Rivermen Hold On, Complete Weekend Sweep Sunday

January 28, 2018 3:05 pm

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Evansville Thunderbolts

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Photo Credit: Dennis Sievers/Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Hold On, Complete Weekend Sweep Sunday

Keegan Bruce’s third-period GWG helps Rivermen over Evansville for third straight day

 

Peoria, IL – For the third straight day the Peoria Rivermen and Evansville Thunderbolts battled for 60 minutes, and the Rivermen got goals from four different players en route to a 4-2 victory at Carver Arena Sunday. The win, Peoria’s third straight, moves them into sole possession of second place at 22-9-1, two points behind first place Pensacola with 24 games left in Peoria’s regular-season schedule.

 

The Rivermen opened the scoring just past the midway point of the opening period. Rivermen winger Ryan Siiro and teammate Will Smith sped through the neutral zone, and Siiro carried the puck into the right wing of the Thunderbolts zone. Smith split the Thunderbolts defense and accepted pass from Siiro into the slot. Smith then paused at the top of the crease and slipped the puck past the left post and behind Evansville netminder Jonah Imoo for the 1-0 edge at 11:57 of the opening stanza.

 

Peoria doubled their lead in the early stages of the middle frame while skating 4-on-4. Rivermen captain Dave Pszenyczy circled through the Thunderbolts zone and slipped a pass to fellow Peoria defenseman Brandon Rumble, whose long wrister from the right point was tipped by center Justin Greenberg past the outstretched left leg of Imoo for the 2-0 lead at 6:15 of the second period.

 

The Thunderbolts cut into their two-goal deficit in the closing minutes of the second frame. Evansville center Chase Nieuwendyk fed a pass from the right wing of the Rivermen zone across the slot to teammate Jackson Leef, who sent a quick backhander over the left shoulder of Rivermen netminder Peter Di Salvo to cut the Peoria lead to a 2-1 edge at 18:44 of the middle period.

 

The Rivermen added to their lead just prior to the midway point of the third period. Peoria center Joseph Widmar took the puck from the left wing of the Evansville zone and cut across the slot before he fired the puck netward. Imoo made the initial save, but the rebound fluttered out to the right of the crease where Rivermen winger Keegan Bruce shoveled the rebound into the net for the 3-1 advantage at 8:30 of the frame.

 

The Thunderbolts cut the Rivermen lead back down to a goal just past the midway point of the third frame. Evansville defenseman Cory Melkert sent a shot towards the net that was blocked Rivermen winger Alec Hagaman. The puck popped up in the air and came down to Thunderbolts winger Mark Petaccio, who batted it out of the air from above the left-wing corner and past Di Salvo to cut the score to 3-2 Rivermen at 11:15 of the period.

 

The Rivermen put the game out of reach with an empty net goal in the game’s final minute. With Imoo off for an extra attacker, Rivermen winger Mike Gurtler battled the puck out of the left point of his own zone, and sent a pass ahead to Widmar, who carried to the center ice line, and lobbed a shot into the unprotected Evansville goal for the eventual 4-2 final at 19:12 of the stanza.

 

Di Salvo earned the win between the pipes in his Rivermen debut, stopping 20 of 22 shots faced in the contest. With the win, Di Salvo improves to 6-7-3 overall on the season, including 17 games for Fayetteville.

 

Notes: Greenberg has four goals and an assist in three games since his return from injured reserve…With an assist on the opening goal, Siiro now have a five-game point streak dating back to January 19th at Huntsville…Pszenyczny recorded three assists, his third such career performance and first since January 10 at Knoxville…The Rivermen return to action next weekend with a pair of games on the road as they travel to Huntsville, AL to face off against the Havoc Friday and Saturday…Puck drop for each game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Central Time…..The broadcast of each game can be heard, starting with the pre-game show, at 6:40 p.m. at http://mixlr.com/peoria-rivermen/

 

Group, single game, and season tickets for Peoria's 36th 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)