Rivermen Battle Back for Overtime Win in Fayetteville Saturday

Photo Credit: Dennis Sievers/Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Battle Back for Overtime Win in Fayetteville Saturday

Gorman nets first pro hat trick before Siiro notches game-winner in OT

Fayetteville, NC – The Peoria Rivermen erased a 3-1 first-intermission deficit to top the Fayetteville Marksmen 6-5 in overtime Saturday night. The win, Peoria’s third in a row, improves the Rivermen to 9-4-1 before next weekend’s home games with Huntsville.

The Rivermen opened the scoring just past the midway point of the first period. With the puck loose in the Fayettevile slot, Rivermen winger Connor Gorman spun on it and fired through Marksmen goaltender Peter Di Salvo for a 1-0 Peoria lead at the10:47 mark of the first period.

The Marksmen jumped on the Rivermen with a trio of goals in the latter stages of the first period. At the 14:23 mark, Marksmen winger Chris Porter stuffed a net-front rebound past Rivermen goaltender Eric Levine for a 1-1 tie. The Marksmen took the lead 55 seconds later when Fayetteville captain Jake Hauswirth one-timed a loose puck past Levine for a 2-1 lead. The Fayetteville lead grew to 3-1 at the 17:53 mark of the period when Porter fought the puck across the slot and fed a pass to teammate Kyle McNeil on the doorstep, who popped it past Levine for a 3-1 lead.

The Rivermen battled back to a 3-2 score with a power-play goal early in the second period. With Fayetteville defenseman Travis Jeke in the box for hooking, Gorman popped the rebound from a Dave Pszenyczny shot past Di Salvo at the 1:24 mark of the period.

The Marksmen re-upped their lead to two goals early in the period. With a delayed penalty call coming against the Rivermen, Fayetteville defenseman Cody Walsh fired a shot from the high slot of the Peoria zone past new goaltender Tyler Parks at the 2:27 mark of the period.

The Rivermen tied the game with a pair of power-play tallies through the rest of the second period. At the 3:57 mark of the period, Rivermen winger Jacob Barber’s shot from the slot rang off the crossbar, and Gorman popped the rebound home for a 4-3 score. Later in the period, with Peoria back on the man-advantage, Rivermen winger Cody Dion tipped a shot from Barber past Di Salvo at the 15:52 mark of the period for a 4-4 tie.

The teams traded goals in the third period to force the game into overtime. Early in the third, Rivermen defenseman Dave Pszenyczny wound up and blasted a shot from atop the left circle past Di Salvo for a 5-4 Peoria lead at 2:10 of the period. The score remained 5-4 until the period’s final minute, when Hauswirth’s blast from the point with the Fayetteville net empty beat Parks for a 5-5 tie at the 19:48 mark of the third.

With the game in sudden-death, the Rivermen got the win 2:12 into the overtime. With play going back-and-forth, Rivermen winger Ryan Siiro powered his way into the Fayetteville slot, and fired a shot past Di Salvo’s glove for the overtime winner.

Levine stopped 20 of 23 shots faced in the first period before being lifted at the start of the second. Parks turned away 20 of 22 shots faced in relief to earn his second win in as many nights between the pipes.

Notes: Gorman recorded his first professional hat trick, and had a career-high four points in the game…Siiro’s goal is his second in as many nights, second career goal, and second career game-winner…Pszenyczny recorded a goal and an assist for his first multi-point game since November 10 at Knoxville…Barber recorded three assists for his first multi-assist game and first multi-point outing since he logged a pair of goals October 21 at Evansville…The Rivermen return to action at home next Friday and Saturday night when they host the Huntsville Havoc at Carver Arena, with each game scheduled for 7:15 PM…Saturday is Peoria’s annual Teddy Bear Toss Night, with all stuffed animals thrown onto the ice after the first Rivermen goal to be donated to the Salvation Army of Peoria…Saturday is also the first of Peoria’s scheduled Nickelodeon Nights, with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters Michelangelo and Raphael in attendance on the concourse throughout the game…The Rivermen will wear specialty TMNT-themed jerseys during the contest that will be auctioned off postgame…The broadcast of each game can be heard, starting with the pre-game show, at 6:55 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)