Trudel Sits Atop The Mountain, Rivermen Blank Macon 3-0
November 2, 2019 - 11:25 pm
Trudel Sits Atop The Mountain, Rivermen Blank Macon 3-0
Levine shines as Trudel becomes winningest coach in franchise history
Photo credits: Dennis Sievers
Peoria, IL – For the second straight night, the Peoria Rivermen made history, and the Macon Mayhem once again the witness. Peoria held Macon scoreless for the second straight game and got three goals to cap the historic weekend. With the victory, the Rivermen start a season 5-0 for the first time in the franchise’s 38-year history and Rivermen head coach Jen Guy Trudel becomes the winningest coach in Rivermen history. Trudel passed Jason Christie on the all-time wins list with his 234th victory behind the Rivermen bench. Cumulative, Trudel is 234-85-41 during his tenure with Peoria.
After a scoreless opening period, the Rivermen broke the scoreless tie while on a 5-on-3 power play late in the second period. With Mayhem defenseman Zach Urban serving a slashing penalty, Rivermen winger Darren McCormick took a goal line shot that squeaked to the back of goaltender Kevin Entmaa’s skate and into the net for the powerplay tally, eventual game winner, and 1-0 Rivermen edge at 17:17 of the second period.
Peoria added to their lead with a shorthanded tally midway through the third period. With McCormick charged for tripping, Ted Hart intercepted a pass and bolted through the neutral zone. Hart slipped, but teammate Mitchell McPherson corralled the puck and zipped down the slot where he backhanded a shot that snuck between the legs of Entmaa for the 2-0 Rivermen lead at 10:02 of the second period.
The Rivermen sealed the deal, thanks to an empty net tally with 15 seconds remaining in the contest. Jakob Reichert collected the puck in the neutral zone and skated straight to the net for his second goal of the season, capping off the 3-0 Rivermen victory.
Eric Levine earned the shutout victory in goal, his first SPHL shutout since November 30, 2018 against Evansville. Levine stopped all 32 shots faced to improve to 3-0-0 on the season. It is the first time in Levine’s SPHL career that he is off to a 3-0 start. The shutout is also the ninth of his pro career.
Following the game, coach Jean-Guy Trudel was brought onto center ice where he addressed the crowd, thanking them for their support with the Rivermen players huddled around their coach.
Notes: With his powerplay goal, Darren McCormick now has a point in five consecutive games and a four game goal scoring streak….Mitchell McPherson has a three game goal scoring streak, the longest of his career….The Rivermen have yet to trail this season, a span of 302:40….Rivermen goaltenders, Jeremy Brodeur and Eric Levine have combined for 170:40 of shutout hockey dating back to October 29th at Evansville….In other news, the team has released Connor Fries from his three game contract…The Rivermen return to action Friday night when the travel to Macon, GA to square off against the Mayhem at the Macon Coliseum…Friday’s game gets started at 6:30 p.m. CST….The broadcast of the game can be heard, at http://mixlr.com/peoria-rivermen/ starting with the pre-game show, at 6:15 p.m. CST.
Group, single game, and season tickets for Peoria's 38th season of professional hockey presented by Midwest Orthopaedic Center are on sale at the Toyota Box Office in the Peoria Civic Center, 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)
