Ice Bears Take Shootout as Rivermen Drop Fifth Straight
February 17, 2017 7:05 pm
Knoxville Ice Bears
Photo Credit: Addison Blair/Peoria Rivermen
Ice Bears Take Shootout as Rivermen Drop Fifth Straight
Jones scores lone goal for Peoria in 2-1 SOL
Peoria, IL – Sixty-five minutes was not enough for the Peoria Rivermen and Knoxville Ice Bears to decide a winner Friday night, as the teams battled to a 1-1 tie after overtime before Knoxville took a 2-1 shootout decision at Carver Arena. The loss, Peoria’s fifth in a row, moves the Rivermen into a fifth-place tie with the Ice Bears before the teams rematch twice tomorrow and Sunday.
The Rivermen broke the scoreless tie 8:29 into the opening period. With the puck behind the Knoxville net, Rivermen winger Dan Bremner backhanded a pass from his backside to teammate Jeff Jones just outside the crease. Jones chipped the puck past Ice Bears goaltender Brian Billett for a 1-0 Rivermen lead. The first 20 minutes would conclude with the Rivermen ahead 1-0.
Knoxville tied the game nearly halfway through the second period when winger Trever Hertz side stepped Rivermen defenders and flicked a shot on goal. Rivermen goaltender Storm Phaneuf made the initial save, but the rebound fluttered to the right of the net, where Ice Bears winger Kyle McNeil stuffed the puck past Phaneuf at 9:37 of the frame to tie the game at 1-1.
Neither team could gain a lead in the final period and the game needed extra time to decide a winner. The game remained tied through five minutes of 3-on-3 sudden death, and the contest descended into a shootout.
Rivermen winger Garrett Vermeersch was the leadoff shooter, and deked around Billet to put the Rivermen ahead 1-0. Ice Bears winger Jake Rivera shot third for Knoxville and put a wrister through Phaneuf’s five-hole to tie the shootout at 1. After two more Rivermen shooters were denied, Ice Bears winger Mark Pustin scored as the final shooter of regulation to earn Knoxville a2-1 decision.
Phaneuf stopped 19 of 20 shots he faced in regulation and overtime and denied three of five shootout attempts en route to the shootout loss. The SOL drops Phaneuf to 2-4-2 on the season, and is the Gatineau, Quebec native’s first defeat after extra time since a shootout loss against Mississippi December 31.
Notes: The Rivermen suffered their 8th extra time loss this season…The Rivermen are 1-3 in shootouts this season…Peoria out-shot Knoxville 37-20 and drop to 13-3-7 when out-shooting their foes…The Rivermen return to action tomorrow night when they rematch the Knoxville Ice Bears at 7:05p.m…. Saturday will feature an appearance by the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders signing autographs and taking pictures from 6-8 on the Carver Arena concourse…It will also be a Savor Happy Hour, with $4.00 20-ounce domestic draft beers from 6:00-8:30…The broadcast of the game can be heard, starting with the pre-game show at 6:45 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)
