On Saturday night the Prince Rupert Rampage faced off against the Terrace River Kings, who were fresh off a Friday victory over the Kitimat Ice Demons, in a game with implications on the CIHL playoffs as the season winds down.
It was the visitors who opened the scoring in front of the raucous crowd at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre, as Rajan Sangha put one past Keano Wilson just 3:32 into the period to give the River Kings a 1-0. It was back-and-forth for the rest of the period, with neither team able to light the lamp giving the Kings a 1-0 lead heading into the second.
Less than three minutes into the period Rampage captain Jared Meers tied things up, and while it may have brought the game closer the River Kings put away three goals in less than two minutes to pull away again. Calen Findlay made it 2-1 with 14:42 to play, Derek Jurista added another just 40 seconds later and Corbin Legros netted a powerplay marker 56 seconds later to give Terrace a 4-1 lead. Before the period ended, Meers added his second of the game with 6:09 to play to less the gap to two heading into the final 20 minutes.
But in the third a goal by Tristan Murray of the River Kings was the only one recorded, giving Terrace the 5-1 victory.
With the win Terrace secured an eight-point lead over the Rampage in the west with six games remaining on the schedule, while Prince Rupert falls to the bottom of the CIHL standings with five points - two below the Omenica Ice and the Houston Luckies. The Kitimat Ice Demons, Williams Lake Stampeders and undefeated Smithers Steelheads have all secured playoff spots.
The Rampage will travel to Kitimat on Friday for a rare weeknight game against the Ice Demons, and will play at home next on December 29 against the River Kings.
Look for coverage of this Friday’s game in next week’s issue of the Prince Rupert Northern
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