Rivermen Ride Parks to Series Sweep Sunday

Photo Credit: Addison Blair/Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Ride Parks to Series Sweep Sunday

Third straight win lifts Rivermen into second with two games remaining in regular season

Peoria, IL – The Peoria Rivermen got pairs of goals in the second and third periods, and 34 saves from goaltender Tyler Parks as they rode to a 4-1 victory over the Fayetteville FireAntz Sunday. The win, Peoria’s third in a row, lifts the Rivermen past Fayetteville and Huntsville and into second place in the SPHL standings with two games left in the SPHL regular season.

The Rivermen opened the scoring with a power-play tally in the opening minute of the game’s second period. With Tayler Thompson still in the box for a first-period holding infraction, Rivermen defenseman Christian Weidauer blasted from the high slot, and Peoria winger Ryan Keller worked the rebound off the end boards across the goalmouth to Jeff Jones, who dunked it past Fayetteville netminder Tyler Green for a 1-0 lead at 0:38 of the second.

The Rivermen doubled their lead at even strength after an offensive-zone faceoff. After Peoria center Eric Witzel won the draw toward the slot, Peoria winger Alec Hagaman barged into the goalmouth, carried the puck across the net front, and flicked it around Green’s left pad for a 2-0 lead at 5:36 of the second.

The FireAntz got on the board and cut the Rivermen lead in half with a shorthanded tally past the midway point of the second. With FireAntz winger Brad Drobot in the box for goalie interference, the puck squirted out of the Fayetteville zone through the high slot, and FireAntz winger Max Cook flew through center ice to collect the puck, carry into the Rivermen zone, and put it past Rivermen goaltender Tyler Parks at 11:54 of the second.

The Rivermen pulled away with a pair of insurance markers in the game’s third period. Near the midway point of the period, Peoria center Jackson Leef chased a loose puck to the high slot of the Fayetteville zone, where he and Green collided going after the puck, which trickled free toward the FireAntz net, and Rivermen defenseman Don Olivieri fired it into the unprotected cage for a 3-1 Peoria lead at 8:50 of the third. After Fayetteville pulled Green in favor of an extra skater in the game’s final two minutes, Peoria added an empty-net tally at 19:27 of the third when Alec Hagaman’s pass ahead to Witzel was carried to the FireAntz blueline and sent into the empty net for the eventual 4-1 final score.

Parks stopped 34 of 35 shots faced for the contest to earn his eighth win of the season, improving to 8-5-5. The victory is Parks’ first since a March 4 shutout of Roanoke in Peoria.

Notes: Fayetteville’s goal snapped a 107:32 scoreless string dating back to Friday night…Hagaman posted a goal and an assist for the seconds straight night, giving him three straight two-point games and eight total points in his last five…Witzel posted a goal and an assist for his first multi-point game since he logged a goal and two helpers March 3 against the FireAntz as a member of the Huntsville Havoc…The Rivermen return to action next Friday night when they begin a home-and-home pair at the Landers Center in Southaven, Mississippi against the Mississippi RiverKings…Friday’s game starts at 7:30 PM, and the broadcast of the game can be heard, starting with the pre-game show, at 7:10 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)