San Antonio Rampage

The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was sold to the Vegas Golden Knights and relocated as the Henderson Silver Knights.

San Antonio Rampage
CitySan Antonio, Texas
LeagueAmerican Hockey League
ConferenceWestern
DivisionCentral
Founded1971
Operated2002–2020
Home arenaAT&T Center
ColorsBlack, dark gray, silver, white
       
Owner(s)Spurs Sports & Entertainment
AffiliatesFlorida Panthers (2002–2005, 2011–2015)
Phoenix Coyotes (2005–2011)
Colorado Avalanche (2015–2018)
St. Louis Blues (2018–2020)
Franchise history
1971–1972Tidewater Wings
1972–1975Virginia Wings
1979–1999Adirondack Red Wings
2002–2020San Antonio Rampage
2020–presentHenderson Silver Knights
Championships
Division titles1 (2014–15)

History

In 2000, construction began on the SBC Center, located next to the Freeman Coliseum, home of the Central Hockey League's San Antonio Iguanas. Partnering with the Florida Panthers, the Spurs bought the dormant Adirondack Red Wings franchise and moved it to San Antonio.[1] Following the acquisition of an AHL franchise, local investment for the Iguanas quickly dissipated, and the CHL franchise folded. Originally, the team was to be named the San Antonio Stampede. However, when a local semipro football team objected, the name was changed to the Rampage.[2]

On June 30, 2005, Spurs Sports & Entertainment purchased the Panthers' interest in the franchise, assuming sole ownership of the AHL club. They also entered a multi-year affiliation agreement with the Phoenix Coyotes.[3] On September 7, 2006, the Rampage unveiled their new uniforms with the official colors now being black, white and silver (the same motif used by the Spurs, as well as other Spurs-owned teams). While the primary and secondary logos remain the same, the crest of the jerseys now displayed just the bull's head.

On April 11, 2007, the Coyotes announced that they had fired Rampage general manager Laurence Gilman, who had been with the Coyotes organization for 13 years. On November 23, 2009, the Phoenix Coyotes fired Greg Ireland. He was replaced by assistant coach Ray Edwards; Mike Pelino was named assistant coach. Ray Edwards was officially named head coach of the San Antonio Rampage prior to the 2010–11 season.

After the 2010–11 AHL season, the Coyotes came to an agreement with the Portland Pirates to be their new AHL affiliate,[4] and San Antonio became Florida's top affiliate for a second time.[5]

In the 2011–12 season, the Rampage finished with a record of 41–30–3–2, good for 87 points to qualify for the sixth playoff seed in the Western Conference. They faced the third-seeded Chicago Wolves in the first round, taking Game 1 and Game 2 at home to take a 2–0 series lead in the best-of-five series. They then lost to the Wolves in Games 3 and 4 in Chicago, leading to a Game 5. In Game 5, the Rampage took a 2–0 lead, but the Wolves rallied to tie the game, sending it into overtime. After 25 minutes of overtime, San Antonio winger Bill Thomas passed to center Jon Matsumoto, feeding defenceman Roman Derlyuk to score the series winning goal on his belly to secure the first series win in franchise history for the Rampage. The goal is known to many fans as the Goal Heard Round the Alamo, and is considered the most important in Rampage history.

On March 18, 2015, the Florida Panthers announced they had entered into an affiliation agreement with the Portland Pirates to begin in the 2015–16 season, thus ending the Panthers' second term as San Antonio's NHL affiliate.[6] On April 17, 2015, it was announced that the Rampage had come to a five-year affiliation agreement with the Colorado Avalanche.[7]

During the 2017 off-season, it was reported that the Avalanche would promote its ECHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, to the AHL in 2018 while the Rampage would officially affiliate with the St. Louis Blues beginning with the 2018–19 AHL season.[8][9] For the 2017–18 season, as the Blues did not have an official AHL affiliate after the Vegas Golden Knights partnered with their former affiliate, both the Avalanche and Blues would send AHL prospects to the Rampage.[10]

On February 6, 2020, the Vegas Golden Knights announced it had purchased the franchise from the Spurs with the intent to relocate it to the Las Vegas area.[11] The purchase and relocation was approved by the league on February 28.[12] The team initially played at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada,[13] while the club's new 6,000-seat arena, named Dollar Loan Center, was constructed in downtown Henderson, Nevada.[14]

Their main rivals were the Texas Stars (located near Austin) and, from 2002 to 2013, the Houston Aeros.

The market was previously served by:

Season-by-season results
Regular season Playoffs
Season Games Won Lost Tied OTL SOL Points PCT Goals
for		 Goals
against		 Standing Year 1st
round		 2nd
round		 3rd
round		 Finals
2002–03803629114—87.5442352263rd, West2003L, 0–3, NOR———
2003–0480304280—68.4251912316th, West2004Did not qualify
2004–05802745—5362.3881562326th, West2005Did not qualify
2005–06802350—3453.3311532517th, West2006Did not qualify
2006–07803242—2470.4382192566th, West2007Did not qualify
2007–08804228—3794.5882382255th, West2008L, 3–4, TOR———
2008–09803638—2478.4882052438th, West2009Did not qualify
2009–10803632—5784.5252352446th, West2010Did not qualify
2010–11803833—4587.5442282457th, West2011Did not qualify
2011–12764130—3287.5721972043rd, West2012W, 3–2, CHIL, 1–4, OKC——
2012–13762938—2767.4411952415th, South2013Did not qualify
2013–14763037—3669.4542062355th, West2014Did not qualify
2014–15764523—7198.6452482221st, West2015L, 0–3, OKC———
2015–16763335—8074.4872132407th, Pacific2016Did not qualify
2016–17762742—5261.4011842408th, Pacific2017Did not qualify
2017–18763531—10080.5261982198th, Pacific2018Did not qualify
2018–19763138—6169.4541962448th, Central2019Did not qualify
2019–20612425—7560.4921611847th, Central2020Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Players

Captains

Team records

Single season
Logo from 2002 to 2006
Logo from 2006 to 2020

Career

References
  1. Fischel, Mark (January 30, 2003). "San Antonio Rampage "Stampede" into the AHL". Hockey's Future. Retrieved June 17, 2005.
  2. Uminski, Terry (September 6, 2011). "Gearing Up for Rampage's 10th Season". San Antonio Express-News. Archived from the original on June 12, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  3. "Rampage team history". San Antonio Rampage. February 3, 2010. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
  4. "Portland Pirates affiliate with Phoenix Coyotes". New England Hockey Journal. June 27, 2011. Archived from the original on July 1, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  5. "Rampage, Panthers ink affiliation deal". American Hockey League. June 29, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
  6. "Pirates announce affiliation with Florida". American Hockey League. March 18, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  7. "Falcons, Monsters, Rampage swap NHL affiliates". American Hockey League. April 17, 2015. Archived from the original on April 17, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  8. Lytle, Kevin (October 10, 2017). "Colorado Eagles moving to AHL to become top Avalanche affiliate". Fort Collins Coloradoan. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  9. "AHL AWARDS EXPANSION MEMBERSHIP TO COLORADO EAGLES". American Hockey League. October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  10. "Rampage Announce Future Affiliation Plans". San Antonio Rampage. October 10, 2017. Archived from the original on October 11, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  11. "Vegas Golden Knights Purchase AHL Franchise Membership". Vegas Golden Knights. February 6, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  12. "AHL heading to Las Vegas in 2020-21". American Hockey League. February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  13. "Vegas Golden Knights Issue AHL Update". Vegas Golden Knights. February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  14. "Vegas Golden Knights And City Of Henderson Issue AHL Update". Vegas Golden Knights. February 13, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
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