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Rocky Mountain Rage Weekly

March 10, 2008 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Rocky Mountain Rage News Release


LAST WEEK'S RECORD: 1-2-0 OVERALL RECORD: 34-18-5, 73 pts.

2nd Place Northwest Division

March 4 vs. Arizona Sundogs, 5-4 Overtime Win - Despite out-shooting the Sundogs by a team record 29 shots on goal (47-18), the Rage still needed overtime to win their fifth straight game at home. Clay Plume pounced on a rebound 2:34 into the extra session to deliver the victory.

March 7 vs. Youngstown SteelHounds, 6-3 Loss - Youngstown's Mark Odut registered a hat trick to help lead the visitors to a 5-1 lead through two periods. Goals from Daymen Rycroft and Jeremy Garrison brought Rocky Mountain to within shouting distance down the stretch as the team out-gunned the ‘Hounds in the third, 15-3, but an empty-netter finally sealed the team's fate.

March 8 vs. Mississippi RiverKings, 6-2 Loss - Odd-man rushes killed the Rage for the second time in a week against the RiverKings. Although they out-shot Mississippi in the first period, 18-10, two break-away goals against put them in a 2-0 hole through 20 minutes. Unlike the previous evening when Rocky Mountain genuinely threatened to make a comeback, the team was never in this one after falling behind, 3-0, early in the second.

THIS WEEK'S UPCOMING GAMES

Tuesday, March 11, vs. Colorado Eagles, Broomfield Event Center, 7:05 p.m.

Radio: The New ESPN Radio 1600, LIVE at 6:55 p.m.

Live Audio & Video Webcast: www.rockymountainrage.com

Wednesday, March 12 @ Colorado Eagles, Budweiser Events Center, 7:05 p.m.

Radio: The New ESPN Radio 1600, LIVE at 6:55 p.m.

Live Audio & Video Webcast: www.rockymountainrage.com.

Saturday, March 15, vs. New Mexico Scorpions, Broomfield Event Center, 7:05 p.m.

Post-game Jersey Auction: Rage will wear St. Patrick's Day-themed jerseys which will be auctioned off following the game to benefit the Broomfield Event Center Foundation

Radio: The New ESPN Radio 1600, LIVE at 6:55 p.m.

Live Audio & Video Webcast: www.rockymountainrage.com

Sunday, March 16, vs. Tulsa Oilers, Broomfield Event Center, 3:05 p.m.

Final Home Game of the Regular Season!!

Radio: The New ESPN Radio 1600, LIVE at 2:55 p.m.

Live Audio & Video Webcast: www.rockymountainrage.com

FRONT RANGE RIVALRY CONCLUDES

Tomorrow and Wednesday's home-and-home against the Eagles concludes the Front Range rivals' 12-game season series. Rocky Mountain owns a 6-3-1 edge in their head-to-head battles thus far, but they have split their last four meetings with the home team winning each game in a pair of home-and-homes. The Rage's loss to Mississippi on Saturday allowed the Eagles to take over sole possession of first place in the Northwest Division with a shootout victory against Youngstown the same evening. Tomorrow marks just the second time in 58 games this season that Rocky Mountain will take the ice without at least a share of first place. Both clubs have seven games left in the race for the division crown, the winner of which automatically secures at least the second playoff seed out of the Northern Conference.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES

While it may be frustrating for the Rage now that they find themselves in second place after letting a division lead that was once as high as 10 points slip away over the past seven weeks, the club is still light years ahead of where it was last season. On March 10 of last year, Rocky Mountain was 15-35-6, a scant 47 points out of first place behind the Eagles.

NORTHERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF OUTLOOK

The Rage's costly two losses this past weekend force the team to focus not only on the battle for the division title against the Eagles, but also on the overall playoff picture in the Northern Conference if they hope to reach the post-season for the first time. As the week begins, the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs and Colorado are currently seeded #1 and #2 as the two division leaders, with Rocky Mountain, Youngstown, the Texas Brahmas, and Mississippi separated by just two points for the final three playoff berths. If the post-season began today, Mississippi would be the odd team out, and Youngstown and Texas would square-off for the right to face the Mudbugs. The Rage and the Eagles would face one another in the other first round match-up with Colorado owning home ice advantage in a best-of-seven series.

RAGE SNAPSHOTS

Brent Cullaton carries an 11-game scoring streak into tomorrow's game. The Rage captain has 21 points (7g-14a) since the streak began during his first game back from an injury on Feb. 15...Cullaton begins the week ranked fourth in the CHL with 87 points overall and second with 68 assists...Rycroft snapped a personal season-high three-game goal-scoring drought when he found the back of the net during both games over the weekend. The league's leading goal scorer needs four goals over the final seven games to reach the half-century mark...Defenseman Matt Frick returned to the line-up on Saturday after missing seven games due to injury.

Single-game tickets are available for the remainder of the 2007-08 regular season with prices ranging from $18 - $43 per seat (parking included). Fans can purchase tickets at Broomfield Event Center's box office or through Ticketmaster by logging-on to www.Ticketmaster.com, calling (303) 830-TIXS, or visiting any Ticketmaster retail outlet.

For group ticket information, please call the Rage at (303) 439-RAGE or visit www.rockymountainrage.com.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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