Rivermen Clamp Down, Squeeze Havoc 3-0 Sunday

January 6, 2019 3:05 pm

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Photo Credit: Dennis Sievers/Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Clamp Down, Squeeze Havoc 3-0 Sunday

Peoria completes weekend sweep as Klein earns third pro shutout in net

 

Peoria, IL – The Peoria Rivermen got 23 saves and a shutout from goaltender Stephen Klein en route to a 3-0 win over the Huntsville Havoc at Carver Arena Sunday afternoon. The win, Peoria’s third in as many days, lifts the Rivermen to 20-3-3 and puts them four points ahead of second-place Birmingham before next weekend’s games in Evansville.

Peoria opened the scoring 6:35 into the contest when Rivermen forward Ben Blasko raced down the middle of the Huntsville zone and batted a Mike Gurtler pass out of the air at waist level, sending it over the shoulder of Havoc netminder Mike DeLaVergne for a 1-0 score.

 

The Rivermen held their 1-0 lead for the next 43:17 of game time, as Klein turned aside all 16 shots he saw in the first two periods, and helped kill three Huntsville power-plays through the first 40 minutes of the game.

 

Peoria doubled their lead near the midway point of the third period when captain Alec Hagaman raced out of his own zone, down the right-wing of the Huntsville end, and wrapped the puck around, out of the right corner and past DeLaVergne for 2-0 at 9:52 of the frame.

 

Peoria added an empty-net goal at 16:24 after Huntsville pulled DeLaVergne for an extra attacker, Rivermen defenseman Jake Hamilton battled out of his own end with the puck, got past the red line, and sent the puck into the empty Havoc net for the 3-0 final score.

 

Klein turned away all seven Huntsville shots in the final period to earn the 23-save shutout between the pipes for the Rivermen, his third of the season. With the win, Klein improves to 11-3-0 in his first professional season out of Middlebury College.

 

Notes: With the win, Rivermen head coach Jean-Guy Trudel tied Pat Kelly for second all-time on the Rivermen franchise coaching wins list with 209 combined regular and postseason wins…Hamilton’s empty-netter was his first professional goal…Hagaman’s goal extends his point streak to seven games…The Rivermen return to action next weekend when they travel to Evansville, IN for games against the Thunderbolts Friday and Saturday night…Both games are scheduled to begin at 7:15 CST, and the broadcast of both games can be heard, starting with the pregame show at 6:55 at http://mixlr.com/peoria-rivermen/

 

Group, single game, and season tickets for Peoria's 37th 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)