The year ahead has already provided for a few challenges for the league, most notably the suspension of the Houston Luckies franchise earlier this year.
That was the result of a hard decision by Houston team officials, as they realized that owing to the economic difficulties of the area, putting a full team on the ice for this season was something that just wasn't possible.
That left the CIHL as a seven team circuit for this season, with an East division consisting of Lac La Hache, Quesnel and Williams Lake, while the Rampage, Smithers, Kitimat and Terrace make up the West.
The reconfiguration of the league, means that getting off to a strong start in the regular season will prove to be vital for the Rampage, as only four spots overall will be up for grabs in the playoffs, two from each division.
The rust of an off season was given a good shake through a fairly vigorous training camp, as the familiar core of last years Rampage squad, along with a number of hopefuls battled for spots for this years edition.
With last year's struggles behind them, the Rampage will be looking for a number of last years younger players to step up their game in the new campaign. That valuable experience of last season, including the exciting playoff race is something which should serve the team well as they take on the competition.
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| Coy Cup |
Saturday night brings a familiar foe into the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre as the Kitimat Ice Demons, a perennial threat in the CIHL and 4 time Coy Cup winners make the trip to Rupert for the 8 PM puck drop on the Rampage season opener.
The Ice Demons will arrive in Prince Rupert, after having kicked off the year with a home date against the Terrace River Kings on Friday night, while the Quesnel Kangaroos and Williams Lake Stampeders will have provided for the ice breaker on the new season earlier that evening.
The rosters for Saturday night's home opener can be found here, all part of the pre game notes provided by the CIHL website.
The rest of the season for the Rampage (see schedule below) provide more than a few challenges for the Rupert squad, with a lengthy stretch of five consecutive road games in November, including a lengthy trek to the Cariboo at the start of that month.
As well a double header with the Smithers Steelheads in November could make those thirty days on the road key to the Rampage ambitions for the year.
The regular season wraps up on January 16th when the Rampage host the Terrace River Kings at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre. Whether that game provides for the launch of a playoff run, or heralds the end of the season for the squad will depend on the results of the previous fifteen games.
The full league schedule, scoring results, standings and other features from all CIHL games this year can be tracked from the CIHL site, which provides a full review of developments across the league.
Prince Rupert Rampage information can be found from the team's Facebook page and twitter feed.
Rampage fans can follow our coverage of the team from our Rampage Results page.
More background on the 2014-15 Rampage season and notes about the other teams of the CIHL can be found from our archive page.
The full Rampage Schedule for 2014-15 can be found below.
Home games in red, road games in green.
Saturday, October 4-- Kitimat at Prince Rupert -- 8 PM start
Saturday, October 11-- Rampage at Terrace
Saturday, October 18-- Williams Lake at Prince Rupert -- 8 PM start
Sunday, October 19-- Quesnel at Prince Rupert -- 1 PM start
Saturday, November 1-- Kitimat at Prince Rupert
Saturday, November 8-- Rampage at Williams Lake
Sunday, November 9-- Rampage at Quesnel
Saturday, November 22-- Rampage at Smithers
Sunday, November 23-- Rampage at Smithers
Saturday, November 29-- Rampage at Kitimat
Sunday, December 6-- Smithers at Prince Rupert -- 8 PM start
Sunday, December 7-- Smithers at Prince Rupert -- 1 PM start
Saturday, December 27-- Rampage at Kitimat
Sunday, December 28-- Rampage at Terrace
Saturday, January 3-- Terrace at Prince Rupert -- 8 PM start
Friday, January 16-- Terrace at Prince Rupert -- 8 PM start
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