Rivermen Rebound in Sunday Matinee to Top Knoxville 6-1

February 19, 2017 3:05 pm

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Photo Credit: Addison Blair

Rivermen Rebound in Sunday Matinee to Top Knoxville 6-1

Stuart’s pair help Rivermen to victory in series finale

 

Peoria, IL – The Peoria Rivermen salvaged a 3-in-3 finale Sunday afternoon, scoring three times in the second period en route to a 6-1 victory over the Knoxville Ice Bears. The win lifts the Rivermen to 19-10-9 on the season, snapping a six-game losing streak and raising Peoria to fourth place before a Tuesday night trip to Evansville.

 

The Rivermen kicked the scoring off at 7:46 of the opening period. Rivermen center Adam Stuart corralled a loose puck to the left of the Knoxville net, cut across the top of the crease, and flicked the puck over sprawling Ice Bears goaltender Dylan Wells for a 1-0 lead. The Rivermen maintained their 1-0 advantage through the first 20 minutes.

 

The Rivermen doubled their lead just over five minutes into the middle period. Rivermen captain Dan Bremner circled behind the Ice Bears net, fired a shot that was stopped by Wells. The rebound trickled to the left of the crease where a put back attempt by Rivermen winger Cody Dion was denied before Don Olivieri buried the puck past Wells for a 2-0 Rivermen lead at the 5:43 mark of the period..

 

The Rivermen doubled their lead again with a pair of goals 42 seconds apart in the period’s final minute. Stuart added another marker when he took a pass from Dion, skated through the offensive zone and across the top of the crease before depositing a shot past Wells for the 3-0 advantage at 19:00. Just 42 seconds later, Rivermen defenseman Rich Ledy put a shot on goal that was stopped by Wells, but Ledy followed the shot and popped the rebound into the back of the net for the 4-0 Rivermen lead through 40 minutes of play.

 

The Rivermen continued building their lead in the final period of play. With Ice Bears defenseman Jake Flegel in the sin bin for delay of game, Rivermen defenseman Dave Pszenyczny blasted a shot from the point. Wells made the initial save, but the rebound found Bremner, who flicked a shot that deflected over Wells’ head and into the net at 5:12 of the third for a 5-0 Rivermen lead.

 

The Ice Bears ended Rivermen goaltender Storm Phaneuf’s shutout bid at 8:47 of the third period while shorthanded. With Ice Bears winger Trever Hertz in the box for high sticking, Knoxville defenseman Robbie Donahoe sent a pass from his defensive zone to teammate Danny Cesarz. Cesarz took a shot wide of the Rivermen net, then popped his own rebound off the back boards past Phaneuf to make it 5-1.

 

The Rivermen added another tally to push their lead back to five late in the third period. Rivermen winger Garrett Vermeersch took a pass from teammate Connor Gorman, raced into the Ice Bears zone, cut to the right of the crease and slipped a shot past the pad of Wells for a 6-1 Rivermen lead with 5:45 left in regulation.

 

Phaneuf earned the win between the pipes, stopping 23 of 24 shots faced. The victory improves Phaneuf to 3-4-2 on the season and is the rookie’s first since a 4-2 decision February 3 against Mississippi.

 

Notes: With his goal in the first period, Stuart notched his first regulation goal since November 10th as a member of the Ice Bears, and his 15th career multi-goal game of his career…. Olivieri has four goals and an assist in his last five games…Ledy’s goal is his first as a professional in his 77th pro game…With Brenner’s power play goal in the third, the Rivermen broke an 0-for-23 man advantage slump against Knoxville…The win snaps Peoria’s season-long six game skid dating back to a 4-2 loss on February 4th versus Mississippi…The Rivermen return to action Tuesday, February 21st as they travel to Evansville, IN to take on the Thunderbolts at 6:00 p.m.…The broadcast of the game can be heard, starting with the pre-game show, at 5:40 p.m. 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)