Rivermen Blast Dawgs Saturday

Photo Credit: Kat Martin/Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs

Rivermen Blast Dawgs Saturday

Peoria scores four times in 15:28 span to top Roanoke 5-2

Roanoke, VA – The Peoria Rivermen scored four straight goals in a span of 15:28 Saturday night as they beat the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 5-2 at the Berglund Center. The win, Peoria’s third in a row, lifts the Rivermen to 37-12-5 on the season with two games remining in the regular schedule.

The Rail Yard Dawgs opened the scoring with a power-play tally near the end of the first period. With Rivermen winger Mike Gurtler in the box for slashing, Roanoke defenseman Nick Schneider worked the puck in the high slot to the left-wing point of the Rivermen zone, where teammate Steve Mele fed a pass to charging Roanoke winger Maxime Guyon, who walked down the slot and fired a wrist shot past Peoria goaltender Mason Pulde for a 1-0 Roanoke lead at 14:22 of the frame.

The Rivermen tied the game with an even-strength marker just past the midway point of the contest. With play ensuing in the Roanoke zone, Rivermen captain Dave Pszenyczny carried the puck around the back of the Dawgs net, and came out of the right corner, putting a shot off the pads of Roanoke goaltender Brad Barone. A resulting netfront scramble ended when Peoria winger Mike Gurtler stuffed it past Barone for the 1-1 score at 10:31 of the period.

Peoria took their first lead of the night with another goal just 80 seconds after Gutler’s tally. Peoria winger Alec Hagaman took a pass through the neutral zone from teammate Connor Gorman, and cruised into the right wing of the Roanoke zone. Hagaman’s wrister on the fly from above the circle beat Barone’s blocker for the 2-1 Peoria lead at 11:51 of the frame.

The Rivermen pushed their lead to a three-goal edge with a pair of goals early in the third period. With the Rivermen on the power-play courtesy of a slashing penalty against Dawgs winger Colin Murray, Rivermen winger Joe Kalisz took a netfront feed from Peoria center Justin Greenberg and cannonaded it through Barone at 2:36 of the frame. Peoria pushed the score to 4-1 at 5:59 when Peoria winger Cody Dion redirected a Joseph Widmar shot past Barone.

The Dawgs got back within two goals with a power-play tally late in the third period. With Dion boxed, Roanoke winger Matt Beer uncorked a slap shot from the top of the Peoria right-wing circle that deflected off Pulde’s blocker and into the back of the net for a 4-2 score at 18:16 of the period.

The Rivermen tacked on an insurance tally with an empty-net goal late in the third. With Barone off for an extra attacker and Peoria still short-handed, Rivermen defenseman Ben Oskroba worked the puck free in the right wing of his own zone, and lofted the puck into the unprotected goal for the 5-2 final score at 18:40 of the third period.

Pulde earned the win in net for the Rivermen, stopping 28 of 30 shots faced between the pipes. With the win, Pulde improves to 6-0-1 since coming to the Rivermen.

Notes: Dion recorded a goal and an assist for his first multi-point game since December 23 against Roanoke…Kalisz recorded his second goal in as many nights and his first game-winner since January 14, 2017 as a member of the Fayetteville FireAntz…Pszenyczny recorded two assists for his first multi-point game since February 17 against Fayetteville…With a Birmingham loss in Pensacola, the Rail Yard Dawgs clinched a spot in the President’s Cup Playoffs…The Rivermen return to action next weekend at Carver Arena when they host the Rail Yard Dawgs Friday and Saturday night to conclude the SPHL regular season…Friday is Peoria’s annual Call Julie 8-1-1 night, with $8.11 upper-bowl tickets available and Call Julie Drawstring bags given away to the first 500 fans…Saturday is Peoria’s CEFCU Fan Fest Night, with team photos handed out to the first 3,000 fans courtesy of CEFCU, and a postgame autograph session with the entire team on the Carver Arena concourse…Friday’s and Saturday’s games start at 7:15 PM, and the broadcast of those games can be heard, starting with the pre-game show, at 6:55 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)