Box Score | Game Notes

CEDAR PARK, Texas (December 19, 2012) – Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves in net for the Rampage, but San Antonio (10-16-0-3) was shutout, 2-0, by the Texas Stars (14-8-2-2) Wednesday night at Cedar Park Center.

San Antonio outshot Texas, 27-23, but was unable to solve Stars goaltender Cristopher Nilstorp, who blanked the Rampage for the second time this season – both of which came at Cedar Park Center.

The Rampage have dropped their first four games of the season against the Stars are now winless in their last five games (0-5-0-0), while Texas has only lost once in regulation in their last 11 games (8-1-1-1).

Rampage forward Greg Rallo had a golden opportunity to give San Antonio an early lead less than a minute into the action. James Wright entered the offensive zone on the left wing and dished a perfect pass to Rallo, who one-timed a shot but was denied by Nilstorp.

The Stars struck first when forward Reilly Smith fired a sneaky backhand shot from the low slot past Markstrom at 5:45 of the opening frame. The two teams exchanged chances in the final minutes of the period, but neither was able to light the lamp – as the buzzer sounded and Texas held a 1-0 lead.

The two teams combined for only 11 shots in the middle frame and the Rampage didn’t register their first shot on goal until nine minutes into the action. Markstrom made several stops to keep it a one-goal game. Near the midway point of the period, the Rampage netminder made a right pad save on a shot that came through traffic and was deflected. 

The Stars extended their lead to 2-0 at 1:02 of the third period. Smith collected a Rampage turnover and found Alex Chiasson open in the high slot. Chiasson fired a shot that beat Markstrom low to give the Stars the two-goal lead.

San Antonio had a great opportunity to get back in the game when the Stars took two penalties at the 5:01 mark, giving the Rampage a full two minutes with a 5-on-3 man advantage. However, the Stars penalty kill was aggressive and held the Rampage to only one shot on goal on the power play.

The Rampage went on to rattle off 16 shots in the third period, more than their first two periods combined, but were unable to beat Nilstorp on the night.

San Antonio finished the night 0-for-3 on the power play, while Texas was 0-for-2 with the man advantage.

The Rampage will travel to Canada for two games leading up to the holiday break. First up, the Silver and Black will square off against the Toronto Marlies at 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 21. San Antonio will then travel to Hamilton to face the Bulldogs at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 22.

The Rampage will return home on Saturday, Dec. 29 for a 7:00 p.m. game against the Houston Aeros after opening up action following the holiday break on the road on Friday, Dec. 28 at Oklahoma City.

Individual, and season, tickets start at $10 and can be purchased at the AT&T Center Southeast Box Office, by calling a Rampage representative at 210-444-5554 or online at sarampage.com