The Prince Rupert Rampage finished last season in fifth place and this season they are looking to improve.
A big part of the Rampage team last season was leading scorer Judd Repole who finished the season with 38 points in 18 games and goaltender Brayden Ferguson who had one of the lowest goals-against averages in the league at 2.78 in seven games.
The rampage made the playoffs as a wildcard team but lost their three-game series 2-1 to the Hazelton Wolverines.
While the Rampage didn’t win the league they still qualified for the Coy Cup as the host team. Team captain Kory Movold said playing in the Coy Cup was a great experience.
“We were battling with injuries in that tournament but every game was fairly close. We didn’t get the results that we were hoping for. But it was it was a good experience. It was good to see the strength of the competition in the Lower Mainland.”
The Rampage will have virtually the same team as last year but will have tryouts to see where the team is at, said head coach Roger Atchison.
“We’re not expecting any new players as of now. And after we start tryouts we’ll see where we are and see what we have to do to be competitive. Because we know Terrace and Quesnel they’re pretty good teams.”
The Rampage have one of the largest average attendances in the CIHL, which is special, said Movold.
“The support from the fans and volunteers is actually the reason that a lot of our older guys are still playing. It makes it really hard to think about ever not playing anymore. It stems from how good the volunteers are, it’s such a big team effort to get the weekend going and the volunteers do such an incredible job.”
The Rampage will be holding tryouts from Sept. 4 through 6, and their home opener is on Sept. 27 against the Hazelton Wolverines.
