After holding a 3-0 lead throughout the first half of the game, the Rampage fell back down to Earth with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Barons. The Rampage gave up three power-play goals on Saturday night, and that ended up being the difference in the game.
Ready | Set | Rampage!
The Rampage’s starting goaltender for Game 1, Dan Ellis, was a healthy scratch for Game 2. While the reason was unknown, Michael Houser took his place between the pipes for Game 2. Dylan Olsen took Shane O’Brian’s spot in the lineup, as O’Brian served his one game suspension.
San Antonio seemed determined to avenge their 5-2 loss from Thursday night with a solid effort and they certainly started the game strong, keeping the Barons on their toes for the majority of the first period and taking advantage of their chances. At 9:16, the Rampage scored their first goal of the game as Connor Brickley (Mancari | Olson) tipped Mark Mancari’s shot from the point past Barons goaltender Laurent Brossoit to take a 1-0 lead.
Shortly after, the Rampage would convert on the power-play at 12:34 as Brickley would make a beautiful pass to Corban Knight as he would then tuck the biscuit into the empty net to give San Antonio the 2-0 lead. The Rampage fired pucks from all angles during the first period, as they owned a 18-9 edge in SOG.
San Antonio added to their lead 6:44 into the second period when John McFarland found himself in on Brossoit with lots of speed and tucked the puck between the wickets of the Barons goaltender to put the Rampage up 3-0. Alex Petrovic, who made an amazing pass on the play, earned the lone assist on the play.
Oklahoma City would then after make a goaltending change as Laurent Brossoit would take a seat on the bench and in came Richard Bachman. That would spark the comeback, as the Barons would get one back soon after, as Ryan Hamilton (Miller | Winquist) would put the puck just over Michael Houser’s glove at 17:27 on the power-play to reduce the deficit to 3-1.
The Barons would get another back as Jordan Oesterle (Stretch | Williams) would walk in from the point and flick a wrist shot that went past Houser and into the back of the net to make it a 3-2 game. Then, with 40.3 seconds left, Mark Mancari took a tripping penalty and Oklahoma City converted once more, as the Barons won the face-off and Matthew Ford (Williams | Hunt) deflected a shot from the point. All of a sudden, the Rampage and Barons found themselves tied up at three.
In overtime, the Barons’ Connor Jones scored the game winning goal at 4:01 of the first overtime to give Oklahoma the 4-3 lead, and therefore, the 4-3 victory.
Three Rampageous Facts
- San Antonio had 31 shots on net throughout Game 1. The Rampage matched that exact shot total through two periods of play as they edged the Barons in shots on net 31-20.
- Three out of the four goals scored tonight by the Oklahoma City Barons occurred on the power play. Over the past two games, the Barons have now scored five goals on eleven power play chances. The Rampage really needs to shore up their special teams if they look to win the next three games of this series.
- Dany Heatley. Rocco Grimaldi. Quinton Howden. Too many of the Rampage’s key players have been non-factors in this series so far. That will need to change for Game 3.
Final Thoughts
As the Rampage close out Game 2 with a lackluster effort throughout their last two periods, they did so knowing that they will play the rest of the first round at their barn in San Antonio. If they succeed in winning all three of their home games, they will go on to play the winner of the Rockford Ice Dogs | Texas Stars in the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs. If they lose, then the affiliation between the Florida Panthers and San Antonio Rampage will end in the first round.
Game 3 of the first-round series between the San Antonio Rampage and the Oklahoma City Barons takes place on Wednesday night.
| Game | Date | Time | Location |
| Game 3 | Wednesday, April 29th | 8:00pm ET | AT&T Center, San Antonio |
| Game 4 | Friday, May 1st | 8:30pm ET | AT&T Center, San Antonio |
| Game 5 | Saturday, May 2nd | 8:00pm ET | AT&T Center, San Antonio |
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