Rampage and Wolverines ready to hit the ice in Game Two of CIHL playoff series Saturday night

ANBTBasketball in
the Gym all day Saturday

Rampage & Wolverines
in the rink at night

The Prince Rupert sports scene is on the cusp of a fairly energized weekend with both basketball and hockey making for the focus for what should be 48 hours of wild times at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre.

The city's recreation venue will be crammed to rafters in the Gym Saturday as the Finales for the All Native Basketball Tournament play out through the afternoon and evening.

At the same time, fans of the Prince Rupert Rampage will be making their way into the Jim, as the Rampage play host to the Hazelton Wolverines, ready to drop the puck a7 PM on Game Two of their CIHL Playoff series.

The two teams are about as evenly matched as can be found, finishing 2 / 3 in the regular season and making for a high energy but tightly contested opener in Hazelton last weekend, the Rampage claiming the victory by a score of 3-2.

It took the Wolverines a bit of time to find their legs this year, that as they made their return to the league after a lengthy hiatus the Rampage had their number earlier this year the first match up a 6-1 Rampage win on October19th.

The Wolverines turned things around through November and into December and by the time they renewed acquaintances with the Rampage they were very much not only a competitive team, but one that showed they were ready to make their run for the home stretch.

A January 4th game in Hazelton ended in a four all tie, showing how much the Wolverines had closed the competitive gap in a short period of time.

The final game for both in the regular season came earlier this month and that one was a hard fought and entertaining show, with the Rampage claiming the 6-5 victory in OT.

Last week's playoff ice breaker offering more evidence that the two teams were ready for what should be some great hockey as they look to close out the first round this weekend.

Should the Wolverines trip up the Rampage ambitions of advance with a win on Saturday, the two teams will be back on the ice Sunday at 1PM for the third and final game of the best of three.

One note on the Saturday night contest, as the hockey game is taking place at the same time as the finals for the ANBT, parking will be a challenging situation into the evening.

There are a number of locations where you can park and make a short walk to the Jim, whether at the PRMS/Golf Course parking lot on Ninth Ave West, or at the Charles Hays Secondary lot on Prince Rupert Boulevard.

You can also take advantage of Prince Rupert Transit's Saturday service to the Civic Centre, though keep in mind that the Bus stop relocated to in front of the Old Speros Market on McBride during the Tournament.

You're on your own for the trip home however, with the Saturday schedule ending at 6:30 PM

Updates on the Ramapge room in the lead up to puck drop can be found through the teams Facebook page.

For more items of note on the CIHL see our archive page here.

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