Rivermen Claw Back, Down Thunderbolts in Overtime Friday

Photo Credit: Dennis Sievers/Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Claw Back, Down Thunderbolts in Overtime Friday

Peoria out-shoots Evansville 48-18 at Carver Arena

Peoria, IL – The Peoria Rivermen erased a two-goal second-intermission deficit Friday night before downing the Evansville Thunderbolts 4-3 in overtime Friday night. The win, Peoria’s second in a row, keeps the Rivermen in second place, six points behind Pensacola, with two games to go in Peoria’s three-game, three-city weekend.

The Rivermen broke the scoreless tie while on the power play just over five minutes into the first period. With Thunderbolts defenseman Cory Melkert in the sin bin for tripping, Rivermen winger Will Smith circled behind the Evansville net, and fed a pass from the left side of the crease to a charging Ryan Siiro who one-timed the puck past Thunderbolts goaltender Tomas Sholl for the 1-0 edge at 6:55 of the opening period.

The Thunderbolts evened the score early in the middle frame, also while on the power play. With Rivermen winger Connor Gorman in the penalty box for goaltender interference, Evansville winger Mark Petaccio raced into the Thunderbolts zone and ripped a shot between the legs of a Peoria defender defender that sailed over the shoulder of Rivermen netminder Matt Leon to even the score 1-1 at 2:12 of the second period.

Evansville grabbed the lead just over a minute later while at even strength. Thunderbolts defenseman Cory Melkert sent a pass in the Rivermen zone to teammate Dave Williams who rifled a shot that beat Leon for the 2-1 Evansville lead at 3:30 of the middle stanza.

The Thunderbolts added to their lead at 18:12 when Evansville leading scorer Dylan Clarke picked up a loose puck and skated through the neutral zone and split a pair of Peoria defenders into the Rivermen end of the ice. Clarke took the puck, deked to his forehand, and beat the blocker of new Rivermen goaltender Tyler Parks for a 3-1 Thunderbolts lead at 18:12 of the middle frame.

The Rivermen pulled back within one with a tally early in the third period. With play raging in the Thunderbolts zone, Rivermen defenseman Brandon Rumble carried the puck toward the left-wing corner and fed a pass across the goal mouth to teammate Alec Hagaman, who fired it past Sholl for the 3-2 score at 4:48 of the third period.

The Rivermen pulled Parks in favor of an extra attacker, and tied the game with a goal in the final minute of regulation. With the net empty behind them, the Rivermen worked the puck out to the right point of the Evansville zone. Hagaman collected the puck and sent a wrister netward, where Rivermen winger Will Smith redirected it past Sholl and into the net for a 3-3 tie with 27 seconds left in the contest.

The Rivermen sealed the game in overtime, beating Sholl just under three minutes into the sudden-death period. Rivermen winger Mike Gurtler carried the puck through the slot and sent a backhand off Sholl’s left pad. Rivermen captain Dave Pszenyczny dunked the ensuing rebound past Sholl from the left post and into the net to seal the game at 2:56 of overtime.

Leon stopped 7 of 9 shots faced in net before he was relieved after Evansville’s second goal of the night. Parks earned the win in relief, stopping 8 of 9 shots faced in the final 38:19 of action between the pipes, improving to 3-1-0 on the season.

Notes: Hagaman recorded a goal and an assist for his second straight multi-point game…Hagaman also has a point or more in his last 11 games…Gurtler posted two assists for his first multi-assist performance of the season and his second straight multi-point outing…The Rivermen return to action Saturday night as they travel to Huntsville, AL to take on the Havoc at 7:00 p.m. CST…The broadcast of the game can be heard, starting with the pre-game show, at 6:40 p.m. CST at http://mixlr.com/peoria-rivermen/

Group, single game, and season tickets for Peoria's 36th 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)