Cetnarowski Goes to NCAA

The Tulsa Rampage are pleased to announce that RJ Cetnarowski will advance to the NCAA in the upcoming season. Cetnarowski, who was traded to the Rampage in early February, will join the Concordia College Cobbers in Moorehead Minnesota in the fall.

Cetnarowski was a star player for one of the Rampage's rival teams at the beginning of the season where he drew the attention of General Manager Julie Wilson. She considered requesting a trade from the Texas Renegades throughout the first half of the year but didn't think they'd consider losing the big scorer. As the trade deadline approached Wilson decided to take that chance. "We had secured a play off spot and the Renegades were looking less and less like they would," she said "so I talked to Coach Vakos before our last series against them, to request that he trade RJ to the Rampage in order to give him a chance to continue to play." Vakos agreed to make that trade after the game and although the Rampage won, Cetnarowski fittingly scored the only goal against the Tulsa team in that game.

Cetnarowski is a Mukilteo Washington native who wanted to begin playing hockey at five years old after seeing the Seattle Thunderbirds play. His parents supported the goal by enrolling him in the youth hockey association and securing additional training during the summer at hockey camps in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. It was there that his natural ability drew the attention of Okanagan Hockey Academy manager Andy Oakes. In a brave move, Cetnarowski's parents agreed to Oakes' request to have RJ join the Academy at 14 years of age. He made the move North where he remained with the program for four years. In his last season in Canada, he gained his first Junior experience by playing with the Summerland Sting Junior B program.

"I'm so pleased to see RJ get an NCAA opportunity," Wilson says "he's a solid player and a really good kid. He was pretty discouraged when he thought he wasn't going to the playoffs and wasn't sure if any college offers would come. Trading for him was great for us and turned out to be good for him as well. It's always nice to see a good kid overcome obstacles to succeed.