Rampage in hunt for high playoff placement following hard earned victory over Williams Lake

A strong performance on Saturday evening has put the Prince Rupert Rampage in a good position to see this upcoming weekend push them towards the top of the rankings in the CIHL as they head into the final weekend of play for the regular season.

Saturday night saw the Rampage hold off a frantic push back by the visiting Stampeders, with the Williams Lake squad storming back to force overtime, providing a bit of extra drama for the Prince Rupert faithful that were at the Jim, a crowd that left happy following the Rhino's OT marker close to five minutes into the extra frame to secure the win.

Rampage goal scoring on the night saw the team take a 2-1 advantage into the dressing room after the first period thanks to goals from Cole Atchison, who scored just before the 2 minute mark, assisted by Cody Kokimaki and Patrick Robert.

Five minutes later, Randal Grout scored a power play goal, with assists for Teal Burns and Tyler Ostrom.

Period two saw the Stamps bring the game equal within the first ninety seconds, that pushed the Rampage to turn on the offence for a short burst, with the Rhinos collecting two goals in less than a minute

Ryan Matthews started the burst at 9:22, with Teal Burns and Jordan Venditelli providing the helpers on the goal.

Thirty seconds later Teal Burns grabbed another Rampage marker, with Randal Groot and Ryan Matthews claiming the assists.

The Stamps however did not run up the white flag and instead launched a fast and furious attack on the Prince Rupert zone with two goals late in the middle frame to bring the game to equal terms at 4-4.

While there were chances at both ends in the third period, neither team would find the range, which put the game into Overtime.

The extra time provided Tyler Ostrom with the opportunity to give the Rampage fans what they wanted to see, he scored the winning goal at the 4:40 mark, with Kory Movold and Ryan Matthews assisting.

Both goaltenders had a relatively busy evening with Justin Foote for the Stamps facing 38 shots, Brett Roth went the distance in the Ramapge net turning aside 29 of the 33 shots that he faced on the night.

You can review the full summary from Saturday here.

With the win, the Rampage have their fate in their own hands with a solid shot to claim Second place overall by the time the final whistle blows on Sunday.

The Terrace River Kings took control of the standings with their weekend victory, securing First place overall with a convincing 15-2 decision over the Kitimat Ice Demons.

With the Williams Lake Stampeders now done for the regular season, there is a window for a big move for the Rhinos should they win both of their games this weekend.

The first step for the hometown side comes on Saturday when the River Kings come to town for a 7PM match up.

Sunday finds the Quesnel Kangaroos making the journey down Highway 16 to the coast, they play the Rampage in an afternoon contest which starts at 1 PM.

Quesnel wraps up their season in Prince Rupert, part of two game road swing that will see them play the Ice Demons on Saturday at the Tamitik Arema.

You can follow the latest news from the Rampage room through their Facebook page and website.

More items of interest on the CIHL can be found from our archive page here.