Peoria Downs Pensacola 3-2 in Overtime
February 10, 2023 - 10:25 pm
PENSACOLA, FL – The resilient Peoria Rivermen silenced a sellout crowd at the Pensacola Bay Center on Friday night as they defeated the Ice Flyers 3-2 in overtime in a back-and-forth affair.
It was a tight first period in front of a capacity crowd, but the Rivermen weathered the storm early and were able to strike first on a power-play goal. JM Piotrowski received the puck from Cayden Cahill and skated to the right of the low slot. Waiting for the goaltender to commit, Piotrowski sent a cross-crease pass over to Cahill on the left of the net and Cahill made no mistake to put the Rivermen up 1-0. Peoria weathered a Pensacola surge at the close of the period to take a one-goal lead into the first intermission.
The second period was a back-and-forth affair with both sides getting quality chances five-on-five. Pensacola however was able to capitalize on a power-play goal early in the second, taking advantage of their number-one unit to the game 1-1.
Just like the second, the third was a back-and-forth affair. Marcel Godbout notched his second goal in as many nights after a quick shot from the left-wing side. But the Ice Flyers struck back with another power-play goal to the contest 2-2.
In overtime, Pensacola had the edge in puck possession, forcing Rivermen goaltender Jack berry to make several quality saves. The decisive moment came as Braydon Barker skated up the ice on a two-on-one rush with Joseph Drapluk. Barker’s pass across was initially blocked but it came back to Barker who sent a pass up high that then deflected into the net off of Drapluk’s upper body and into the net.
Peoria’s resilient win in overtime marked their first win over Pensacola since the 2022 playoffs. Peoria will close the weekend in Pensacola again tomorrow night at 7:05 pm.
