Rampage hopes for a Coy Cup shot, run through Hazelton this weekend

The Upper Skeena Recreation Centre hosts Game Two 
and hopefully for Rampage Supporters a Game Three this
weekend in CIHL Semi Final play

The Prince Rupert Rampage will be hitting he highway this weekend, but it won't be a Family Day get-away on their minds. 

Instead, the work ahead required to knock off the Hazelton Wolverines will be at the top of the travel agenda. the Wolverines  a nemesis from one year ago that has once again struck early to knock the Rhinos off balance.

Prince Rupert lost the opportunity to take the advantage into the CIHL semi final last weekend, when they lost their home playoff date at the Jim 5-2 to the visiting Wolverines.

The Hazelton side brought a mix of scoring and physical play, a style that worked well for them in the Regular Season and now has carried through into the first playoff round.

The Rampage will need to reboot their offence, after a Saturday night shutdown that only saw two Rhinos Kory Movold and Marcus Atchison find the score sheet in Game One.

The Wolverines, as they were through the regular season were propelled by Ethan Browne and Tanner Wort, they accounted for four of the five Wolverine Goals on the night.

Shutting that tandem down is the first task at hand for he Rampage as they get ready for Game Two Tomorrow night in Hazelton. 

There should be no looking ahead to Sunday for the Prince Rupert squad; for if they don't find success in Game Two, there won't be a game Three.

The Rampage will also have to prepare for a physical night come Saturday, as the Game Summary from February 10th shows, the Wolverines don't shy away from any challenges and can take as good as they give.

Last Saturday saw the Wolverines assessed 51 minutes of penalty time on 20 infractions, the Rampage frustrations sending them to the box for 81 minutes of penalty time on 27 infractions.

Should they be spending that much time in the penalty box in the Upper Skeena Rec Centre Saturday night, it's likely that Rampage will be making an early exit from the CIHL playoffs.

There may be one bit of good news for the Rampage as they head into the Hazeltons for the Saturday showdown, a number of the Wolverine fans may still be in Prince Rupert attending the All Native Basketball Tournament. 

So the atmosphere  inside the Upper Skeena Rec Centre may not be as frantic as found in previous visits.

The Rhinos look to quiet the Hazelton home crowd starting tomorrow night at 7:30 PM.

The winner this weekend moves on to the next Round as the road to Coy Cup continues,  making for a showdown with Terrace to take on the Division winning River Kings.

The East Division will put the winner of the Smithers/Quesnel series take on the Williams Lake Stampeders. Quesnel leads that Semi Final 1 game to 0.

More on the CIHL can be reviewed through our archive page.