17 goals, in less than 24 hours in back to back weekend shut outs for the Rampage

The hardest working person at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre on Saturday night wasn't wearing a hockey uniform and never took to the ice.

And we imagine that sometime late Saturday night, that a fair bit of ice was required for an upper body injury, that of carpal tunnel syndrome on the writing hand of the overworked score keeper for Saturday night's CIHL match up between the Kitimat Ice Demons and Prince Rupert Rampage.

Saturday night made for twelve entries on the score sheet at the Jim, part of a seventeen goal weekend for the Rampage as the home town Rhinos dominated their rivals from Kitimat, taking charge of the flow of play from the midway point of the first of the six periods in the home and home series.

The wild weekend for scoring, began with a Friday night game in the Aluminum city, with the Rampage claiming a 5-0 victory over the struggling Ice Demons, a team which had yet to win a game as of Friday and would still hold that status by the time Sunday morning rolled around.

The scoring was spread out over three periods on Friday, with Kory Movald opening up the Rampage onslaught at 14:07 of the opening frame, assisted by Jared Davis and Cole Morris.

That marker was complimented forty seconds later when Jean-Luc Fournier fired off the Rhino's second goal of the game, with Josh Cook and Kale Burns picking up the helpers.

Fournier was back on the score sheet in period two with an unassisted goal at 13:16.

Two more Rampage goals came in the final period of the Friday night shutout, with Jared Meers picking up an unassisted, short handed goal at 6:45, while the final marker on the night came at 17:57 when Cole Morris found the range, converting a passing combination from Kory Movald and Josh Cook.

David Gerrits picked up the Shutout  in the Rampage nets, turning aside all thirty of the Ice Demon shots on the evening.

The full boxscore for Friday's game can be reviewed here

Friday's game was a relatively tame affair for the referee staff with only seven minors called, with Kitimat assessed four, Rupert three during the course of the three periods.

That however would be the lull before the storm, as the rematch on Saturday night which was a dominating 12-0 victory for the Rampage featured a steady parade to the penalty box, with the second period a particularly busy time for those wearing the strips.

By the time the final horn would sound, the Ice Demons would have served thirty two minutes of penalty time on 12 infractions, while the Rampage would find players sitting out 22 minutes of play on 11 infractions.

And while there was a steady parade to the penalty box, there was also fairly frequent scoring parade taking place along the Ramapge bench, as the home side celebrated a twelve goal explosion on the night,.

Leading the way was Kory Movald who had three goals on the night, with Josh Cook picking up two, as did Cole Atchison, Jared Meers and Cole Morris. 

Marcus Atchison joined in on the celebration of scoring with one goal on the evening. 

Movald's three goals were part of a seven point night for the Rampage forward who set the pace for the home side, as they showcased their offensive game for the crowd of 452 at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre.

Not surprisingly given the score, the bulk of the play took place in the Kitimat end of the rink, where the Ice Demons used two goal tenders to make it through the night.

The Ice Demon's Brett Vilness faced 32 shots in the first two periods, while Shahar Moudahi took over for the third finding 20 shots directed his way in the final frame.

It proved to be a light night of work for Brett Roth at the Rampage end, and while having to remain alert, he only had to turn aside fifteen shots over the course of the sixty minutes of play

The full overview of the night's work can be found from the Saturday night Box Score here.

The twin victories gave the Rupert squad fifteen points on the season and moved the Rampage up the CIHL standings, they now sit one point out of second place, just below Smithers and Terrace who are tied with 16 points.

However, their Northwest rivals have played two less games than the lads from Prince Rupert, which gives them a slight advantage for playoff placement with the end of the season now only a few weeks away.

The Rhino's might have wanted to bank some of Saturday night's scoring output for use this weekend.

This Saturday night they host the team at the other end of the CIHL standings, as the league leading Williams Lake Stampeders come to town for a 7 PM puck drop.

The Stamps who have lost only three games so far, have a league leading 83 goals For and a stingy 54 Against to go with their 20 points.

The Stamps come to town ready to provide a tough challenge for the hometown Rampage, offering up a prospect for Saturday night which will provide for a more difficult work load for whichever Rupert goaltender takes to the ice.

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