conference standings with 73 points, but they have three teams hot on their heals with 70 points each. Eric Landry (25-35-60) and Jim Montgomery (20-41-61) pace the Grizzlies scoring attack and both rank among AHL scoring leaders. Defenseman Greg Hawgood ranks tied for first among AHL blue liners with 48 points (12-36-48). Defenseman John Erskine ranks first in the AHL with 239 penalty minutes, just one penalty minute ahead of San Antonio's Rocky Thompson. As a team, the Grizzlies rank sixth on the power play scoring on 18.5 percent (78-422) of the chances and are tied for 10th in the league averaging 2.96 goals per game. Utah also ranks second in the AHL, averaging 27.0 penalty minutes per game.

Utah Connections: Ryan Jardine, Serge Payer, Paul Elliott, Kyle Rossiter and Eric Beaudoin and all played for the Grizzlies last season.

Tough Road Ahead: San Antonio concludes their regular season with 9 games all against West Division opponents who own a combined .580 winning percentage. They complete the 2002-03 slate with three games against the West Division leading Houston Aeros, two against the Milwaukee Admirals, two against the Chicago Wolves and a pair versus the Utah Grizzlies.

Beaudoin Bringing It: Eric Beaudoin has notched 13 points (4-9-13) and a +9 rating in his last five games with San Antonio. With Beaudoin in the line-up, the Rampage have been victorious in four of their last five contests, outscoring their opponents 27-12.

Kolnik and Shvidki Get the Call: On Monday, the Florida Panthers recalled right wing Juraj Kolnik. He has appeared in 10 games with the Panthers earlier this season recording one assist. In addition, right wing Denis Shvidki was recalled by the parent club prior to Saturday night's game. He has played in 15 games with the Cats this year notching a pair of goals and assists.

McNeill to Join Rampage: The Florida Panthers on Sunday announced that they signed defenseman Grant McNeill to an entry-level contract. The Panthers selected McNeill, 19, in the third round (68th overall) of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound native of Vermilion, Alberta, played in his final game for the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League last night and he is expected to join the Rampage later this week. He has played in 70 games with Prince Albert this year notching seven goals and six assists, along with 326 penalty minutes. For his career, McNeill played in 261 all with Prince Albert, recording 32 points (11-21-32) and 929 penalty minutes. He led the WHL in penalty minutes in 2001-02, with 326, and was the recipient of the 2002 Jim Neilson Most Valuable Defenseman award as Prince Albert's top rearguard.

Home Sweet Home: The Rampage, who own the third best home record in the Western Conference at 21-7-6-1 are in the midst of an eight game homestand, where they have posted a 2-1 mark picking up wins over Houston (7-4) on Mar. 11 and Chicago (8-1) on Mar. 13, in addition to a loss to Grand Rapids (2-0) on Mar. 15.

Mason's Magic: Rampage goaltender Chris Mason ranks fourth among active goaltenders in the AHL with a 2.28 goals against average and places second among active netminders with a .929 save percentage. He has earned wins in six of his eight starts this month, posting a 2.51 goals against average and a .929 save percentage.

Pickin' Up Points: Pierre Dagenais (7-0-7) has scored seven goals in his last six games, while Mike Green (1-2-3) has notched three points in his last two contests.

Making His Point: Rampage center Mike Green has recorded at least one point in 24 of the Rampage's 33 victories this season.

Down a Man: San Antonio places third in the league with 16 shorthanded tallies. Serge Payer and Pierre Dagenais rank tied for the team lead with three shorthanded goals apiece.

On the PK: The Rampage place first in the AHL killing off 89.5% (170-190) of their opponent's power play opportunities inside the SBC Center. San Antonio ranks fourth overall in the AHL killing off 86.0% (339-394) of their opponent's power play opportunities.

With the Man Advantage: The Rampage have recorded 17 power play goals in their last 15 contests and place third in the AHL converting on 21.1% (35-166) of the power play chances inside the SBC Center.

Gotta Get the First Goal: The Rampage are 24-5-7-2 this season when they score the first goal of the game. San Antonio also boasts an 18-2-3-1 record when they lead after the first period.

The Wild West: San Antonio posts a 22-8-7-3 mark against clubs outside the West Division, while they have only managed an 11-17-3-0 mark against clubs within their division.

Home Ice Advantage: Mike Green has collected 33 of his 51 points inside the SBC Center, while Jim Campbell has notched 28 of his 45 points on the Rampage's home ice this season.

Leading After 40: The Rampage have yet to lose a game in regulation this year when leading after two periods of play, posting a 24-0-6-1 mark.

League Leaders: Filip Novak ranks second among league blue liners with a .127 shooting percentage, scoring 10 goals on 79 shots. Rocky Thompson places first among league defenseman with 24 major penalties and second among blue liners with 238 penalty minutes.

Team Leaders: Jeff Toms (24-28-52) paces the club with 52 points, while Mike Green (24-27-51) places second with 51 points. Filip Novak leads all blue liners with 27 points (10-17-27). Rocky Thompson's 238 penalty minutes paces the team. Eric Beaudoin leads the team with a +17 rating.

With Honors: On Wednesday, Mar. 12, the Central Hockey League named Michel Periard as the league's most valuable defenseman. He completed the regular season ranking sixth among CHL blue liners with 18 goals and 35 assists and a plus/minus rating of +18 in 50 games. Periard has also appeared in 10 games with San Antonio this year picking up three goals and five assists.

The Panthers Den: The Panthers (23-29-12-9) sit in third place in the Southeast Division with 67 points. The Cats double-up the Pittsburgh Penguins last night. Florida who remains eight points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, hosts the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday evening.

Down on the Farm: The Jackson Bandits (32-23-8) sit in fifth place in the Southwest Division with 72 points. Jackson visits the Pensacola Ice Pilots this evening. The Laredo Bucks (41-17-6) completed their inaugural season in the Central Hockey League with a 3-2 loss to Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs on Saturday night. They open the Ray Miron President's Cup playoffs in Odessa against the Jackalopes on Friday night.

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).

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American Hockey League Stories from March 17, 2003


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