The San Antonio Rampage (15-21-2-4) staged a miraculous comeback against the Grand Rap- ids Griffins (28-13-2-2) despite being down 2-5 at the start of the third period to win in overtime 6-5 and snap a three-game losing streak in front of 4,994 fans at the AT&T Center Sunday, Jan. 26.

The first period was quickly paced throughout. Jed Ortmeyer scored his seventh and eighth goal of the season in the first term, the first being the opening goal of the period; assisted by Quinton Howden and defenseman Jonathan Racine.

Center Landon Ferraro converted an exciting power play for the Grand Rapids Griffins. Ferraro tapped the puck backdoor on Rampage goalie Ja- cob Markstrom to complete the power play and tie the game at one apiece.

Ortmeyer scored his second goal for the Ram- page in the first period just 24 seconds after the

Griffins scored their first. Ortmeyer joked, “I was at the right place at the right time.”

Right-winger Logan Shaw and defenseman Ryan Whitney assisted Ortmeyer as he hit the go-ahead goal after the post deflected the puck right into his shot zone.

The second period began with the Griffins aiming for second quarter revenge by tightening their defense, holding San Antonio to no goals.

Grand Rapids scored their first two goals of the second period within five minutes of each other. Forward Travis Novak scored his first goal of the season for the Griffins. The shot was off a rebound assisted by forward Alden Hirschfield, his first assist of the season.

Grand Rapids right-winger, Teemu Pulkkinen, scored points number 37 and 38 with two goals in the second period, the first of which came on a power play. The second goal by Pulkkinen was scored off his own rebound from the goalie.

The Rampage were down three goals going into the third, with little to no momentum. However, a quick goal by the Rampage two minutes into the final period turned things around. Right-

winger Joey Crabb’s slap shot started momentum that couldn’t be stopped.

Ortmeyer recollected, “We got that first one (of the third period) and a couple of power play opportunities and we were able to take advantage and grab momentum.”

The Griffins couldn’t find a rhythm as the Ram- page defense sharpened. San Antonio held Grand Rapids scoreless until the end of the game.

A Rampage goal was scored with 15:42 left in the game by right-winger Bobby Butler on a pow- er play. The score pushed the game within reach for San Antonio.

Another Rampage goal with 1:28 left by right- winger John McFarland tied it. Intensity sweated through the pores of the players as both teams battled it out to get the final point of the period with just a little over a minute left.

A last-minute shot attempt was saved by Ram- page goalie Markstorm with 21 seconds left to send the game into overtime with the score knot- ted up at five goals apiece.

It took four minutes and forty five seconds in a five-minute overtime for Rampage’s John McFar-

land to slap the puck in after rebounding his own shot in a break away to end the game.

The Rampage capped off a miraculous come- back on the back of stout defensive play and team determination, winning 6-5 in an overtime thrill- er to snap a three-game losing streak.

Rampage Head Coach Tom Rowe stated, “It was an unbelievable comeback. They were schooling us and the guys got going. It’s an enor- mous win for us.”

“It’s a motivating win for us. We are jelling as a team,” Ortmeyer added.

After the game, McFarland said of his team, “It shows character that’s in that (locker) room. With 20 minutes left, you can always find a way (to win).”

With that exciting win, the San Antonio Ram- page take their show on the road to battle division leaders the Texas Stars (27-12-2-3) on Wednes- day, Jan. 29.

They come home to play against the Toronto Marlies (25-13-2-2) on Friday, Jan. 31.