Sunday thriller marks Rampage determination to take Best of Three series with Kitimat, advance in CIHL playoffs

It was a weekend of entertaining hockey for two communities in the Northwest as the Prince Rupert Rampage and Kitimat Ice Demons battled it out in their Best of Three First Round playoff series.

The icebreaker of what became a three game set took place on Friday in Kitimat and the home side crowd at Tamitik had much to celebrate. 

That as the Ice Demons made a third period push to take Game One by a score of 2 -1, the game one which saw some physical play overheating in the final frame with a pair of misconducts issues to reflect the tensions on the ice.

The final period made for the bulk of the 32 minutes of penalty time for Kitimat on the night, while the Rampage sat out 22 minutes for their transgressions.  

On the score sheet it was Jacob Santurbano with the only Rampage marker on the night, a second period goal with assists for Hunter Johnson and Kory Moveld

Kieran Sharpe was tapped with the Game one loss in the Rampage net.

The Full Scoresheet for Friday's game can be reviewed here.

Game Two on Saturday reprised the physical play of the night before, with 55 minutes of penalty time  served by the Ice Demons, 22 for the Rampage again with the majority of nastiness taking place in period three.

On the scoring side of the night, the goal lights didn't get lit up until the second period with the Rampage jumping out to a 2-0 lead by the seven minute mark.

Kory Movold provide the mid game push with goals at 1:48 and 6:52, assisted on the first by Hunter Johnson and then by Joran Weir on the second.

The winning marker in the 3-2 victory came at the 14 minute of the of the Third period when Brody Henrich put away the game with a power play goal assisted by Jordan Weir.

Kieran Sharpe was in the nets for the Rampage win, the Saturday night showdown bringing 861 fans into the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre.

The Scoresheet for Game Two can be reviewed here.

The Rampage win set up the third and final showcase for the weekend on Sunday afternoon, the hostilities of the previous two evenings tampering down significantly as the two teams played a back and forth game that kept the score close through regulation time and then into OT.

The Rampage opened the scoring up at the 10 minute mark, with a goal from Jean-Luc Rendell-Fournier, assisted by Colten Waldhaus

Kitimat tied it up ninety seconds later, with the 1-1 score holding to just before the of the period.

Jared Carter put the Rampage back on top at 18:29 with assists going to Tyler Ostrom and Rendell-Fournier.

The Ice Demons tied things up late in the second making for a 2-2 notation on the scoreboard that held through period three and into the Overtime, which is when Brody Henrich picked up his second game winning goal of the weekend.

The winning marker assisted by Austin Weir, the win in the nets once again belonging to Kieran Sharpe.

The Full Scoresheet for the Sunday finale is available here.

The Rampage win sets up what should be a much anticipated series for the first week of March, as Prince Rupert and the Terrace River Kings renew acquaintances.

Game One will be a Friday Night match up at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre on March 4th, followed by Game Two and if necessary Game Three in Terrace on March 5th and 6th.

Terrace also had to mount a comeback in their first round series with Hazelton, having dropped the first game Friday in Hazelton and then regrouping with wins Saturday and Sunday to advance to the next round.

Williams Lake and Qusenel will round out the next round of the CIHL Playoffs, they take to the ice the weekend of March 4th as well, with game one in Williams Lake on the Friday. 

You can keep up with any developments for the Rampage prior to the March showdown through their Facebook page here.

More notes on the Rampage and the CIHL can be explored through our archive page.