The Rampage Pee Wee A team made their way to Minnesota over the Holiday break. The team started its hockey adventure by hitting the Mall of America and doing a little shopping at the Wild Shop, Gopher Shop, NHL and College Shop, yes they have separate stores for each program. After all its the State of Hockey. Next stop was the HockeyGiant.com store just down the street. After a day at the Mall and a night in the Pool at Comport Suites, the team loaded up and made the drive up to Pine City for first game against the North Branch Vikings Pee Wee B Team. The Rampage Pee Wee A team skated a few players short and battled with a short bench. Cameron Sykes tallied a top shelf goal to tie the game 1-1. The Rampage put up a great battle, outshooting the Vikings and ended up pulling their goalie at 2-1 before dropping the first game of the weekend 3-1 with 9 skaters and a goalie. GREAT WORK.

 

A short drive for a nights stay in Hinkley, MN  ( Casino Town ) . Lots of winning for the parents and a good nights sleep for the tired 10 Rampage players. The morning came and the cars once again loaded up for the final destination DULUTH Minnesota for the Tourney. The team got a tough draw , getting 2 of the higher ranked teams in the state, Duluth East , Hermantown. They also drew Two Harbors another tough squad , and Proctor.

The team's teams hotel was on the beautiful Lake Superior lakefront. The kids were very excited to see the 1,000 ft cargo ships come into port thru the world famous Lift Bridge. Fears of Minnesota cold and snow were washed away with record high temps.
 

Game #1 of Tourney

Two Harbors

The boys from Two Harbors came out strong and fast , playing a physical and strong game. The Rampage got caught a little flat footed and not ready for the speed and size of the Minnesota players, some of the Minnesota players are 6 months older. The team battled hard and got better as the game went on and their comfort level grew. A great test for the team.

 

Game #2 of Tourney

Hermantown

Land of giants, Hermantown a highly ranked team in MN and very strong and skilled came out flying and moved the puck around with speed and strength, another step up in play. Another test for the Rampage team and a look at some talented , bigger and older players. The team battled and didnt back down. Waklyn battled through an injury and played his heart out. The team became more aggressive and started to get physical and raising the level of play. Our Rampage were the only team to score a goal on Hermantown in the Pool round.

 

Game #3 Of Tourney

Duluth East

Another highly ranked team and another skilled fast and quick group of players. The Hounds came out quick , and pounded the puck on the Rampage net. The team came out a little slow and sluggish. They turned it around and  worked hard and played hard in the 2nd and 3rd period.  The kids played on tired legs, with a short bench and they didnt quit.

A well earned nights sleep ahead for the Rampage and one more big test left against a strong Proctor team in the morning.

 

Game #4  of Tourney

Proctor

The team rallied and came out fighting shooting puck after puck on the Proctor goalie. The team took what they learned the past 3 games and skated hard , playing physical and keeping pressure in the Proctor offensive zone.

Proctor had a big strong team and managed to fire off a few great shots on the rampage tender Waklyn who had an outstanding weekend.

The Rails of Proctor would tally 2 goals and later a shortie empty netter to make it 3-0. With the Rampage taking it to Proctor goalie for much of the final 2 periods, they finally tallied one to make the final 3-1. The local Minnesotan's seemed a bit fascinated with the tiny team from Colorado, and cheered loudly for the Rampage's final goal by Skye Ziehwein.