Kyrou's return sparks Rampage in 8-2 demolition of Stars

SAN ANTONIO – Jordan Kyrou is back, and the Rampage have officially hit their stride.

Donning their "Los Chimuelos" jerseys for the first time this season, San Antonio scored at will, tallying two or more goals in each period en route to a dominant 8-2 victory over the Texas Stars Saturday night. The win completed a weekend sweep of the home-and-home series between the I-35 rivals.

Kyrou contributed immediately and factored into the Rampage's first goal, notching a secondary assist on Austin Poganski's power play goal midway through the period. The offense never looked back, as seven different players tallied goals, resulting in the second-most goals scored in a single Rampage game.

"Obviously it feels really great to be back," Kyrou said. "I've been out for a while, so being back out there with the boys and being on the ice was really fun. I just want to continue to get better. I'm working my knee back into getting hit."

"I thought he looked really good," said head coach Drew Bannister. "Obviously, we've been pretty patient with him, making sure he was 100%. It's not just the injury, you want to make sure mentally they're 100%. That's why we took our time with him. We made the right choice today. He was ready to play."

Center Mike Vecchione led the way with two goals, while right-winger Nick Lappin recorded three assists. Goalkeeper Ville Husso continued to shine in net, holding the Stars to two goals for the second straight game.

"They came out firing," Vecchione said. "The intensity was there. It was a nice night to have in front of the big Chimuelo crowd."

"Our special teams was a big factor in the two wins this week," Poganski explained. "They've got a really good power play. I think our penalty kill holding them off the score sheet was big, and our power play got us a few goals tonight."

Through the first five weeks of the regular season, San Antonio sits in second place in the Central Division standings with 15 points and a 6-2-2-1 overall record. The Rampage have scored multiple goals in all but one game -- a 2-1 home loss to Chicago back on Oct. 12. Since then, San Antonio has averaged four goals per game.

The Rampage will look to continue their success at the AT&T Center this season next Friday in the first of back-to-back home games against the Milwaukee Admirals at 7 p.m.