Dec. 4, 2010 – San Antonio Rampage 6 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 3

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The San Antonio Rampage rebounded from an early deficit to post a 6-3 win over the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday at Van Andel Arena.

Ilari Filppula’s two goals for the Griffins were trumped by two-goal efforts from San Antonio’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Petr Prucha, as the West Division-leading Rampage (17-6-1-0) rode a 3-for-6 performance on the power play to their ninth win in their last 11 outings.

The Griffins (10-10-0-4) will get another shot at San Antonio in a 4 p.m. Sunday faceoff at Van Andel Arena.

The teams traded goals in the opening period. Derek Meech struck first for the Griffins at the 11:27 mark, taking a pass from Jan Mursak, sliding into the right circle and whipping the puck inside the far post of former Michigan standout Al Montoya. The Rampage answered with a shorthanded tally at 16:55, as Prucha sped in alone and lifted a shot over the glove of Joey MacDonald, who was making his first appearance at home since Oct. 22, following his five-week stint with the Detroit Red Wings.

San Antonio grabbed its first lead just 16 seconds into the middle period, when Ekman-Larsson blistered a shot into the top right corner from above the left circle. However, the Griffins scored their own shorthanded goal at 14:32 to tie the score at two. Filppula crunched a Rampage player into the left boards at the Griffins blue line, chased down the dislodged puck and angled toward the San Antonio net, slipping a backhand between Montoya’s pads.

The deadlock lasted only 75 seconds, until Ekman-Larsson launched a shot from long range with one second left in that San Antonio power play that sailed past a screened MacDonald and into the top of the cage for his second goal of the period. Not to be outdone, Prucha then scored his second of the night during another advantage with just 11.1 seconds left in the period, banging home a rebound from close range to give the visitors a 4-2 lead through 40 minutes.

After San Antonio out-shot Grand Rapids by an 18-4 margin in the second period, Andrew Ebbett scored 4:50 into the third to extend the Rampage’s lead to three goals. Filppula pounced on a rebound in the slot during a power play at 7:22 to trim the deficit back to two, but Brett MacLean scored with 9:23 remaining for the final margin.

Montoya stopped 20 shots in the win, while MacDonald finished the night with 25 saves.

Three Stars: 1. SA Ekman-Larsson (two goals); 2. SA Ebbett (goal, two assists); 3. GR Filppula (two goals)