Rivermen Come Up Short in Overtime, Fall 4-3 Sunday

November 20, 2016 3:00 pm

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Photo Credit:Kori LaVire/Mississippi RiverKings

Rivermen Come Up Short in Overtime, Fall 4-3 Sunday

Two power play goals help RiverKings as Peoria takes 5 of 6 points on trip

 

SOUTHAVEN, MS – The Peoria Rivermen played 60 minutes to a 3-3 tie Sunday before eventually falling 4-3 in overtime to the Mississippi RiverKings. The loss drops Peoria to 6-3-2 and gives them five of six possible points to wrap up their three-game, three-day, three-city road trip.

 

The RiverKings opened the scoring late in the first frame. After Mississippi center Cullen Bradshaw fought the puck free behind the Peoria goal, his pass found Mike Moran and the bottom of the left circle, where he snapped a one-timer past Peoria goaltender Tyler Green for a 1-0 RiverKings lead.

 

Peoria tied the game with an even-strength goal of their own just 68 seconds later. Peoria defenseman Dave Pszenyczny took the puck from the top of the slot and put it toward the net, where Terrence Wallin redirected it to Ryan Keller. Keller spun and fired the puck past Mississippi goalie Peter Di Salvo to tie the game 1-1.

 

The Rivermen took the lead in the early stages of the second frame. With the puck on the right ring of the RiverKings zone, Peoria passed it out to Don Olivieri atop the slot. Olivieri wound up and fired a slap shot under the cross bar past Di Salvo to give the Rivermen a 2-1 lead.

 

The RiverKings re-tied the game with a power play goal eight minutes into in the second period. With Pszenyczny in the box for hooking at 6:40, RiverKings defenseman Mike Grace fired the puck from the left point toward the Rivermen net. The puck went just wide of the net and right to a waiting Cullen Bradshaw, who converted the backdoor tap-in to tie the game 2-2.

 

The Rivermen re-took the lead in the middle stages of the third period. Terrence Wallin drove with the puck down the boards toward the right corner of the Mississippi zone and back handed it toward the RiverKings net. Di Salvo’s stick knocked the puck away to a charging Johnny Daniels, who buried it past Di Salvo for a 3-2 lead.

 

The RiverKings tied the game with another power play goal late in the third. With Pszenyczny in the box again, this time for delay of game, Mississippi worked the puck to the top of the right circle, where RiverKings defenseman Chris Luker rifled a shot into the top corner past Green for a 3-3 tie at 16:34 of the third.

 

The score remained tied until the end of the third and the RiverKings won it 13 seconds into the sudden-death period. With the teams playing 3-on-3, Bradshaw and Moran rushed into the Peoria zone, and Moran’s pass found an open Bradshaw, who beat Green for the game-winning goal.

 

Green took the overtime loss in goal, stopping 33 of 37 shots he faced. The OT loss is Green’s second this season, dropping him to 4-1-2 between the pipes for the Rivermen this season.

 

Notes: The overtime loss is Peoria’s second on the road this year, making Peoria’s record for the season 4-0-2 away from Carver Arena this season… Olivieri’s goal is his first in a Rivermen uniform…Wallin posted two assists for his first points since joining the Rivermen before last weekend’s home game…Klecha tallied an assist to give him a point in three straight games…Gorman added an assist to give him points in his last four games…The Rivermen return to action next Friday, November 25, when they play the first of two games against the Evansville Thunderbolts at 7:05 pm CST…Friday’s game is Peoria’s Coats for Kids Drive, with fans invited to bring a new or gently used coat to donate to the Salvation Army to receive a special offer from the Rivermen…The game can be viewed on Neulion SPHL Live and can be heard, starting with the pregame show at 6:45, at http://mixlr.com/peoria-rivermen/00

 

Group, Season, and single-game tickets for Peoria's 35th season of professional hockey, presented by Midwest Orthopaedic Center, are on sale now at the Rivermen office, located at 201 S.W. Jefferson Street, or over the phone at (309) 676-1040. For the latest Rivermen news and notes, follow online at www.rivermen.net or through Facebook (www.facebook.com/PeoriaRivermen) - Twitter (https://twitter.com/Peoria_Rivermen)