rivermen.net

Rookie right wing David Backes netted his first National Hockey League (NHL) point, an assist, in his first NHL shift with the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday in the team’s 4-1 road win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Backes was recalled from the Peoria Rivermen, the Blues’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, earlier in the day.

On the goal, Backes, 22, fought the puck free in the right-wing corner of the Penguins zone, getting it to right wing Radek Dvorak. Dvorak set up center Doug Weight for the team’s first tally 44 seconds into the game. Backes – the 6-foot-3, 210-pound native of Blaine, Minnesota – played 10:13 over 15 shifts and also finished with a +1 plus/minus for the contest.

Backes, selected by the Blues in the second round (62nd overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, tallied 11 points (9g, 2a) in 27 games for the Rivermen to open the season. He is second on the team with seven power play goals behind the team’s leading scorer, center Trent Whitfield.

On Friday, December 22, the Rivermen host the Grand Rapids Griffins at 7:30 p.m. It is a Coca-Cola/Insight Date Night. Fans may receive two (2) Upper Bowl tickets, two (2) Cokes and a tub of popcorn for just $25. The team will also commemorate the 1990-91 Rivermen International Hockey League (IHL) Turner Cup Championship and the still-world-record, 18-game professional winning streak by wearing replica 1990-91 replica jerseys, which will be auctioned off after the game to benefit the Children’s Hospital of Illinois. U.S. Cellular’s 25 Greatest Rivermen of All-Time continues with Steve Tuttle cards to the first 2,500 fans.