AHL San Antonio Rampage

Rivermen Float by Rampage 5-0

Published on February 18, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
San Antonio Rampage News Release


PEORIA, Illinois (February 18, 2009) - San Antonio had a chance to move into a points tie for sixth place in the West but fell in Peoria 5-0 at Carver Arena.

Peoria controlled the first seven minutes of the game outshooting the Rampage 7-1. The eighth shot put the Rivermen up 1-0 after Andy Wozniewski deposited his first goal of the season through traffic and past Rampage goalie Josh Tordjman at 6:59 of the first period.

The Rivermen played near-perfect hockey over the first ten minutes, outshooting San Antonio 11-1 without committing a single infraction.

The Rampage got a chance to even things up in the second half of the period with a thirty-two second, two-man advantage, as well as, three and half minutes of power play. But San Antonio's number three ranked road power play team could not crack Peoria goaltender Manny Legace.

Legace, a 07-08 NHL All Star with the Blues, was waived by St. Louis on Feb. 6th. The 10-year NHL veteran went unclaimed on waivers and has landed in Peoria where he entered 1-2 with a 2.02 GAA and .934 save percentage.

The Rampage dodged a bullet later in the first when the Rivermen had Tordjman beat for a backdoor score. But Jeff Cowan's shot hit the post and San Antonio got out of the first down by just one.

San Antonio had two golden opportunities during the twelfth minute of second period play. Both Jeff Hoggan and Chad Kolarik saw their shots hit the post, missing a chance to tie the game.

Then with the Rampage benefiting from back-to-back power plays, Peoria's Chris Porter stripped the puck at the blue line and fed ahead to Yan Stastny, who beat Tordjman top shelf, bottom of the crossbar for a shorthanded goal and 2-0 Peoria lead. It was San Antonio's league leading 13th shorthanded goal allowed.

Stastny, down from St. Louis on a rehab assignment, scored his first goal in five games with Peoria.

In the third, Peoria turned it on with more special teams play. First, Nicholas Drazenovic got the Rivermen's second power-play goal of the night 1:14 into the frame.

Then, Stastny got loose on another Rampage power play and beat Tordjman unassisted, five-hole as he muscled through Kyle Turris' block attempt for his second shorthanded goal of the game and a 4-0 Peoria lead 2:42 into the third period.

Peoria's Tomas Kana capped the night with his first goal of the season and 5-0 lead with just under two minutes remaining.

San Antonio, who had not been shut out all season, could not light the lamp despite the offensive punch provided by the recent assignments of leading goal scorer Jeff Hoggan, point scoring center Joel Perrault and top Phoenix draft pick Kyle Turris. The #3 overall pick in the 2007 NHL Draft, Turris, entered with 4 goals and 3 assists in just three games with San Antonio.

The Rampage get a day off before facing Quad City on Friday as the Rodeo Road Trip continues for another week. San Antonio is 3-4-2-1 with three games remaining. Antonio plays in Grand Rapids Sunday and concludes their 25-day trip in Iowa.

The Rampage host Military Appreciation night when they return to the AT&T Center, Saturday, February 28th.

Check out the San Antonio Rampage Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from February 18, 2009


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