After controlling most of the game against the Utica Comets and still coming up with a loss, the San Antonio Rampage knew they would need to attack early and often in the their final two games of the weekend if they wanted to come out on top.
The Rampage put a season-high 42 shots on net en route to a 4-2 win over the Hamilton Bulldogs (2-1-2-0, 6 points) in front of an announced crowd of 2,527 inside FirstOntario Centre on Saturday night.
San Antonio got the scoring started 6:28 into the first period when John McFarland put home a rebound off his own missed shot past Hamilton goaltender Mike Condon to put the Rampage up 1-0. Brett Olsen and Mark Mancari assisted on McFarland’s second of the year.
Just over a minute later, Sven Andrighetto tied the game when he snapped a shot past San Antonio netminder Michael Houser. The Bulldogs took the 2-1 lead when the Rampage turned the puck over and Charles Hudon beat Houser at the 11:58 mark of the opening period.
While Hamilton was on the power play, Brett Olsen got the loose puck and buried it past Condon to knot the game at 2-2 just over four minutes later. Olsen’s tally was his second of the season and San Antonio’s first shorthanded goal of the year.
San Antonio took the lead for good in the second period when Steven Kampfer batted the puck in the air past Condon at the 2:40 mark for the 3-2 lead. Houser would get the lone assist on Kampfer’s second goal of the season. The Rampage sealed their 4-2 win with Bobby Butler’s second goal of the year at the 5:16 mark of the period.
Houser stopped 22 of 24 shots he faced, while Condon made 38 saves on 42 Rampage shots. San Antonio finished the game 1-for-6 with the man advantage and Hamilton was 0-for-3 on the power play.
The Rampage are now 4-2-0-0 (8 points) on the season and will return to the ice tomorrow (Sunday) for a rematch with the Bulldogs at 2 p.m. inside FirstOntario Centre.
