A Big Win in Bloomington - Rivermen Shutout Thunderbolts 3-0
March 4, 2023 - 10:45 pm
BLOOMINGTON, IL– In front of an announced crowd of 4977 fans, the Rivermen skated to a significant 3-0 victory at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington. Goaltender Eric Levine made 28 saves for the shutout and JM Piotrowski scored two key goals to secure the win on Saturday night.
It only took the first four minutes for Peoria to strike first. A nifty pass from Alec Baer in the far-right corner found Cale List all alone in the slot. List picked his spot a fired in a quick wrist shot that found the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season. List’s shot was the first Rivermen shot-on-goal of the game and it gave Peoria a 1-0 lead that held for the remainder of the first period.
The second period saw both sides get quality chances, though the thunderbolts had the majority of the scoring opportunities. Despite being out-shot 13-8 in the middle period. Peoria’s defense and goaltender Eric Levine held strong as their 1-0 lead remained intact after 40 minutes.
Peoria dominated the third-period period, out-shooting Evansville 17-4. The Rivermen broke through on the power play as a Marcel Godboout shot from the right point was deflected by JM Piotrowski in front of the net. Piotrowski’s power-play goal put the Rivermen up 2-0 and forced Evansville to take risks at the end of the game. Piotrowski made the Thunderbolts pay in the final minute as he won a foot race for a loose puck in the neutral zone and chopped the puck down the length and into an empty net for his second goal of the game.
Rivermen goaltender Eric Levine made 28 saves for his league-leading 5th shutout of the season. Peoria will be on the road on Sunday afternoon as they take in the Evansville Thunderbolts in their final game in Bloomington this year. Face-off is set for 3:00 pm.
