Rampage dominate Checkers, 5-2

CHARLOTTE, NC – The San Antonio Rampage (21-21-7-0) defeated the Charlotte Checkers (25-17-2-2) 5-2 in front of 4,247 in Bojangles’ Coliseum on Monday night. The Silver and Black had five multiple-point scorers on the night, while Roman Will and the penalty kill extinguished a season-high nine Charlotte power-play opportunities. Mikko Rantanen, who finished with the First Star of the Night, collected two goals, while Joey Hishon and Maxim Noreau combined for seven assists. Hishon’s four assists set a season high for the Rampage and he now joins Rantanen as the only two players to record four points in a game this season. san-antonio-rampage-logo

The Rampage started the scoring early in the first period as Noreau fired a rocket from the blue line, ricocheting off the stick of Dennis Everberg into the back of the net to give the Rampage a 1-0 lead. Charlotte refused to fall flat after giving up the first goal, and answered with a power play goal of their own nearly two minutes later. Both teams were held scoreless for the remainder of the first period, as the teams went into the first intermission tied at one.

The Silver and Black had a barrage of goals in the second period, converting 42.9% of their shots and forcing a goaltender change by the Checkers. The second Rampage goal came at the 6:11 mark, when Noreau fed an open Borna Rendulic who buried the puck past Daniel Altshuller. San Antonio registered a third goal when Rantanen took an awkwardly bouncing puck in front of the net for an easy back-hander, extending his road point streak to nine games. Just before the teams hit the second intermission, Garrett Thompson and Rendulic worked the puck down the ice through a series of one-touch passes after Marc-Andre Cliché won a faceoff in the Rampage zone. Thompson ultimately finished the puck, scoring his third goal in a silver and black sweater.

San Antonio began the third stanza with a 4-1 lead after scoring three power-play goals in the first two periods, which ties a season-high for the Rampage. Charlotte tried to spark a comeback when they found the back of the net with 3:39 remaining, but Rantanen put an end to it when he potted an empty-net goal to seal a 5-2 victory for the Silver and Black.

Roman Will finished the night with 31 saves on 33 shots, earning him the Second Star of the Night.

Leave a Comment