Rivermen Fall Behind Early, Fight Back to Beat RiverKings Sunday

March 4, 2018 3:05 pm

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Photo Credit: Dennis Sievers/Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Fall Behind Early, Fight Back to Beat RiverKings Sunday

Pulde stops all 38 to earn first victory in relief while Hagaman nets two

 

Peoria, IL – The Peoria Rivermen fell behind early to the Mississippi RiverKings and clawed their way back for a 3-2 victory Sunday afternoon at Carver Arena. With the win the Rivermen improve to 31-11-3 on the season, good for a five-point lead atop the SPHL standings.

 

The RiverKings grabbed the lead and added to it with a pair of goals in the opening period. With play ongoing on the Rivermen zone, a failed clearing attempt found Mississippi defenseman Cory Lauer along the left-wing boards at the blue line. Lauer flicked a wrister on goal that snuck past the outstretched leg of Rivermen netminder Peter Di Salvo for the 1-0 RiverKings edge at 9:33 of the first period. Mississippi added to their lead 103 seconds later while shorthanded. With Mississippi defenseman Don Olivieri in the sin bin for interference, Mississippi winger Ryan Marcuz cleared the puck from his own zone to teammate Devin Mantha, who skated down the slot and snapped a shot over Di Salvo’s shoulder and into the back of the net for the 2-0 lead, chasing the Rivermen netminder from the contest at 9:16 of the opening frame in favor of Mason Pulde.

 

The Rivermen cut the Mississippi lead in half and eventually tied the game late in the first period. The first goal came with five minutes remaining in the first period. Rivermen winger Tommy Tsicos cut across the goal mouth and slipped a shot on goal that was stopped by the outstretched leg of RiverKings goaltender Tyler Green. The puck stuck near Green’s left foot when Rivermen winger Alec Hagaman jammed the puck behind Green and into the back of the net to reduce the RiverKings lead to 2-1 at 15:00 of the opening frame. The Rivermen drew the game to a two-all tie moments later when Rivermen winger Will Smith put a shot towards the net that was knocked down in flight and bounced to teammate Keegan Bruce, who hammered a shot from the right-wing circle past Green to tie the game 2-2 at 16:43 of the period.

 

Peoria grabbed their first lead of the afternoon and eventual game winner just past the midway point of the second period. With play in the RiverKings zone, Hagaman took a pass from teammate defenseman Ben Oskroba and skated across the slot, faked a shot, then sent a wrist shot past an outstretched Green for the 3-2 Rivermen lead at 10:31 of the middle frame.

 

Rivermen goaltender Mason Pulde earned the win between the pipes for the Rivermen, stopping all 38 shots directed his way in the final 48:44 of the contest. The win mark’s Pulde’s first at the SPHL level and fourth overall as a professional.

 

Notes: With two goals in the contest, Hagman collected his 12th multi-point game of the season.…Rivermen center Justin Greenberg notched two assists in the game and now has 6 points in his last 5 contests…Will Smith extended his point streak to 10 games with his assist on Bruce’s goal…The Rivermen return to action next Friday and Saturday night as they travel to Southaven, MS to visit the RiverKings at the Landers Center, faceoff Friday is set for 7:00 p.m.…The broadcast of the 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)