Tamitik Shoot Out gives Rampage one more road win for the year

Thirteen goals made for a flurry of offence as the Prince Rupert Rampage and Kitimat Ice Demons put on quite the show for the fans in Kitimat's Tamitik Ice Arena on Saturday night, with the visiting Rampage outlasting the Kitimat side to take the W.

The first twenty minutes offered little indication that a high scoring night was in store, with just one goal produced, that by the Rampage as Hunter Johnson continued on with his hot hand, picking up his first of what would be three goals on the night, the icebreaker assisted by newcomer Joel Gage and  team veteran Marcus Atchison.

Justin Brand made it 2-0 Prince Rupert in the list minute of the second, but the Ice Demons righted their ship shortly after with three goals in the space of just over ten minutes to take a 3-2 lead.

That however was short lived, with Jacob Santurbano tying things up at 17:18 assisted by Jude Repole and Hunter Johnson, followed up one minute later by Johnson's second of the night, a power play marker assisted by Judd Repole and Colten Waldhaus.

Kitimat again tied things up just eighteen seconds into the third, and just as quickly two minutes later the Rampage finally said enough is enough, taking the lead back and never looking back.

The third period scoring for the Rhinos began with Judd Repole's unassisted marker on the power play,  Jacob Santurbano adding to the scoring parade at the 9 minute mark, Hunter Johnson with another assist on the play.

Johnson was back as the game wound down teaming up with Judd Repole with an assist on the seventh Rampage goal by Marcus Atchison.

Then with his own final goal, as noted previous his third on the night, that an empty netter in the last minute of play to secure the 8-5 victory.

Kieran Sharpe turned aside all but the five of 32 shots directed his way in the Rampage goal, while Danyal Niro in the Ice Demons goal faced down a 44 shot game for the Rampage to help keep the Demons in the contest as long as possible.

The Rampage power play opportunities came due to a flurry of penalty calls for the Ice Demons who served 24 minutes on eight infractions, while the Rampage were on good behaviour on the night, assessed only eight minutes on four penalty calls.

The full boxscore for the night can be reviewed here.

Hunter Johnson's explosion of scoring (3 goals, 3 assists) served him well, propelling the Rampage player to the top of the CIHL scoring listings by the end of the weekend. 

Johnson currently has a one point lead over Colin Bell with Terrace and two points over Kaleb Boyle with the Williams Lake Stampeders.

Prince Rupert's Judd Repole is in the thick of the contest for the top as well, just back at 18 points.

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The Win gives the Rampage a 6-2-1-1 record on the year to date, they are currently five points behind the league leading River Kings, two points ahead of Quesnel.

The wrap to the Saturday night game in Kitimat was a welcome one for the Rampage, who have spent much of the last month and a bit on the road.

It's home sweet home for the Rampage for the next two weeks
with three games to wind down the season at the Jim 

The team returns home to Prince Rupert for an extended home stay ahead, with games this weekend against the Williams Lake Stampeders and Quesnel Kangaroos.

That's followed by a February 5th showdown with the league leading Terrace River Kings.

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More notes on the CIHL can be explored from our archive page.