Rampage claim first points of the year, with hard earned road win in Terrace

The first road trip of the season proved to be a successful run up the Skeena, as the Prince Rupert Rampage claimed their first victory of the 2013 CIHL season with a 3-2 victory over the host Terrace River Kings.

Saturday night's match was a hard hitting and even paced contest, with the Rampage holding the home town River Kings off the score sheet in the first period, a feeling out period, one which the two teams used to set the stage for the final forty minutes of fast and physical hockey.

The Rampage took the first lead of the game at the 8:49 mark of period number two, with a marker from Jared Davis, with an assist from Jared Meers accounting for the first goal of the game. That 1-0 lead held until the sixteen minute mark, when the River Kings tied the game up, sending the teams even into the second intermission.

The trading off of goals in the second, set the stage for a frantic and rather rough third period, as tempers flared in the first ten minutes, with fighting majors and Game Misconducts assessed for the nastiness.

When the gloves were picked up and the penalties sorted out, the Rampage grabbed some of the momentum and took the lead on a Jared Meers goal at 9:03, Meers closing out the scoring play with assists from Marcus Atchison and Kendal Stace-Smith.

That however was a short lived advantage on the Sportsplex scoreboard, with Terrace rushing right back into the Rupert end and once again, tying the game up with a goal at 10:03.

The Rampage would grab the lead for good one minute later, with Craig Munro scoring what would be the winning goal at 11:19, with assists from Jared Davis and Kendall Mossini.

With Terrace facing a possible loss on home ice, the intensity level increased even more as the clock began it's run towards full time,  the teams trading off on slashing, tripping and roughing penalties in the final nine minutes of the third period.

By nights end Prince Rupert had been assessed 39 minutes of penalty time on 15 infractions, the River Kings were assessed 11 infractions on the night, serving 23 minutes in the penalty box.

The frenzy of action through sixty minutes of action provided for a fairly entertaining night of hockey for the 500 fans in attendance at the Terrace Sportsplex.

Rampage goaltender Keano Wilson recorded the well deserved victory in the Prince Rupert net, turning aside 57 of 59 shots on the evening.

Rampage shooters put their three goals behind Terrace goaltender Garret Muir, who faced 33 shots on the night.

With the victory, the Rampage move into fourth place, trailing the Smithers Steelheads, Kitimat Ice Demons and Houston Luckies in the competitive West Division. Terrace with their loss, holds title on fifth with a record of 1 and 3.

Prince Rupert is back on the road this weekend, with games Saturday and Sunday in Houston against the Luckies.

You can review the scoresheet from Saturday night's victory in Terrace here, Past game summaries and the schedule ahead can be found here, while more items on the Rampage and the CIHL on our Archive page.