Weekend play sees Rampage tumble from First to Third in CIHL West

The Terrace River Kings vaulted to the top of the CIHL Standings
over the weekend with twin wins over the Prince Rupert Rampage

The start of the second half of the 2023-24 CIHL season was a rough one for the hometown Rupert Rampage, the team which was high flying into the Holiday break came out on the wrong side of scores twice with their rivals from Terrace on Friday and Saturday. 

Friday night the Rampage had a tough assignment, the River Kings were commemorating the life of Austin Braid, the former hockey player with a far reaching resume which included time with his hometown River Kings prior to his passing in 2023.

With a full barn of more than 1,000 supporters in the stands, the River Kings put on a show for the home side claiming a 4-1 victory over the visiting Rhinos.

Jean-Luc Rendell-Fournier making for the only Rampage marker on the night a third period goal, which was assisted by Judd Repole and Tylor Ostrom close to midway through the final frame.

Kieran Sharp took the loss in the net in the opener or the home and home series. 

The night saw 12 minutes of penalty time served by the Rampage on 6 infra lions, 14 minutes for the hosts on 7 penalty calls.

See Game Boxscore here.

Saturday night, the River Kings carried some of their energy from the night before to the Jim, though for the first period at least the Rampage looked primed to push back from the loss of Friday, picking up the first goal of the night just past the fifteen minute mark of the first period.

That from Justin Brand on the Power play with Judd Repole and Hunter Johnson with the helpers.

But in a night of very physical play, an expanded carryover from Friday, that would be the only Rhino goal on the night.

The rest of the Scoresheet belonged to the River Kings, who scored three goals in the second period, three more in the third to secure the 6 to 1 victory and stake their claim to part of first place on the weekend.

Kieran Sharpe again took the loss, facing 27 shots on the night.

The hardest working person on the night sitting at the scoring table, marking off the 45 minutes of penalties for the River Kings on 13 infractions, with a clearly frustrated Rampage side taking 68 minutes of penalty box time on 19 infractions.

Full scoresheet here.

In addition to the River King Wins, the Rampage drop in the standings came following a successful weekend for the Hazelton Wolverines who take a share of the first place tie following their 12-3 victory over Kitimat on Saturday.

The River Kings have the edge on Games played and winning percentage

It's a tight race in the CIHL West, with three teams in heated
competition for the top spot in the standings 

The Rampage return to the ice on Saturday night, the next game in their extended January homestead brings the Kitimat Ice Demons back to town. 

Puck Drop at the Jim is set for 7PM

Follow the Rampage social media stream for updates on the team and their Rampage Fights Cancer campaign for January which is finding some strong support throughout the community.

More notes on the CIHL can be explored here.