The Prince Rupert Rampage are moving on to the next round of the CIHL playoffs following a 6-4 win over Hazelton in Game 3 of a series that was anything but well spirited.
After a fight fueled affair during Game 1 in Hazelton last week, the bad blood clearly remained as Game 2 featured a number of scuffles and animanted discussions from players, coaches and fans. The on-ice product was as tight as the first game, with Hazelton and Prince Rupert each scoring late third period goals to send the game to overtime at 3-3. The first overtime solved nothing, and it was only well into the second period of extra hockey that Hazelton knocked home the goal they needed to send the series to an all-deciding Game 3.
The Rampage came out flying in the Sunday matinee, scoring two goals in the opening six minutes courtesy of Jordan Weir and Kory Movold, the latter coming on the power play. Trea Potskin answered back with a power play marker of his own for the Wolverines before the first period was out.
The penalties continued in earnest for each side as tensions between the two teams began to hit a boiling point. Hazelton’s Rob Raju tied the game 2-2 with a power play goal at 11:07, only to be answered by two Prince Rupert power play goals in the final five minutes by Austin Weir and Jeremy Boot to put the home side up 4-2 after two.
The sixth power play goal in a row for the game came at 7:21 of the third period as the Wolverines got back within one through Drew Rose. Finally though Prince Rupert found their even strength legs, Cole Atchison restoring the two-goal lead halfway through the period before Kory Movold scored his second of the game on a breakaway with under five minutes left to ice things away.
With the game out of reach things started to get ugly as frustrated Wolverines players instigated a series of fights with just four minutes remaining. After multiple players were thrown out of the game, the match wrapped up under the watch of the local RCMP, several of whom showed up to the rink during the lengthy delay as all the penalties were sorted out. The game ended without anymore dustups, and it will be Prince Rupert moving on to play the Terrace River Kings in the next round. Hazelton’s return to the CIHL season meanwhile comes to an end.
- with files from KJ Millar
