Rivermen Tie Game Late, Fall In Overtime Saturday
March 25, 2017 6:30 pm
Knoxville Ice Bears
Photo Credit: Michelle Jephcott
Rivermen Tie Game Late, Fall In Overtime Saturday
Peoria moves into third-place tie with Huntsville before home weekend with Fayetteville
Knoxville, TN – The Peoria Rivermen took an early lead, fell behind in the second period, and tied the game in the third before falling 3-2 in overtime to the Knoxville Ice Bears Saturday. The loss, coupled with a Huntsville regulation loss to Macon, moves Peoria into a third-place tie with the Havoc before the final two weeks of the regular-season schedule.
The Rivermen opened the scoring shortly after the midway point of the first period. Rivermen center Michael Colantone carried the puck down the boards into the left corner of the Knoxville zone, and fired a pass diagonally across the zone to the right point, where Rivermen defenseman Dave Pszenyczny settled, turned, and fired a wrist shot that was tipped by Cody Dion past Ice Bears netminder Brian Billett for a 1-0 lead at 11:00 of the first.
The Ice Bears tied the game and took the lead in the middle portion of the second period. After rushing into the right wing of the Rivermen zone, Ice Bears forward Scott Witmyer put a shot down the goal line and Rivermen goaltender Tyler Parks made the initial save. The ensuing rebound kicked back to the low right circle, where Ice Bears center Berkley Scott banked it off Parks’ body and into the net for a 1-1 score at 8:03 of the period. The Ice Bears took their first lead of the weekend at 12:34 of the second when Ice Bears defenseman Evan Neugold carried the puck down the left side of the slot, and slid a pass between his legs to Witmyer, who rifled a shot past Parks from between the hashmarks for a 2-1 Knoxville lead.
The score remained 2-1 Ice Bears through the remainder of the second, and Storm Phaneuf relieved Parks in net to begin the third period before the Rivermen tied the score near the midpoint of the third. Pszenyczny sent a pass from the Peoria blueline to Rivermen winger Justin Hoomaian, and Hoomaian muscled his way in to the right-wing post and chipped a backhander past Billett for a 2-2 tie at 9:11 of the third.
The game remained tied 2-2 through regulation and descended into overtime. With the puck on the Peoria blue line, Rivermen winger Jeff Jones was unable to play the puck from the seat of his hockey pants, and Knoxville defenseman Robbie Donahoe carried it through the left circle and fired past new Rivermen goaltender Storm Phaneuf at 4:17 of the extra period for the 3-2 overtime win.
Notes: Rivermen defenseman Kevin Kirisits logged his first pro point with the secondary assist on Hoomaian’s goal, and notched his first pro fight in the third period as well…Pszenyczny logged a pair of assists for his first multi-point game since a three-assist outing against Roanoke in Peoria March 5…Hoomaian’s goal is his second in his last three games…Dion’s team-leading 23rd goal of the season gives him five points in his last four contests and a goal in each of his last three…The Rivermen return to action next Friday night when they return home to Carver Arena to open a three-game series with the Fayetteville FireAntz…Friday’s game starts at 7:05 PM, and the broadcast of the game can be heard, starting with the pre-game show, at 6:45 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)
