The Red Deer Rampage like to live life in the fast lane.
Their speed and transition game was on full display Saturday in a dominant 11-4 victory over the Rockyview Silvertips at the Kinex Arena.
After falling behind 2-1 in the first period, the Rampage came out like gangbusters in the second and notched eight straight tallies to essentially put the game away.
Head coach Trey Christensen said his group has really been building to this point as the regular season wrapped up on the weekend. Saturday was also the eighth win in a row for the Rampage in Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League Junior B Tier I play.
“Just a great effort. We’re on a ten game swing and it’s just a night and day team from the start of the year until now. Just a lot of youth, guys in different leadership roles. But they’ve definitely stepped up,” he said.
“We came out a little bit flat. Second period should be our period. We’re a transition team, we’re a running team. When we get those legs going, things just open up for us.”
Elijah Johanson buried a hat trick in the victory, while captain Jeremey Klessens and Jayden Reschny each added a pair. Sheridan Cook, Keifer Christensen and Riley Woytas also had goals for the Rampage.
The head coach noted that with the speed game they play, it’s easy for fatigue to set in. Although, with a deep roster the players have bought in and are beginning to find that trust in one another.
“The nice thing about our roster is we have so many guys who are versatile,” Christensen added.
“They can play offence, defence and open the floor. So we’re able to mix and match bodies as we need. There’s no excuse, and the guys found that they can always keep rolling and rely on other teammates to fill in for them when they get tired.”
On the season, the Rampage are 10-7-1. All seven of those losses came in May and since June 15 they’ve won eight straight games, outscoring opponents 101-55 over that stretch. They play the Calgary Chill to round out the campaign on Sunday.
Sunday, the Rampage won 18-8 over the Chill and clinched first in the division, which also earns them a bye in the first round of the RMLL playoffs.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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