SAN ANTONIO, TX – Mike Vecchione scored his team-leading 18th goal of the season and Adam Wilcox made 24 saves, as the San Antonio Rampage (14-17-9) held on for a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Marlies (21-15-3) on Thursday night at the AT&T Center.
Jake Walman, Cam Darcy, and Klim Kostin also scored for San Antonio, who improved to 9-8-6 at home this season.
The Toronto Marlies play the San Antonio Rampage during the second period of an AHL hockey game, Sunday, Jan. 16, 2020, in San Antonio. (Darren Abate/AHL)
The Rampage struck early in the first period, shortly after Mason Marchment was whistled for hooking just 37 seconds into the game. Just five seconds into the power play, Walman sent a wrist shot sailing up over the glove of Marlies goaltender Joseph Woll for his fifth goal of the season and a 1-0 Rampage lead.
At 5:12 of the first, Vecchione added to the lead. Carrying the puck into the Marlies zone on the left wing, Vecchione pulled the puck to the middle of the ice and danced around Marlies defensemen Teemu Kivihalme and Jesper Lindgren before firing his 18th goal of the season between Woll’s pads.
Vecchione has goals in back-to-back games, and his 18 goals are a new career-high. Last season, Ryan Olsen and Jordan Nolan tied for the team lead with 17 goals for the season.
Darcy added to the Rampage lead at 6:52 of the second period, racing in on goal from the left wing and lifting a shot past Woll’s blocker for his third of the season and a 3-0 Rampage lead. It was Darcy’s first goal since Nov. 12, after the forward had missed 14 games due to injury between Dec. 1 and Jan. 5.
The Rampage made it 4-0 at 9:05 of the second, with Kostin redirecting a Mitch Reinke point shot past Woll for his eighth of the season. Kostin has five goals and ten points in his last ten games.
Darcy and Kostin both finished the game with two points. Les Lancaster earned an assist in his Rampage debut, his first AHL point.
Scott Pooley kicked off the Marlies comeback effort at 16:18 of the second period, batting a puck out of the air, off the post, and in for a power play goal, his fourth of the season. At 10:19 of the third period, Nic Petan made it 4-2 with a redirection of a Jeremy Bracco feed, the puck bouncing in off the crossbar for Petan’s eighth goal of the year.
The Marlies were held to only seven shots in the third period, but Kenny Agostino pulled them to within a goal at 18:06 with a wrap-around goal inside the right post. Agostino’s 19th of the season made it 4-3.
The Marlies pulled their goaltender, but Wilcox made the final saves of the game on Petan and Pontus Aberg to secure his fifth win of the season.
The Rampage finished the season series 1-3-0 against Toronto.
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