Daily Archives: April 1, 2013
The Rampage Report: April 1, 2013
The San Antonio Rampage warm up before a game (Photo by Amanda Land).
The San Antonio Rampage‘s action filled weekend kicked off Thursday night with a home game against the Grand Rapids Griffins. Newcomer Wade Megan picked up his first professional goal midway through the first to give the Rampage a 1-0 lead early in the game. Scott Timmins and Zach Miskovic helped Jed Ortmeyer extend the lead to 2-0 early in the second before the Griffins connected for their first goal of the evening minutes later to make the score 2-1. The Rampage regained their two goal lead on the power play with a goal from Jon Rheault just seconds before the period came to a close, and headed to the locker room with a 3-1 lead over the Griffins. The lone goal of the third period came in the final 30 seconds of play when Rheault scored his second of the night and sealed the victory with an empty net goal. Brian Foster had a stellar night, stopping 39 of 40 shots, including a penalty shot midway through the third. The Rampage concluded the night with a 4-1 victory.
Hours after Thursday night’s victory, the team boarded a flight to North Carolina and prepared themselves for the first of two games against the Charlotte Checkers. The squad received word earlier in the afternoon that defenders Colby Robak and Mike Caruso were en-route and will be joining the team after being reassigned by the Florida Panthers. Once the puck dropped, Jack Combs wasted no time getting the scoring started, and netted the Rampage’s first goal of the contest just 55 seconds in. Midway through the period, Combs struck again, this time on the power play, and John McFarland added an unassisted goal to give the silver and black a 3-0 lead early in the game. Charlotte managed to get one by goalie Dov Grumet-Morris and brought themselves within 2 goals with 40 minutes left to play. After a scoreless second period, Combs completed his hat-trick midway though the third, restoring the Rampage’s three goal lead. Jared Staal closed the gap for a few minutes for Charlotte, but Rheault netted his 20th of the season with 5 seconds remaining in the game and helped San Antonio skate away with a 5-2 win.
Panther Parkway Noon Headlines: Luongo Talk, Peca’s Hat-Trick, Letestu’s Winner, and More!
What better way to spend your lunch break than catching up on all of last night’s amazing NHL action that you may have missed! Here are the top stories and videos from the all of yesterday’s action around the NHL.
- Watch Detroit Red Wings’ defenseman Jakub Kindl score a lovely backhand goal….on his own goalie.
- The Vancouver Canucks are fielding calls for Roberto Luongo. [TSN]
- The NHL Three Stars of March 31, 2013. [Puck Daddy]
- Matthew Peca’s hat-trick leads Quinnipiac to their first ever Frozen Four. [College Hockey News]
- The Vancouver Canucks have reassigned Zack Kassian to the AHL. [TSN]
- Mark Letestu’s goal leads the Columbus Blue Jackets into 8th place in the Western Conference. [Sporting News]
- One-on-one with Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning. [The Hockey News]
Follow All Panther Parkway writers on Twitter: Me @JamesonCoop, Frank Rekas @FrankRekas, Josh Luecht @eyesonsunrise, Scott Mullin @GreatScottsman, Paige Lewis @PaigeLewisFL, Gabby Kiger @gabbykiger, Amanda Land @HockeyGirl2530 and David Lasseter @davidlasseter. Visit our Facebook fan page here and give us a like and share anything you wish with us.
What Is The Real Value Of Shawn Matthias?
Plays like the one above, which some have called the goal of the year, are making people take notice of Florida Panther forward Shawn Matthias , as he seems to be having a “coming out” party. Matthias who turned 25 this past February is in his 5th NHL season, and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the year. Originally drafted in the second round, 47th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in 2006, the Mississuagua, Ontario native is making the most of his ice time this season for the Panthers on the way to his best season in the NHL. With all the injuries that the Panthers have suffered this season, Matthias, also known as “Danger” by his teammates because of all the fights he was involved in during his playing days in Juniors, is relishing his role now as the Panthers’ number one center.
In his past 16 games Matthias has 13 points, 11 of which are goals, all coming in the month of March as the young forward has shown some “flashes” of what was expected of him when the Panthers traded for him back in 2007. The last Panther player to have scored more goals in a month than the 11 by Matthias was Pavel Bure who had 15. Since being acquired by the Panthers, Matthias has spent the majority of his time on either the third or fourth lines, unable to break into the top six, mostly due to his own inconsistency. Now being given a larger role due to injuries, and being given more responsibility, Matthias is making a play for his “next” contract. Currently Matthias is making $900,000 and according to Cap Geek, the qualifying offer for Matthias would be $945,000.
Jameson Cooper
David Lasseter
gabbykiger
Amanda Land
Josh Luecht
Paige Lewis
Scott Mullin
Frank Rekas
