Less than 24 hours after combining for eleven goals, including seven tallies in the first period alone, the San Antonio Rampage and visiting Grand Rapids Griffins returned to action on Sunday afternoon with the Rampage picking up right where they left off, earning a 7-2 victory at the AT&T Center.
Last night, the Rampage did the majority of their damage early on in the contest, beating Grand Rapids goaltenders on a San Antonio franchise record six goals in the first stanza. This afternoon the two clubs played to a scoreless first frame that was highlighted by outstanding goaltending by Rampage goaltender Al Montoya and Griffins netminder Thomas McCollum.
However, San Antonio’s power outage would be short lived, as the Rampage nearly bested yesterday’s record by finding the back of the net five times in the second period.
San Antonio opened the scoring about two minutes into the period as Rampage right wing Mikkel Boedker took a shot from the right circle that bounced off McCollum’s pads and onto the stick of San Antonio center Kyle Turris. Turris then carried the puck to the left faceoff circle before sending a spin around shot on goal, where Chad Kolarik was there to put in the rebound and provide the Rampage with a 1-0 lead.
San Antonio would add to its lead nearly six minutes later on a power-play goal by the red hot Rampage left wing Brett MacLean. Following strong San Antonio puck pressure on a dump-in, the Rampage left wing intercepted a deflected clearing pass in the slot and deked McCollum to the right before depositing a backhand high into the goal to increase the Rampage lead to 2-0. MacLean’s goal marked his team-leading fifth goal of the season.
The Griffins would find the scoreboard 41 seconds later when veteran defenseman Andy Delmore deposited a one-timer pass from Grand Rapids rookie left wing Tomas Tatar. Griffins center Evan McGrath was also credited with an assist on Delmore’s goal.
However, rather than influencing passive Rampage play to protect the lead, the Grand Rapids goal instead unleashed the high-octane San Antonio offense that had displayed its power a night earlier.
San Antonio would increase its lead to 3-1 at the 10:49 mark of the second on Rampage captain Jeff Hoggan’s 100th career AHL goal. The play developed in the neutral zone as San Antonio center Kevin Porter carried the puck with speed over the red line, catching a Griffins defenseman out of position. Hoggan then jumped into the play, inducing a two-on-one heading into the Grand Rapids zone. Porter then held the puck to gain the Griffins defenseman’s attention near the top of the left circle, before finding Hoggan on the right post for a one-timer and extending the Rampage lead to 3-1.
As the San Antonio offense continued to heat up, so did the red light above the goal judge behind the Grand Rapids net. The Rampage would score once again at the 15:13 into the second on a goal by Turris. Following a San Antonio breakout from its own zone, Rampage right wing Viktor Tikhonov would send a perfectly placed forwarding pass off the right boards to Boedker, who was moving down the ice with speed. Boedker then put on the breaks near the right faceoff circle and sent a behind-the-back pass to Turris, who was speeding toward the net along the goal line from the right corner. Turris, who suddenly found himself one-on-one with McCollum, faked a shot toward the left side of the net, and tucked the puck inside the right post to put the Rampage up 4-1.
After Turris’ goal, the wheels kept turning for San Antonio as Boedker gained control of a puck in the neutral zone and sent a hard pass down the center of the ice to Joel Perrault, giving Perrault a breakaway. Perrault then beat McCollum high on his forehand to send the score to 5-1 heading into the third. Perrault’s goal at 18:50 of the second period extended his current goal-scoring streak to four consecutive games.
After the second intermission, the Griffins would find the scoreboard one final time on an unassisted tally from right wing Jan Mursak, but as was the case in the second, the Griffins goal would inspire offensive retaliation from the Rampage.
Near the halfway point of the third period, Turris would earn his second goal of the game on a give-and-go feed from San Antonio right wing Chad Kolarik. Turris initiated the scoring play with a fancy puck handling display near the top of the left faceoff circle in the Griffins zone before working the puck to Kolarik, who was stationed in the left corner of the Griffin’s zone. Kolarik held the puck for a split second before returning the puck to Turris, who then used a crafty toe-poke move to deke McCollum to the right side of the net before tucking the puck inside the left post to increase the San Antonio lead to 6-2.
San Antonio would cap off their evening with a goal by MacLean at the 13:59 mark of the third. After receiving a feed from Porter on the right boards, Perrault found MacLean near the right circle in Griffins territory. MacLean would then use speed to beat a Griffins defenseman to the crease before firing a shot past McCollum for his second goal of the contest and providing the Rampage with their second consecutive seven-goal scoring barrage in as many days. MacLean is on a tear collecting nine points in three games.
To make matters worse for Grand Rapids, a focused Montoya would stop Griffins left wing Mattias Ritola on a penalty shot with close to a minute remaining in the contest to seal his fourth victory of the 2009-10 season.
San Antonio was 4 for 6 on the power play and the Rampage penalty kill did not allow Grand Rapids to score on any of its seven power play opportunities. San Antonio’s seven goals tied their season high for goals in a game.
The Rampage return to action this weekend with three games in three nights starting this Friday against the Hamilton Bulldogs at 7 p.m. at the AT&T Center. The Rampage will look to add points to their “Lone Star Faceoff” standings when they host the Houston Aeros on Saturday and Sunday.
