Jones’ Hat Trick Helps Rivermen Hold Off Surging Dawgs Friday

March 3, 2017 7:05 pm

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Photo Credit: Tim Lester

Jones’ Hat Trick Helps Rivermen Hold Off Surging Dawgs Friday

Late Roanoke rally comes up short in 6-4 Peoria win

 

Peoria, IL – The Peoria Rivermen jumped out to an early lead with a Jeff Jones hat trick, and the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs fought back late, but the Rivermen hung on for a 6-4 victory Friday night in the first meeting between the two clubs. With the victory, the Rivermen improve to 24-10-9, good for 57 points, four points out of first place in the SPHL standings.

 

The Rivermen broke the scoreless tie at 8:16 of the first period. With the puck bounding around in front of the Rail Yard Dawgs goal, Rivermen winger Cody Dion corralled a loose puck and shoveled it past Rail Yard Dawgs goaltender Joey Ballmer for a 1-0 Rivermen lead.

 

Peoria doubled their lead a little over a minute later while on the power play. With Roanoke forward Mike Driscoll sitting for slashing, Rivermen defenseman Brandon Greenside put the puck on goal. Ballmer stopped the shot but left a rebound just to the right of the crease. Rivermen winger Connor Gorman collected the rebound and stuffed it past Ballmer at 9:48 for a 2-0 Rivermen lead.

 

Roanoke cut the Peoria advantage in half near the end of the opening period. Rail Yard Dawgs winger Dmytro Babenko fed a pass from behind the goal line to teammate Zach Tatrn in the high slot. Tatrn fired a shot that skimmed past Rivermen goaltender Storm Phaneuf’s right pad for a 2-1 Rivermen lead at 17:48 of the first.

 

The Rivermen built their lead early in the middle period. Rivermen center Garrett Vermeersch raced into the offensive zone with teammate Jeff Jones. Vermeersch held onto the puck as he moved close to the crease, then slipped a pass across the top of the goalmouth to a speeding Jones who tapped the puck past an outstretched Ballmer for a 3-1 Rivermen lead at 4:45 of the second.

 

Peoria added to their lead at 11:15 of the second when Vermeersch put a shot on goal that was turned away by Ballmer, the rebound trickled to the left of the crease, and Jones popped the puck in for a 4-1 Rivermen lead. Rivermen center Michael Colantone added another goal just 21 seconds later when he picked up a loose puck after a Gorman takeaway deep in Roanoke territory, then slipped the puck past Ballmer for a 5-1 Rivermen advantage.

 

Roanoke chipped into the Peoria lead late in the second period. Tatrn raced into the Rivermen zone and slipped a pass across the slot to Driscoll, who flicked a shot on goal that deflected off the blocker of Phaneuf and into the back of the net at 16:23 to make it a 5-2 Rivermen lead, which is how the second period would conclude.

 

The Rivermen added to their lead in the third period while on the power play. With Roanoke’s Mike Moroso in the sin bin for interference, Jones one timed a cross-ice pass from Greenside top shelf and into the back of the net for the hat trick goal, and a 6-2 Rivermen lead at 9:28 of the final period.

 

Roanoke once again chipped away at the Rivermen lead. At 10:59 of the third, Roanoke winger Jackson Brewer put a shot on goal that was deflected by teammate Cody Walsh and past the outstretched leg of Phaneuf to cut the Rivermen lead to 6-3. The Rail Yard Dawgs added another goal in the third period, when Babenko collected a loose puck in the slot and slipped it past Phaneuf at 13:16 of the period to cut the Rivermen lead to 6-4, where it would remain until the final buzzer.

 

Phaneuf earned the victory in goal, stopping 29 of 33 shots faced. With the win, the rookie improves to 7-4-2 on the season.

 

Notes:  Jones recorded his first career professional hat trick, in his 61st pro game….Dion scored his team leading 19th goal of the season…Gorman recorded his third consecutive multi-point game….Greenside now has six points in his last two games… Phaneuf earned his fifth consecutive victory between the pipes tonight, dating back to a 6-1 win over Knoxville at Carver Arena February 19...The Rivermen return to action tomorrow night when they take on the Rail Yard Dawgs in the second of a three game, three night series…Saturday night is Chicago Blackhawks night with special guests Denis Savard, Tommy Hawk, and the Bud Light Ice Girls…Savard will be signing autographs free of charge on the concourse from 6-8 p.m.…..Saturday’s game starts at 7:05 Central Time…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)