The San Antonio Rampage improved to 3-1 on the season after edging the Texas Stars 3-2 Friday night in Cedar Park. Following a dismal performance over the first two periods, the silver and black bounced back for a strong third period and OT, before finishing off the rival Stars in the shootout.
After falling behind on a Curtis McKenzie goal, St Louis Blues prospect Tage Thompson picked up his first career goal with the Rampage on his first shot, joining Wade Megan as the only players in franchise history to accomplish the feat.
The second period was dominated by the Stars and Texas again regained the lead on a goal off the stick of Jason Dickinson, his fifth. After some rough play in the second, which included a Nic Meloche ejection for a cross-check, Mason Geertsen netted the first AHL goal of his career off a nice rush and picture perfect cross-ice pass from AJ Greer, beating Mike McKenna for the tying goal.
The game would flip in the third, however, as the Rampage, aided by a couple of power plays, dictated the pace and out shot the Stars 14-3. Once again, though, they had difficulty capitalizing and the game would eventually be decided via a skills competition.
The Stars got an opening goal from Travis Morin, but Spencer Martin, who was outstanding all night, stopped the rest of the Stars shooters. The Rampage meanwhile, picked up goals from Joe Colborne and Rocco Grimaldi, earning the valuable extra point.
Streamables – (Courtesy of Nathan Rudolph @AvalancheReview)
Rampage 0 – Stars 1
1st Period (12:47) TEX Curtis McKenzie (2) ASST: Denis Gurianov (2)
Rampage 1 – Stars 1
1st Period (13:26) SA Tage Thompson (1) ASST: Joe Colborne (1), Klim Kostin (3)
Rampage 1 – Stars 2
2nd period (4:50) – TEX Jason Dickinson (5) ASST: Denis Gurianov (3), Gavin Bayreuther (3)
Rampage 2 – Stars 2
3rd period (13:36) – SA Mason Geertsen (1) ASST: AJ Greer (1) Tage Thompson (1)
Rampage 3 – Stars 2
Shootout:
Morin (TEX) – Goal
Colborne (SA) – Goal
Hintz (TEX) – No Goal
Thompson (SA) – No Goal
Gurianov (TEX) – No Goal
Grimaldi (SA) – Goal
The Good
- The PK once again was a bright beacon of greatness, killing off all five Stars power plays and yet another major penalty in the second.
- The third period, aided by a couple of power plays was a clinic for the Rampage.
- Tage Thompson looks like a great addition after one game.
The Bad
- The Rampage are still having trouble hitting the net. Agozzino and Grimaldi each had glorious chances in the 3rd to score the go-ahead goal and either fanned or missed the net.
- The officiating was pretty questionable all night. Meloche’s crosscheck was a penalty, but a major? No way.
The Ugly
- The first two periods. Outshot 28-7 through 40 minutes, it was a minor miracle they came out of that mess tied.
- Back to officiating, keep control of the game gentlemen. Your lack of control is what gets guys hurt.
The Rampage and Stars have a rematch in Cedar Park tomorrow night before returning home for a Sunday matinee against…the Stars. All games can be heard on Ticket760 or streamed on AHL Live.