The Prince Rupert Rampage were hoping to carry the momentum from last weekend's victory over the Terrace River Kings into a weekend doubleheader against the Houston Luckies, but made the trip back to the North Coast with two regulation losses.
On Saturday night, the Rampage were on the wrong end of a 6-4 score against Houston, and looked to turn their fortunes around on Sunday afternoon.
The Rampage were leading through the first half of the game with Kendal Stace-Smith and Justin Fontaine helping give the team a 2-1 lead midway through the second. But Houston's offence kicked into high gear late in the period and, when the buzzer ended to finish the period, the Luckies led 5-3, with Brad Deshane netting Prince Rupert's third goal. Houston was able to keep that pace going and took the 7-4 victory to complete the weekend sweep.
The Rampage return to the friendly confines of the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre Arena Saturday night to host the Kitimat Ice Demons, a team that suffered back-to-back losses when they last laced up the skates against the Luckies and the Smithers Steelheads. The Rampage, currently sitting in a tie for last in the league with the River Kings, will be seeking their second win of the season.
Look for complete coverage of that game in next week's issue of the Northern View.
Around the league
The Smithers Steelheads hit the road with just 11 players this weekend, and the result was the end of the team's undefeated season. The Lac La Hache Tomahawks dominated the Steelheads on Saturday night winning 12-5. On Sunday, Smithers travelled to Quesnel to face the Kangaroos losing 3-2.
The Kangaroos also took home the victory when they hosted the Williams Lake Stampders on Saturday night. The final score in that tilt was 7-5 for Quesnel.
Despite the losses, Smithers remains tied with Houston for the top spot in the league with nine points, followed by the Kangaroos with eight points. The Stampeders have seven points, the Ice Demons have six points, and the Tomahawks have four points. The Rampage and River Kings have two points.