It was a good start to the season for the Red Deer Rampage Junior B Tier 1 lacrosse team, this past weekend.
The Rampage opened the 2016 Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League season with a pair of victories over the weekend, including a 8-6 road win over the Edmonton Junior B Warriors on Friday and a 12-9 win in their home opener over the St. Albert Crude on Saturday afternoon.
“We have a really good squad this year, so we hold ourselves to a higher standard. At points we would really dominate games but it’s just finding that consistency. We just need to find that consistency and play a full 60 minute game at the end of the day,” said Rampage Head Coach Trey Christensen after Saturday’s game.
Christensen noted the Rampage were happy to pick up the two wins, but his team could still use some tweaking on both sides of the ball.
“It’s good to get the two wins, but we do have a lot to work on. And the kids get that, so while they’re very happy with the wins, we are a very competitive group of guys.”
The Rampage showed they may be the team to beat in the RMLL during their home opener at the Kinex Arena last Saturday afternoon, when they defeated the St. Albert Crude 12-9.
It was a back and forth affair that saw the two teams duke it out to a 3-3 tie at the end of the first period before the Crude surged ahead early on in the second to take a 7-4 lead by the halfway point of the game.
But the Rampage would not be beat and showed some great speed and skill as they battled their way back and scored seven straight in the late second and early third to come out with the win.
When asked what his team did right over the weekend, Christensen said it all came down to their speed and teamwork.
“Definitely just our speed. Speed, speed, speed. And there’s no ego and no selfishness at the end of the day. We got a big group of guys that are totally bought in. Just a really smart group of guys,” he said.
The Rampage’s next matchup is a Saturday rematch with Edmonton, who they defeated in their season opener last Friday. That one goes at 2:30 p.m. at the Kinex Arena.
Meanwhile, the Red Deer Rage Senior Ladies’ team got off to a slow start to their 2016 season after dropping their first four games at the Kinex in Red Deer.
The Rage kicked off their season with a tough 4-2 loss to the visiting Calgary Cardinals on April 23rd before dropping a tough 5-0 loss to the Rockyview Silvertips the following night.
The next weekend, the Rage were looking for a little bit of redemption when they hosted the Capital Region Saints on Saturday and the undefeated Calgary Senior Cougars on Sunday, but they weren’t able to gain any traction and fell 8-4 and 12-2 respectively.
The Rage are back in action on Friday evening when they host a rematch against the Cougars at 8:30 p.m. at the Kinex.
The Red Deer Renegades Junior B Tier 2 team were looking for a little bit of redemption when they opened their season last week.
After being swept out of last year’s playoffs 2-0 in the second round by the Medicine Hat Sun Devils, the Renegades got off to a great start to 2016 on April 23rd when they doubled up on the Sylvan Lake Yettis 14-7 at the Kinex. They couldn’t keep the momentum from that early season rout up, however, and dropped a close 8-6 matchup to the Calgary Tier 2 Axemen the following day.
Last weekend was all about redemption for the Renegades. Despite failing to bounce back during a rematch with the Axemen in Calgary on Friday, Red Deer managed to get a little bit of sweet revenge for the 2015 playoffs when the Sun Devils rolled into town on Sunday afternoon.
This time, the Renegades made no mistake and made fast work of Medicine Hat in an 11-5 rout.
The Renegades play their next home game this Sunday against the Calgary Wranglers. That one gets underway at 2:30 p.m. at the Kinex.
zcormier@reddeerexpress.com
