Peoria Falls 5-2 in Evansville
February 25, 2023 - 10:30 pm
EVANSVILLE, IN – There were no late-game heroics on Saturday night as the Rivermen fell 5-2 at the Ford Center on Friday night. The loss marks Peoria’s third straight in Evansville.
Like Friday night, Saturday started off with a quick fight between Alex Carrier and Matthew Hobbs. Unlike Friday night, Evansville got the scoring started with two goals in the first period to take a 2-0 lead. But Peoria settled in and continued to get chances. They were able to get a critical goal in the last 65 seconds of the period as Jake Hamilton fired a quick shot from the left point into the back of the net to record his first goal of the season. Hamilton’s goal put the Rivermen on the board and trimmed the Evansville lead to 2-1 after the first period.
Evansville though went back on the attack in the first six-and-a-half minutes of the second period, netting two quick goals and forcing a Rivermen goaltending change as Jack Berry was pulled for the first time this year in favor of Eric Levine. The Rivermen got a goal back on the power play thanks to Alec Baer who out-waited Evansville goaltender Trevor Gorsuch on the right side of the net. Baer waited for Gorsuch to go down before firing a quick shot into a wide-open net. Baer’s goal sparked the Rivermen who had numerous chances to pull within one. However, Gorsuch held firm and kept Peoria at bay for the rest of the second.
Despite a number of chances for Peoria, a 16-4 shots-on-goal advantage in the period, and despite two power plays, the Rivermen could not find a way past Gorsuch in the third period. Evansville added on an empty net in the late stages to remain perfect against the Rivermen at the Ford Center as Peoria fell 5-2 to the Thunderbolts.
The Rivermen will have a chance to bounce back next week against Evansville as they will host the Thunderbolts at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington, Illinois on Saturday, March 4. Face-off is set for 7:15 pm.
Photo: Harold Hopkins/Peoria Rivermen
