Rivermen Trounced by Ice Flyers Friday

March 16, 2018 7:05 pm

Away | Regular

Pensacola Ice Flyers

Final
3
2
1
Ice
5
0
3
2
Rivermen
2
2
0
0

Photo Credit: Brent Cooke/Pensacola Ice Flyers

Rivermen Trounced by Ice Flyers Friday

Pensacola builds five-goal lead in first two periods to cruise to victory

 

Pensacola, FL – The Peoria Rivermen surrendered five goals in the first 40 minutes of regulation before falling 5-2 to the Pensacola Ice Flyers Friday night. The loss, Peoria’s first in regulation since March 2, drops the Rivermen to 32-12-4 on the season before tomorrow night’s rematch with the Ice Flyers.

 

The Ice Flyers started the scoring with an odd-man rush late in the game’s opening period. Ice Flyers winger TJ Sarcona carried into the left wing of the Rivermen zone, and executed a give-and-go with teammate Chapen LeBlond on the 2-on-1 rush. Sarcona finished with a shot past Peoria goaltender Peter Di Salvo for a 1-0 lead at 14:59 of the period.

 

The Ice Flyers doubled their lead with a power-play goal later in the first period. With Rivermen winger Cody Dion in the sin bin for boarding, Pensacola sent a shot toward the net that deflected off Di Salvo’s glove and into the air. The puck came down behind Di Salvo and rolled into the Peoria goal for a 2-0 Ice Flyers lead at 17:25 of the period.

 

The Ice Flyers pushed their lead to three with another power-play marker early in the second period. With Rivermen defenseman Ben Oskroba boxed for roughing, Ice Flyers blueliner Nathan Bruyere took a shot from the right point of the Peoria zone that was redirected by Pensacola center Josh Cousineau and past Di Salvo for a 3-0 edge at 5:48 mark of the period.

 

Pensacola put the game out of reach with a pair of goals late in the second period. At the 14:36 mark of the period, Ice Flyers defenseman Kyle Haines’ drive from the point threaded through traffic and beat Di Salvo for a 4-0 lead. The Pensacola lead grew to 5-0 at the 16:17 mark when Ice Flyers blueliner Troy Vance rifled a wrister into the back of the net, chasing Di Salvo from the contest in favor of rookie netminder Mason Pulde.

 

The Rivermen got on the board with a pair of power-play goals in the back half of the game’s third period. With Pensacola winger Ken Neil in the box for slashing, Rivermen center Justin Greenberg wound up, then sent a pass from the right point of the Pensacola zone to the left-wing post, where Dion’s one-timer beat Ice Flyers goaltender Brian Billett at 11:04 of the period. The Rivermen cut the Pensacola lead to 5-2 at 19:35 of the third period, with Sarcona in the box for roughing, when Rivermen winger Alec Hagaman’s drive was stopped in front, and popped past Billett by Peoria winger Connor Gorman for the eventual 5-2 final score.

 

Di Salvo stopped 21 of 26 shots faced as he took the loss in net, dropping him to 14-10-4 on the season, 9-3-1 since joining the Rivermen. Pulde stopped all six shots he faced in the final 23:43 of net time.

 

Notes: Rivermen winger Will Smith left the game on a stretcher early in the first period after suffering a cut on his lower leg…Dion had an apparent goal disallowed just past the midpoint of the first period after it was ruled to have caromed in off his skate…Pulde saw action in his fourth straight game, with just one start over that span…The Rivermen return to action tomorrow night when they rematch the Ice Flyers in Pensacola at the Bay Center…Saturday’s game starts at 7:05 PM, and the broadcast of those games can be heard, starting with the pre-game show, at 6:45 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)