Rivermen Complete Sweep with 4-0 Win in Knoxville Friday

Photo Credit: Dennis Sievers/Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Complete Sweep with 4-0 Win in Knoxville Friday

Siiro’s pair lifts Rivermen to third straight Finals berth

Knoxville, TN – The Peoria Rivermen got a pair of second-period goals from Ryan Siiro, a pair of empty-netters late in the third, and a 33-save shutout from Tyler Parks en route to a 4-0 win Friday night. The win completes a semi-final series sweep of the Ice Bears and propels the Rivermen to a President’s Cup Finals matchup with the Huntsville Havoc which will begin on Wednesday in Peoria.

The Rivermen opened the scoring with a power-play tally early in the game’s second period. With Knoxville defenseman Sean Robertson in the box for tripping, Peoria worked the puck to the high slot, where Rivermen captain Dave Pszenyczny’s initial drive was blocked back to him. Pszenyczny carried the puck into the left circle, and fired it netward, where Peoria winger Ryan Siiro redirected it past Knoxville netminder Zoltan Hetenyi for a 1-0 lead at 4:30 of the frame.

Peoria doubled their lead with an even-strength goal just past the midway point of the contest. Siiro collected a pass from teammate Joseph Widmar through the neutral zone, and muscled his way into the right wing of the Knoxville zone. Siiro carried the puck down the boards and around the back of the net, out of the left corner and into the circle. He spun and fired past Hetenyi’s glove for the 2-0 lead at 11:56 of the second period.

The Rivermen notched a pair of empty-net goals late in the third period after Knoxville lifted Hetenyi for an extra attacker. With play ongoing in the Rivermen zone, Peoria center Justin Greenberg poked the puck free to neutral ice, corralled it at the red line, and fired it into the unprotected net for a 3-0 lead at 17:46 of the third period. The Peoria lead grew to 4-0 at 19:28 of the period when Rivermen winger Keegan Bruce collected the puck after a faceoff in the Peoria zone and fired it from his own blueline into the empty net for the eventual final score.

Parks stopped all 33 shots faced in net to earn the victory between the pipes. The win gives Parks his first career playoff shutout, and his first clean slate since December 1 at Fayetteville.

Notes: Siiro’s pair of goals gives him his first multi-goal game as a pro…Peoria is 23-14 all time in games where it can eliminate its playoff opponent…With the win, the Rivermen advance to the President’s Cup Finals for the third consecutive season, where they will take on the Huntsville Havoc, beginning Wednesday night at 7:15 in Peoria…Tickets for Wednesday’s series opener will go on sale Saturday at 10 AM…The broadcast of Wednesday’s game can be heard, starting with the pregame 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)