Rivermen Fall 4-3 to Huntsville Saturday

Photo Credit: Tim Lester/Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Fall 4-3 to Huntsville Saturday

Back and forth affair ends with first Rivermen regulation loss since Opening Weekend

Peoria, IL – The Peoria Rivermen scored first and never trailed by more than one goal as they fell 4-3 to the Huntsville Havoc at Carver Arena Saturday night. The loss is Peoria’s first regulation defeat since a 5-1 downfall to the Havoc in Peoria October 22, and drops the Rivermen to 4-3-1 on the season before Peoria departs on a 3-city, 3-day road swing.

The first period saw the Rivermen open the scoring for just the second time this season. During the middle stages of the first, Rivermen winger Connor Gorman sped into the offensive zone, trailed by Nick D’Avolio. D’Avolio crept between the circles, before flicking Gorman’s feed past Havoc netminder Adam Courchaine at 13:37 of the period for a 1-0 lead.

The Rivermen lead disappearaed for good when Huntsville knotted the game at one early in the second period. Huntsville’s game-tying goal came with the Rivermen trying to clear the defensive zone. Peoria banked the puck off the glass, and it took a wild bounce and went to Scott Fellnermayr who lofted the puck past Rivermen netminder Tyler Green for a 1-1 tie at 6:21 of the second period.

Huntsville took the lead midway through the period on a shorthanded goal. At 11:31 of the second, with Justin Tateson in the box for cross-checking, Dylan Nowakowski took a pass from Sy Nutkevitch and streaked to the Peoria net, beating Green for a 2-1 Havoc lead.

The Havoc lead did not last long, as the Rivermen cashed in on the power play. Before Tateson left the box, Stuart Stefan was called for tripping, giving Peoria another man advantage at the 11:42 mark of the period. Rivermen center Jake Hauswirth controlled the puck above the right corner of the Huntsville zone and fed Cody Dion on the doorstep, where Dion snapped a one-timer past Courchaine for a 2-2 tie.

Huntsville got a goal late in the period to retake the lead into the locker room. At 13:32 of the second, Stuart Stefan took a pass from Jeff Jones and fired it past Green to give the Havoc a 3-2 lead heading into the second intermission.

The Rivermen re-tied the game toward the middle stages of the final period. With Courchaine out of his crease to play the puck, Rivermen winger Johnny Daniels stole it away and passed to Justin Hoomaian above the hashmarks. As Courchaine was getting back into his crease, Hoomaian ripped a shot past him into the Huntsville net to tie the game 3-3.

Huntsville scored the final tiebreaker and eventual game-winner just past the midway point of the third. A Havoc shot by Jordan Wood was knocked away from the side of the Peoria net by Green, and trickled out to the right corner, where Wood slid a pass into the slot to Lou Educate who snapped a shot past Green at 12:42 of the third to give the Havoc a 4-3 advantage they would not relinquish.

Green took the loss in net for Peoria, stopping 33 of 37 shots faced between the pipes. The loss is Green’s first in regulation and just his second overall loss in his first pro season.

Notes: In his first game of the season, Rivermen winger Alec Hagaman recorded an assist in the first period…The first period marked the first time the Rivermen have had a lead against Huntsville all year, and just the second time Peoria has scored first…Newcomer Johnny Daniels had two points in with a pair of assists in his Rivermen debut…Hoomaian’s goal was his first as a professional in his 11^th pro game, his 4^th game at the SPHL level…The Rivermen return to action next Friday night when they travel to Knoxville to face off against the Ice Bears at 6:30 pm CST…The game can be heard, starting with the pregame show at 6:15, 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)