Rivermen Ground Thunderbolts in High-Scoring Affair

Photo Credit: Addison Blair/Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Ground Thunderbolts in High-Scoring Affair

Bremner’s hat trick helps Rivermen over Evansville

Peoria, IL – The Peoria Rivermen scored early and often Friday night, getting a hat trick from captain Dan Bremner, and a trio of assists from fellow veteran Adam Stuart as they cruised to an 8-2 win over the Evansville Thunderbolts at Carver Arena. The win, Peoria’s third in their last four game, improves the Rivermen to 7-3-2 before a Saturday night rematch with Evansville.

The Rivermen took an early lead in the middle stages of the first period. At 8:14, Rivermen center Maxime St-Cyr took a feed from Alec Hagaman, and ripped a wrist shot from the high slot past Evansville netminder Michael Doan to make it 1-0. The Rivermen doubled their lead 143 seconds later, when Stuart’s pass across the slot was redirected by Bremner into the Thunderbolts net for the 2-0 Peoria lead.

The Rivermen doubled their lead with a pair of goals in the second period. At 2:31 of the first Bremner took a shot from the left circle that was blocked back to him, and his second effort trickled over Doan’s shoulder and into the net for a 3-0 lead. The Peoria lead swelled to 4-0 at 5:39 when Peoria center Nick D’Avolio’s short shot from the slot resulted in a rebound that Cody Dion dunked home for a four-goal Peoria lead.

The teams traded goals in the third as Peoria continued to build their lead. The Peoria advantage grew to 5-0 at the 2:04 mark of the third when D’Avolio one-timed a pass from Dion past Doan. The Thunderbolts got on the board 22 seconds later when former Rivermen center Garrett Vermeersch skated into the right circle and fired a slap shot past Peoria goaltender Tyler Green to make it 5-1.

The Peoria lead continued to grow with a pair of goals in the middle stages of the third period. At 9:36 of the third, with Dion in the box for tripping Hagaman skated into the Evansville zone on a 2-on-1, and ripped a shot past Doan to make it 6-1. Two minutes later the Rivermen pushed their lead to 7-1 when Terrence Wallin tipped a Stuart drive from the point at 11:36 of the period.

The Rivermen and Thunderbolts traded goals at the end of the third. At 13:09 of the third, Ryan Patsch beat Green, who had lost his stick, to make it 7-2. Bremner completed his hat trick with just 16 seconds left in the game. The Rivermen captain skated into the Evansville zone on a breakaway and fired a wrist shot past Doan for the 8-2 final score.

Green earned the win in net, stopping 21 of 23 shots he faced. The win is Green’s fifth in net this season, and his second in as many outings against the Thunderbolts.

Notes: Bremner’s hat trick is the first of his career in his 258^th game…St-Cyr’s goal is his fourth in as many games with the Rivermen…Stuart registered his second multi-point game of the season with 3 assists, one off his carer-high….Alec Hagaman scored his second shorthanded goal of the season…The Rivermen return to action tomorrow night when they rematch Evansville at 7:05 at Carver Arena…Saturday night is Rivermen Teddy Bear Toss night, where fans are encouraged to bring a stuffed animal to the game to toss onto the ice after the first Rivermen goal…All stuffed toys will be donated to the Salvation Army…The game will be broadcast live, starting with the pregame show at 6:45 on 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)