The home debut of the Prince Rupert Rampage may have come up a little short on the scoreboard, but on the balance sheet it was a different story.
A filled to the top Arena greeted the newest entry in the CIHL as they played their first home game in front of a boisterous and very enthusiastic crowd. With line ups forming a few hours prior to the 8 pm start, there would be no shortage of supporters ready to cheer on the Rampage and the return of competitive hockey to the city after a lengthy absence.
On the ice, the Rupert side put up a good fight, keeping things close with the league leading and league champion Ice Demons of Kitimat. However, in the end the Kitimat attack proved to be a little too strong for the first year Rampage, as Kitimat took the two points in the standings home with them on the strength of their 4-2 victory.
The Northern View provided the recap of Saturday's action on their website on Sunday morning, on Friday the Daily News provided a preview of the much anticipated opening night. Both articles can be found below.
Those that missed the opener can take in the action with next weekends arrival of the Houston Luckies, who will play games on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre Arena.
Rampage lose hard fought home opener
Published: October 12, 2008 10:00 AM
Updated: October 12, 2008 10:28 AM
Senior Men’s Hockey made its triumphant return to Prince Rupert on Saturday night as a packed arena came out to witness the Prince Rupert Rampage home opener against the powerhouse Ice Demons from Kitimat.
And while the two teams put on an exciting display of hockey for the boisterous crowd, the defending league and provincial champion Ice Demons picked up the win in a game that seemed as though it could have gone either way.
The two teams opened up with some physical play, which resulted in Prince Rupert having two players in the box just three minutes into the game. However the penalty kill proved to click early and the two teams were scoreless through 10 minutes of play. At 7:19 of the first, however, Kitimat’s Greg Sabey fired a shot from the top of the circle that hit goaltender Keith Movold’s glove before going in.
The two teams kept it close, with the Rampage getting a lot of good chances late in the period. And when Dan Wright stole the puck and went in alone to score a stick-side goal with 1:10 left to play, the arena erupted into almost deafening cheers and the two teams ended 1-1 through 20 minutes.
Kitimat came out firing in the second though, and Doug Wilson netted a shorthanded goal just 2:01 into the period to give Kitimat a lead. But the Ice Demons would take two penalties at 10:19 of the period and, on the ensuing powerplay, Kendal Stace-Smith would set-up shop in front of the net and deflect a shot five hole to tie things up and send the crowd into a frenzy. Demons’ netminder Brett Vilness was solid throughout the rest of the period, stopping plenty of in-close shots, and that would be the difference as Blaine Markwart would stuff home a loose puck to give Kitimat a 3-2 lead with just 36.8 seconds left in the period.
The teams would go back and forth in the third period, seemingly evenly matched for much of the match. But Terry Whalen would find the back of the net on a rocket shot from the point to put Kitimat up 4-2. After more back and forth play, the crowd rose to its feet for a fight involving the Rampage’s Dan Wright, a fight that saw both men trading shots and both still standing when they decided to call it a day. It appeared as though the Rampage tied things up with 1:04 left to play following a perfectly executed two-on-one, but the goal was called back as the play was ruled offside despite the lack of a whistle. In the end, the Ice Demons would pick up the 4-2 win.
“Overall I think it was a big improvement from last Sunday’s game in Kitimat. What I thought was the biggest downfall was the player to player puck movement...They’re skating fast, have good movement on the ice, but the player to player puck movement needs improvement,” said coach Frank Pyde, noting that it was great to see such strong support from the fans that came out to the game.
“We’ve had three games and they have all been against the top team in the league. And while we lost those three games, we weren’t blown out in all three, and I thought we were in this game until the end...Kitimat is the best team in the league, and I think the teams will be a bit easier coming up.”
This weekend the Rampage will host a Saturday/Sunday double header against the physical-playing Houston Luckies.
Puck is set to drop on a historic season of hockey
By Patrick Witwicki
The Daily News
Friday, October 10, 2008
Pages one and six
Senior Men's hockey is finally back in Prince Rupert, with the inaugural home game set for Saturday night at the Jim Ciccone Arena at 8 p.m.
The defending provincial champs, the Kitimat Ice Demons, come to town to take on the Central Interior Hockey League's newest team, the Prince Rupert Rampage, and everyone involved with the team is expecting a full house.
And the fans won't be disappointed, said coach Frank Pyde.
"They can expect some really nice hockey," he said. "Fans are going to get to see the provincial winning team, and it's going to be end-to-end.
"It's like watching really good junior A hockey."
In addition to the game itself, the Rampage have a lot planned for the opening night's festivities. A full ceremonial face-off will take place, and the Rampage are hoping MLA Gary Coons, Mayor Herb Pond, and other dignitaries will be able to attend.
Other Northern B.C. mayors could still be in attendance.
"We will also give full recognition to all our sponsors who helped in bringing a team to Prince Rupert," said Rampage Secretary-Treasurer Bruce Tessier.
Because it's the first game of the season, Rupert will also announce the entire roster for that game, and several draws will also take place throughout the contest, like a puck toss, and a 50-50 draw.
"(We'll have) minor hockey heavily involved doing some major fundraising," said Tessier.
The Rampage intend to keep every home game "family oriented," said Tessier. This means there will not be any beer gardens inside the arena, instead, organizers are choosing to make the event accessible to Rupertites of all ages, everywhere in the building.
Rupert opened their season in Kitimat with a double-header two weeks ago.
Kitimat hammered Rupert 10-0 in the opener, but Rupert fought back for a single point in a 2-1 shoot-out loss in the second game.
However, with a hockey-starved home crowd behind them, the Rampage are expecting a much better performance from their team, said Pyde.
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