AHL San Antonio Rampage

Rampage Wrap Up Successful First Season in AHL

Published on April 14, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
San Antonio Rampage News Release


The San Antonio Rampage's quest for the Calder Cup came to a close on Sunday afternoon, April 13 when they dropped a 3-1 decision to the South Division Champion Norfolk Admirals in the Western Conference quarterfinals.

San Antonio opened their inaugural season in the AHL playing their first six games on the road, before making their SBC Center debut on Nov. 3 against their intrastate rivals the Houston Aeros. After dropping their home opener, the Rampage put together their longest home-unbeaten streak, going the next 11 games (Nov. 6- Dec. 15) without a loss inside the SBC Center. During that stretch the Rampage recorded their longest home-winning streak of the year, posting seven consecutive home wins from Nov. 26 thru Dec. 15.

The Rampage posted a 6-0-2-0 mark in their first eight contests at the SBC Center to open 2003, gaining 14 points in the standings. San Antonio played 15 of their next 16 games on the road, including a season-high 12-game road trip were they visited seven different cities. The road warriors completed their journey with a 7-4-1-0 mark, moving from eighth to sixth overall in the Western Conference. The Rampage finished the regular season going 10-7-3-2 over their final 22 games, clinching their first playoff berth in their home regular season finale on Mar. 30.

Several players of the Rampage roster posted professional career-highs during the 2002-03 campaign. Jeff Toms posted the best numbers in his nine-year professional playing career totaling 63 points (30-33-63). Serge Payer posted career highs scoring 10 goals along with 31 assists. Eric Beaudoin picked up career-bests with 23 assists and 37 points, while Juraj Kolnik scored a career-best 25 goals. Mike Green (80), Rocky Thompson (79), Serge Payer (78), David Gove (74), Paul Elliott (63) all suited up for a career-high in games played. Thompson also recorded career highs with 11 assists, 12 points and 275 penalty minutes, while Elliott picked up a professional-best 11 assists and 15 points. Between the pipes, Chris Mason recorded a professional-best 25 wins, a 2.51 goals against average and a .921 save percentage.

Eleven of the Rampage's 22 players on their playoff roster had the opportunity to play with the parent club Florida Panthers this season. Denis Shvidki, Jeff Toms, Byron Ritchie, Branislav Mezei, Juraj Kolnik, Eric Beaudoin, Jim Campbell, Pierre Dagenais, Jamie Rivers, Kyle Rossiter and Chris Mason combined to play in 111 contests with the Panthers. In addition, defenseman Mathieu Biron who began the season in San Antonio completed the year playing in 34 games with Florida.

Players were not the only ones headed to South Florida this year. On March 6, the Panthers named John Torchetti as their new assistant coach. With "Torch" in Florida, Assistant Coach Scott Allen took over the reigns for the Rampage, guiding them into the Calder Cup playoffs.

RAMPAGE FIRSTS

· First Game: October 12, 2002 versus the Milwaukee Admirals at the Bradley Center

· First Goal: October 12, 2002 versus the Milwaukee Admirals at the Bradley Center

· First Win: October 18, 2002, 5-4 versus the Utah Grizzlies at the

"E" Center

· First Shutout: Chris Mason, November 23, 2002 at Rochester (3-0)

· First Hat Trick: Mike Green, November 26 versus Milwaukee Admirals at the SBC Center

INDIVIDUAL HONORS

· Filip Novak: AHL All-Rookie team selection, AHL Planet-USA All-Star

· Jeff Toms: Named AHL Player of the Week, for the week ending Feb. 16

· Mike Green: Rampage Man of the Year Nominee

Check out the San Antonio Rampage Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from April 14, 2003


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