A sweep and some help could push the Prince Rupert Rampage to top spot as CIHL Regular season comes to an end

The Arena at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre is going to be a noisy place this
weekend with the Rampage hosting both Cariboo teams in the final
weekend of the CIHL Regular season

It's probably going to take the likes of a few stars aligning and perhaps a couple of offerings to the Hockey Gods, but should things fall into place over 48 hours this weekend; there is a path available for the Prince Rupert Rampage to make a last weekend dash to the top of the CIHL standings.

Heading into the final two games of the 2018-19 season, the Rampage currently sit in second place with 19 points,  just one point behind both the Williams Lake Stampeders and Quesnel Kangaroos who hold the top spot in a tie at 20.

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The first and most important step for the Rampage will require the Rhinos to sweep both of the weekend contests, the first of which is just over 24 hours from start time.

Saturday night, the Stampeders are in town for a 7PM matchup at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre, followed by a Sunday afternoon showdown with the Kangaroos at 1 PM.

Taking wins in both of those games would strengthen the hand for the Ramapge, but they will still need some help along the way, watching the out of town notices to hear how the two Cariboo teams have fared from their stops in Terrace.

The Kangaroos are in the Skeena Valley on Saturday night, while the Stamps wrap up their road trip with a Sunday afternoon stop at the Terrace Ice Arena.

If the River Kings were to also take the wins off the table for both Williams Lake and Quesnel, the Ramapge may just find their way to the top to bring the curtain down on the regular season and set the table for the playoffs ahead.

Should the teams still be in a logjam at the end of Sunday, the call will go out to mathematicians to crunch the numbers and deliver a first place finisher.

The weekend does offer up an entertaining finale and should make for two strong and boisterous crowds at the Jim, with the possibility of league championship part of the narrative.

As they have all season the Rampage have issued the call up for two rising talents out of the Prince Rupert Minor Hockey Association.

Saturday night will find Dawson Burns lining up on the Rampage blue line; while Sunday will see Fisher Witzke lending his support to the Rhinos to bring the regular season to wrap.

Also worth keeping an eye on this weekend will be the boxscores from both games, heading into the final weekend, the Rampage have three players in the top ten scoring race, with Judd Repole currently leading the league with thirty points. 

With two games remaining he holds a five point lead in the race for the scoring title, with both Allessio Tomassetti from Quesnel and Nathan Zurak with the Stampeders hoping to try and track him down before Sunday's final horn sound.

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Both Tyler Ostrom and Jared Meers will be looking to improve their placements among the top ten for 2018-19, while Cole Atchison is just one point from staking out some turf in the top echelons of CIHL scorers.

You can keep up with any late breaking news out of the Ramapge Room from their website and Facebook page.

As the season comes to an end you can review the path to the playoffs from our Rampage Results page, while a wider sample of news from the CIHL is available from our Rampage Archive page.

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