Rampage look to gain some distance in west with home and home series against Kitimat

A home and home series this weekend could see the Prince Rupert Rampage increase some space in the standings between the local squad and their western division competitors in the CIHL.

The Rampage are off to Kitimat tonight for the first of the weekend doubleheader, taking on the Ice Demons at Tamitik Arena at 8 PM, marking the fourth game for the Rampage in this still young 2015-16 season.

The Rampage head into Kitimat sitting atop the CIHL West standings with five points on the strength of their 2 wins and 1 OT loss to this point, hosting the best Goals For record in the division at fifteen, while also requiring a bit of work on defence with the second highest Goals Against of the four teams in the west.

They also take two of the leagues top scorers on the road with them tonight, with Patrick Robert and Tyler Ostrom both bringing five points each into tonight's action in the Aluminum City.

Jean Luc Fournier is nipping at their skates with four points thus far in the season, with five other members of the Rampage at 3 points after three games.

The offensive output and depth of all the lines has been one of the keys to success for the Rhinos to this point, with the team clicking on a number of scoring opportunities and finding a fair amount of time to work in the offensive zone as their 120 shots on net over three games will testify to.

Physically they are also taking to the challenges from opponents, not suffering the chippy play without a bit of push back, with the Rampage so far having been assessed 99 minutes in penalty time in their first three games.

Following tonight's match up in Kitimat, the two teams head for the North Coast and a Saturday night showdown at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre, with a puck drop set for  7 PM.

With Terrace getting a bye for this weekend and Smithers off to the Cariboo for the gruelling central interior tour, if all goes well over the two nights, the Rampage may very well find that this weekend provides them with an opportunity to provide some separation in the West by the time they host the River Kings on the 24th.

You can follow the results of all Rampage games here on our results page.

For more items related to the Rampage and the CIHL see our archive page here.