Rivermen Cage Dawgs, Cruise to Playoff Berth with 3-0 Victory

Photo Credit: Addison Blair/Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Cage Dawgs, Cruise to Playoff Berth with 3-0 Victory

Parks perfect, Jones adds two goals in seventh straight win

Peoria, IL – The Peoria Rivermen scored a goal in each period and punched their postseason ticket with a 3-0 win over the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs at Carver Arena Saturday. The victory, Peoria’s seventh straight, improves the Rivermen to 25-10-9 with one game remaining in the weekend series with Roanoke. 

The Rivermen got the scoring started in the middle stages of the first period. Rivermen center Garrett Vermeersch took a long pass from teammate Patrick Harrison, carried the puck with speed across the Roanoke blue line into the high slot, and sniped a shot over the glove of Roanoke goaltender James Kruger at 11:25 of the first period for a 1-0 Rivermen lead.

Peoria doubled their lead late in the second period. Vermeersch put on shot on goal that was snuffed out by Kruger, but a rebound danced around in front of the crease. Rivermen winger Jeff Jones battled in front of the blue paint, collected the puck and pushed it between the pads of Kruger at 14:09 for a 2-0 Rivermen edge.

The Rivermen added to their lead late in the third period. Jones picked up a loose puck, skated to the Roanoke slot, and slipped the puck around Kruger at the 14:32 mark of the third for a 3-0 Peoria advantage.

Tyler Parks earned the win in goal for Peoria, stopping all 24 shots faced to improve to 7-4-4 on the season. The whitewash was Parks’ second of the season, and first since he blanked Evansville December 16 in Southern Indiana.

Notes: Jones has seven points and six goals in his last four games…Vermeersch is on a four game point streak dating back to February 25 at Evansville….Harrison collected his first point in a Rivermen uniform, an assist in the first period….Rivermen defenseman Dave Pszenyczny appeared in his 600^th professional game Saturday night…Rivermen winger Cody Dion saw his four-game point streak snapped, and Peoria forward Connor Gorman did not record a point after he had logged three straight multi-point outings…The Rivermen return to action Sunday afternoon when they play the third of a three game series against the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs…Sunday’s game is a PNC Family Fun Day Sunday, with $1.00 hot dogs, inflatable rides, face painting, balloon artists, and a post-game skate with the team….Sunday’s game starts at 3:05 Central Time…The broadcast of the game can be heard, starting with the pre-game show, at 2:45 p.m. at http://mixlr.com/peoria-rivermen/

Group, single game, and season tickets for Peoria's 35th season of professional hockey presented by Midwest Orthopaedic Center are on sale at the Toyota Box Office in the Peoria Civic Center, or by phone 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)