San
Antonio On A Rampage
First-year AHL team has earned a point in 13 straight games.
12.11.02 -- Deep in the heart of Texas, a battle is raging for supremacy in the AHL's Western Conference, and after a slow start, the San Antonio Rampage are making a move up the standings.
The Rampage, top affiliate of the NHL's Florida Panthers, began their inaugural season with one win during a six-game road trip, and then dropped their home opener on Nov. 3 to fall to 1-6-0-0.
Since then, John Torchetti's club is 7-1-5-2, earning a point in the standings in each of their last 12 games (6-0-4-2) and climbing back into the thick of the West Division race, trailing front-running Houston by 10 points entering the week.
The Rampage's state-of-the-art digs, the brand new SBC Center, has been an uninviting stop for visiting clubs, as San Antonio starts the week with an eight-game home unbeaten streak (6-0-2-0). The Rampage will have ample opportunity to pad their home-ice advantage over the next few weeks, as they are scheduled to play 17 of 23 games in the Alamo City between Dec. 2 and Jan. 15.
Goaltender Chris Mason is 5-1-2 with a 1.71 goals against average in his last eight decisions, and Mathieu Biron owns a team-leading plus-9 rating from the blue line.
The Rampage's defensive corps also includes touted prospects Filip Novak (acquired from the N.Y. Rangers in the Pavel Bure trade) and Kyle Rossiter, a second-round pick in the 1998 draft.
