Rivermen Bear Down in Final Two Periods Wednesday

Photo Credit: Dennis Sievers/Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Bear Down in Final Two Periods Wednesday

Six unanswered goals lift Peoria to series-opening victory

Peoria, IL – The Peoria Rivermen scored six unanswered goals in the final 40 minutes of regulation Wednesday night as they cruised to a 6-1 series-opening win over the Knoxville Ice Bears. The win gives Peoria a 1-0 edge in the Best-of-3 set before Game 2 Friday night in Knoxville, TN.

The Ice Bears opened the scoring with a goal just past the midway point of the first period. Ice Bears winger Berkley Scott collected a pass from teammate David Brancik and cruised to the Peoria blueline. From just inside the Rivermen stripe, Scott wound up and fired a slap shot past Peoria goaltender Tyler Parks and into the net for a 1-0 lead at 11:28 of the frame.

The Rivermen tied the game with a tally early in the game’s second stanza. With the puck behind the Knoxville goal, Peoria winger Mike Gurtler came out of the right-wing corner, his wraparound attempt deflected off the stick of Knoxville netminder Zoltan Hetenyi, floated across the crease, and came to Peoria winger Christian Horn, who popped it into the net for the 1-1 score at 1:32 of the frame.

Peoria took the lead for good with a quick pair of goals near the midpoint of the second frame. With Peoria defenseman Ben Oskroba in the box for hooking, Rivermen winger Alec Hagaman raced into the Knoxville zone and rifled a wrister through Hetenyi’s glove for the 2-1 edge at 9:50 of the period. Peoria doubled their lead at the 10:36 mark, three seconds after Oskroba cleared the box, Gurtler rushed to the right-wing of the Knoxville zone, and lofted a backhander past Hetenyi’s blocker for the 3-1 edge at 10:36 of the stanza.

The Rivermen built their lead with another tally late in the second period. With the teams at full strength, Gurtler carried the puck through center ice, split the Knoxville defense, and broke into the Ice Bears zone. Gurtler’s deke and wrist shot beat Hetenyi for the 4-1 lead at the 14:42 mark of the frame.

The Rivermen added a pair of insurance tallies at even strength in the third period. Rivermen winger Keegan Bruce worked the puck away from Hetenyi behind the Knoxville net and fed it out front to Peoria center Joseph Widmar, who snapped it into the net for a 5-0 lead at 7:18 of the frame. Widmar posted his second goal of the period at 9:27 when he took a pass from teammate Kristaps Nimanis into the low right circle of the Knoxville zone and popped it past Hetenyi for the eventual 6-1 final score.

Parks stopped 22 of 23 shots faced in net to earn his third straight postsesason win between the pipes for Peoria. With the win, Parks has come out victorious in each of his last five outings, dating back to a March 30 win at Roanoke.

Notes: Peoria defenseman Brandon Rumble notched four assists, doubling his career high for points in a game…Gurtler recorded his second multi-goal game in three outings this postseason…Christian Horn notched his first multi-point SPHL performance since he notched a pair of assists December 2 at Fayetteville…The Rivermen return to action Friday night as they travel to Knoxville, TN to square off against the Ice Bears at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum for Game 2 of the Presidents Cup Semi Finals, with faceoff set for 6:35 p.m CST…The broadcast of the game can be heard, starting with the pre-game show, at 6:15 p.m. at http://mixlr.com/peoria-rivermen/

Group, single game, and season tickets for Peoria's 36th 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)