The Prince Rupert Rampage will start their 2024-2025 season at home on Sept. 28 against the Nechako Northstars.
Rampage president Brett Stava said the team is pumped to get underway in the senior men's Central Interior Hockey League. He noted some of the guys are getting a little older and as some are starting families and such,
I think, sort of, the press is on, and the time now for a lot of these guys, right? So, yeah, there's a lot of excitement," he said.
It's too early to say how the team is shaping up as they just had their first skate Sept. 5, but Stava said there will be one big change this year. Kieren Sharpe, their starting goalie is leaving town and won't be in the lineup come Sept. 28.
Sharpe played in 16 games last season with a record of 10 wins, 5 losses and one overtime loss. He had one shutout and a goals against average (GAA) of 3.74.
Stava said backup goalie Brayden Ferguson is ready to step up, however, and they are on the hunt to recruit new goaltenders.
Ferguson only played two full games last season, but both were wins. He had a 2.14 GAA in 140 minutes of game time.
The Rampage kicked off the season with a minor hockey camp last weekend for which more than 100 kids signed up.
Of course, the team is not just about hockey. The club's famous "Rampage Fights Cancer" fundraiser for the Prince Rupert Regional Hospital is already underway.
Stava said they encouraged people who were signing their kids up for the hockey camp to donate to the cause in lieu of fees. He wasn't sure as of press time, how much was coming in from that, but noted the donations had already started flowing in.
"So, I know there was a $500 donation and a $250 donation, right before we even got [people] registering for the camp," he said.
Two years ago the team raised $107,000 and last year obliterated that at nearly $140,000.
Stava is confident they can even surpass that total this year. The support from the community is that good, he said.
There will be fundraising activities at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre when the Rampage play their home opener against the Kitimat Ice Demons on Oct. 5.
The CIHL will have the same team lineup as last year, with the Rampage, Ice Demons, Terrace River Kings and Hazelton Wolverines in the West Division and Smithers Steelheads, Nechako North Stars, Quesnel Kangaroos and Williams Lake Stampeders in the East Division.
Each team will play 17 regular season games.
