Rivermen Score Early, Often, Cruise to Game 1 Win Over Knoxville

April 12, 2017 7:05 pm

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Photo Credit: Bob Hunt/Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Score Early, Often, Cruise to Game 1 Win Over Knoxville

Hoomaian’s pair, 3-point night from Hagaman lead Peoria to 4-1 victory Wednesday

 

Peoria, IL – The Peoria Rivermen scored in the game’s first two minutes and never trailed as they beat the Knoxville Ice Bears 4-1 at Carver Arena to take a 1-0 lead in the Best-of-3 Presidents Cup Quarterfinals Wednesday night. The win puts the Rivermen in position to clinch a semi-final berth with a win in Friday’s Game 2 in Knoxville, TN.

 

The Rivermen opened the scoring in the first two minutes of the game’s first period. After a terrific hip check from Rivermen defenseman Dave Pszenyczny knocked the puck loose at the right point of the Knoxville zone, Rivermen winger Connor Gorman carried across the high slot and down the left wing. After reaching the corner, Gorman fed across the crease to teammate Michael Colantone, who snapped a shot past Ice Bears goaltender Greg Dodds for a 1-0 Rivermen lead at 1:35 of the first.

 

The Ice Bears got on the board and tied the game toward the middle of the first. With the play ongoing in the Rivermen zone, the Ice Bears worked the puck to defenseman Robbie Donahoe at the right point, and his wrister was tipped by Knoxville winger Danny Cesarz past Peoria netminder Storm Phaneuf for a 1-1 score at 7:33 of the first.

 

The Rivermen took the lead back for good just 12 seconds after the Ice Bears tied it up. Rivermen winger Alec Hagaman carried through neutral ice and up the right side of the Knoxville slot, and his shot on net resulted in a rebound that was powered home by Peoria forward Justin Hoomaian for a 2-1 Rivermen lead.

 

Peoria added to their lead in the latter stages of the game’s opening period. After the puck squirted free to the left point of the Ice Bears zone, Peoria defenseman Brandon Greenside carried down the left-wing boards, up the goal line toward the net, and slid a pass across to Hoomaian, who dunked it from the right-wing post for a 3-1 Peoria lead at 16:30 of the first.

 

The Rivermen added an insurance tally early in the game’s final period. Pszenyczny carried the puck through the neutral zone and fed it to Peoria captain Dan Bremner as the latter crossed the Knoxville line. Bremner carried down the edge of the slot toward the right corner before feeding a backhand pass to Hagaman, who fired it past Dodds for the 4-1 Peoria lead at 3:20 of the third.

Phaneuf stopped 25 of 26 shots faced in net to earn the win in his professional playoff debut. The win came after Phaneuf was announced as a part of the SPHL’s All-Rookie team Wednesday afternoon, with the All-SPHL first and second teams scheduled to be announced Thursday.

 

Notes: Hagaman had a goal and two assists to log his first career three-point playoff game…Hoomaian posted his first career two-goal performance in his first playoff game…The game marked the first time in Peoria’s four-year SPHL franchise history that they have opened the postseason on home ice…The Rivermen and Ice Bears return to action Friday night when they play Game 2 of the Best-of-3 series…Friday’s game starts at 6:30 PM Central Daylight Time, and the broadcast of the game can be heard, starting with the pre-game show, at 6:10 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)