“Rampage Roundup” is a weekly feature at The Sunshine Skate to keep you in touch with your favorite future Panthers.
Summary:
The Rampage travelled to Oklahoma to face off against the Barons in back–to–back games on Friday, February 27th, and Saturday, the 28th. In what has been the pattern of the “Rodeo Road Trip” this year, San Antonio split the wins this week, defeating the Barons 4–2 before falling 0–4 the next night.
Michael Houser, with increased confidence on this trip, started in goal on Friday night. The Rampage scored almost immediately with a wrister by Mark Mancari a minute and a half into the game. The Barons’ Brad Hunt tallied the equalizer barely three minutes later. The Rampage retook the lead in the second period with a goal from John McFarland during a 4–on–4, his fifth of the year. Early scoring continued in the third with a goal from Shane O’Brien exactly a minute into the final frame, with the Barons cutting the lead to 3–2 with a power play goal from Bogdan Yakimov four minutes later. However, they were unable to tie the game in the remaining fifteen minutes, as Connor Brickley picked up an empty netter and his 19th of the season with less than a minute to go.
The Barons were able to strike back on Saturday as the Rampage hung Dan Ellis out to dry in front of the net. Following a scoreless first period, Connor Jones put the Barons on the board, six minutes into the second. Less than ten minutes later, as the Rampage struggled to find rhythm, Jujhar Khaira and Yakimov scored within 30 seconds of each other to take a 3–0 lead. Despite a solid PK, the third period proved to be little different for the Rampage, with only 7 shots on goal for the final frame. The Baron’s Andrew Miller scored the final goal of the night with 8 minutes to go. With the impending loss, tensions ran high as Mackenzie Weegar and Andrew Yogan both picked up a game misconduct for unsportsmanlike conduct with 16 seconds left in the game, along with OKC’s Travis Ewanyk, Mitch Moroz, and Khaira. Dan Ellis finished the game with 33 saves on 37 shots.
Impact Players:
Both Vincent Trocheck and Alex Petrovic were assigned to the Rampage following the NHL trade deadline and recalled immediately, making them eligible for AHL playoffs.
In terms of Panthers trades that affect the Rampage, Dany Heatley was acquired from the Ducks and directly assigned to San Antonio. Florida also made an AHL-level trade, sending center Ryan Martindale to the Syracuse Crunch. In exchange, the Tampa Bay affiliate sent defenseman Matthew Corrente to the Rampage. At 26, Corrrente has played in the AHL for 7 seasons, notching a total of 68 points (17G, 51A), with two goals and six assists so far this season. He’s also played in 34 NHL games with the New Jersey Devils during the 09–10 and 10–11 seasons.
After a memorable game last night against the Maple Leafs, in which both Roberto Luongo and Al Montoya were unfortunately injured, Dan Ellis was recalled to Sunrise. Despite being called up earlier this season, Ellis hasn’t played a game for the Panthers since April. In 36 games with the Rampage, he has a .906 SV% and a 2.70 GAA. In addition, Sam Brittain was called up from the Cyclones as the team was already in Orlando. As for the Rampage back-up, they will sign Joe Howe of the Orlando Solar Bears to a PTO for their games in Charlotte, per Dan Weiss.
Upcoming games:
The Rampage are finishing out the final leg of their “Rodeo Road Trip” with two games in Charlotte, the first of which is tonight. They’ll play again on Thursday night before finally heading back to home sweet Texas, where the Iowa Wild will be visiting on Saturday, March 7th. The Rampage are sitting comfortably in a playoff spot as they’re 5th in the Western Conference but the point differential between them and the 9th ranked Wolves is only 5 points. With a precarious goalie situation, San Antonio will need solid wins against the Checkers to stay on pace.
Natalija can be reached for contact on Twitter.
