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Rampage Rewind: Leader of the Pac Division

November 6, 2015

Week 4: Oct. 30 – Nov. 5, 2015

The San Antonio Rampage sit comfortably in first within the Pacific Division and the Western Conference this week after a sweep of the former division leaders, the Ontario Reign.

The Week in Review

Games

The Rampage had a full week with two games against the Ontario Reign and a mid-week tilt in San Diego against the newly-formed Gulls. All three games went into overtime, and San Antonio came out on top in two of them.

Ben Street was the hero in both games against the Reign, a team that had been leading the Pacific Division until the Rampage strolled into town. The games were characterized by tight, tough play, and the wins did not come easily. Rampage skaters had a difficult time solving former Avalanche goaltender Peter Budaj, but thanks to goals by Street, Zach Redmond, Colin Smith, and Andrew Agozzino, not to mention solid backstopping by Calvin Pickard, San Antonio prevailed.

In San Diego, the Rampage fell behind early, but with two goals in the third, sent the game into overtime. It wasn’t until the end of the extra period that the Gulls scored the game-winning goal. In doing so, San Antonio’s five game winning streak was broken, but the team remains atop the Pacific Division.

Highlights
Rampage @ Reign, Oct. 30 (Win, 3-2 OT)
Rampage @ Reign, Oct. 31 (Win, 2-1 OT)
Rampage @ Gulls, Nov. 3 (Loss, 3-2 OT)

Play of the Week
“Fool you twice and shame on you”

Roster Transactions
Center Ben Street was recalled to the Colorado Avalanche on Monday to replace injured Avalanche forward John Mitchell. Street had been San Antonio’s leading scorer with 12 points (3g, 9a) in six games. He scored both overtime, game-winning goals against the Ontario Reign. Prior to this season, Street had 22 NHL games, 19 of which came with the Calgary Flames in 2012-14. He has two NHL assists.

Forwards Trevor Cheek (LW) and Garrett Meurs (RW) were reassigned to the Rampage from the Fort Wayne Komets today. After six games, Cheek leads the Komets with five goals, and his eight points puts him in second for scoring. Meurs has one goal and one assist in six games this season.

The Week Ahead

Games
The Rampage have a tough weekend with three games in as many nights, one of which is on the road. That will be followed up with a mid-week road game.

On Friday, the team welcomes the Chicago Wolves into town (7:30 pm CT) for San Antonio’s second home game of the season. The Wolves lead the Central Division with a 5-1-0-1 record. The team is scoring at a solid clip with 28 goals for in 7 games.

On Saturday, the boys head off to see the Texas Stars for the second time this season (7:00 pm CT). The Stars have the most prolific offense in the league with 42 goals for, with the AHL’s October Player of the Month Devin Shore leading the pack with eight goals in only nine games played. Shore was recently recalled by the Dallas Stars, so the Rampage defense won’t be tasked with finding a way to stop him.

On Sunday, the Wolves and Rampage face off again in San Antonio with a 4:00 pm CT start. Just a few days later, on Wednesday, Nov. 11, the Rampage returns to Cedar Park Center for another tilt against the Texas Stars.

Storylines

Tops of the Pops
Goaltender Calvin Pickard was named Goaltender of the Month for October. He’s having the best season of his professional career thus far with a staggering .942 save percentage and 1.94 goals against average. He has only allowed 14 goals against this season while recording a shutout and an assist in the process.

Back in Black
After missing two games to an upper body injury, Andrew Agozzino picked up right where he left off in his first game back by scoring just 24 seconds into the first period of San Antonio’s 2-1 overtime win against the Reign. Agozzino has five goals in five games played (9 points).

Watch and Wait
Unfortunately, Agozzino has been sidelined again due to injury, and he and Marc-Andre Cliche are under the watchful eyes of the team’s trainers. They both were kept out of practice, but nothing official has been announced yet about their participation in this weekend’s games.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner
The Rampage is the only team in the AHL that currently does not have a regulation loss.