新闻稿

At this point in the season it's past the halfway mark and the truly good teams have begun to distance themselves. Unfortunately for Grand Rapids Rampage fans, they find themselves in a somewhat similar position as last season. Although the club isn't fighting its way up the standings to barely nab the 8th seed in the playoff hunt like season 9, they are stuck in a tight race for the 6th through 10th spots in the standings.

Grand Rapids fans and staff had hoped for more this season. As the team surged from as low as 19th place to take the 8th and final seed in the playoffs and ultimately nab the number 4 ranking in league III.14 at the end of last season, it was beginning to look like the Rampage brass had a plan in place to dominate the league this season. Unfortunately, the Hockey Association intervened at the last minute and thrust the organization into league III.2 unexpectedly. With little warning or ability to prepare, the Rampage were left in a tough spot, and the sheen from last season's miraculous run is starting to lose its luster.

After Wednesday's 5:4 overtime loss to the Strikers, coach Sean Kerr lost favor with the front office. To everyone watching, it appeared that the team just gave the game away in the 3rd after leading the first 2 periods. Word leaked that the organization had been looking for his replacement, and soon after Nikolaj Biačko was hired as the new head coach. Kerr's contract ends next week, and he will server the remainder of it as Biačko's assistant while the transition is made. There is no word yet as to whether Nikolaj Biačko is the long-term head coach or if he is simply bridging the gap to the next true head coach and will step down and serve as an assistant later. Sources close to Rampage management indicate that Manager Paul Weston's job may also be in jeopardy.

Meanwhile, fans are quick to point out that the problems run deeper in the organization. One of the main problems facing the Rampage is an overabundance of centermen. Due to a lack of true wingers, the club has been forced to play centers out of position, most notably top-liners Alexander Hanzlík and Étienne Escudie. The pair has been on the same line since joining the team and both have been playing on their respective wings since that time too. Critics also note that the number of natural centers the team employs on the wings are likely the reason the offense underperforms. Rumblings inside the organization indicate that there may be a plan in place to sell some of the extra centers while bringing in new talent on the wings. Hanzlík, Valtr Janás, and Gaven Lang appear to be the centers the team intends to keep for now, but the verdict is out on where the rest of the team stands.

Although defense is not the Rampage's strong suit, critics often point to the inconsistent goaltending from the duo of Sebastián Baráček and Svetlomir Mihaylov as a source of the team's current woes. Management has been mum on the subject so far, neither refusing to commit to the pair nor placing them on the market.

When asked about the current state of the team at a recent press conference, owner/manager Cory Martin stated simply, "Of course we're disappointed. We had expected more W's at this point in the season, but we're in a tough league and we've stolen a win or two and also dropped a game or two. There's not much more you can ask than to still be in the playoff hunt. As for the future, we intend to keep building. We still plan to build up our facilities in the hopes that a couple of seasons down the road we can pump out top-notch homegrown talent and maybe only have to bring in a couple of role players, instead of importing the entire team. We're not mortgaging the future on this season, but it's obvious adjustments need to be made if we want to remain competitive."Rampage fans will be watching the next couple of weeks closely to see if any major changes are made that could impact the season.

Regardless of what future roster moves may be made, this weekend's derby matches will be worth the price of admission. In what fans have dubbed the "Furniture City Classic," the Grand Rapids Rampage square off against the Grand Rapids Griffins on back-to-back nights. This marks the first time the two teams will meet after last month's games were cancelled due to conflicting tournament dates for the Rampage. Hockey fans should be excited, as two up-and-coming clubs square off in what promises to be the first of many exciting skirmishes to prove who Grand Rapids' true hockey team really is.

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