Rivermen Sweep Weekend, Double Up Dawgs 4-2 Sunday

Photo Credit: Tim Lester/Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Sweep Weekend, Double Up Dawgs 4-2 Sunday

Gurtler nets game-winner, McPherson tallies first pro goal in victory

Peoria, IL – The Peoria Rivermen utilized a pair of power-play goals to jump ahead early and held off the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs Sunday for a 4-2 victory at Carver Arena Sunday afternoon. Peoria’s fourth straight win improves them to 34-4-5 overall and 18-0-2 on home ice before next weekend’s three-game home set.

After scoring Saturday’s overtime winner, Rivermen defensemen Guillaume Naud picked up where he left off in the first period Sunday, scoring a power-play goal at the 9:33 mark of the first period. Veteran Rivermen winger Mike Gurtler dropped the puck back to Naud from between the circles and Naud slapped it past Dawgs netminder Jacob Caffrey for his fourth goal of the season, putting the Rivermen ahead 1-0.

Rivermen forward Pijus Rulevicius matched Naud’s power-play effort to double the lead at the 14:15 mark of the second period after redirecting a wrister from teammate Justin Greenberg under Caffrey’s left arm.

The Rivermen were able to kill three penalties in the first 18 minutes of the middle frame before the Dawgs got on the board during a 4-on-4 period. Dawgs winger Colin Murray’s second marker of the weekend came on a snapshot from between the circles, sailing past Rivermen netminder Stephen Klein to make the score 2-1 heading into the final intermission.

Gurtler picked up an insurance tally which wound up being the game-winner at the 13:27 mark of the third period on a breakaway wrister past Caffrey’s glove to make the score 3-1. Rookie winger Mitchell McPherson posted his first professional goal on a one-timer from the right circle with 3:48 to go. Roanoke added a last-minute goal from former Peoria winger Jeff Jones to bring the final tally to 4-2.

Klein earned the win in net, making 17 of 19 saves and keeping Roanoke off the board on all five of their five power plays. The win improves Klein to 18-3-2 on the season, and lifts him to 9-0-2 since the start of 2019.

Notes: Gurtler recorded a goal and an assist for his second straight multi-point performance…Rivermen defenseman Ralfs Grinbergs recorded three assists to set a new career high…Rivermen captain Alec Hagaman recorded an assist on McPherson’s goal to extend his personal point-scoring streak to six games…Greenberg tallied two assists to give him six points in his last four outings…The Rivermen return to action next weekend when they host the Knoxville Ice Bears Friday and Saturday and the Quad City Storm for a Sunday matinee…The first 1,000 fans in attendance Friday receive a free Rivermen drawstring backpack courtesy of Homefield Energy…Saturday is Chicago Blackhawks Night presented by The Fieldhouse Bar & Grill…The Rivermen will wear special Blackhawks jerseys and Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull will make a special appearance during the game…Sunday is another Family Fun Kids Day presented by the Peoria Park District and the Peoria Journal Star…The Rivermen will have a pregame fan fest behind section 1 at Carver Arena beginning at 2:05 PM with inflatables provided by Fun On The Run, face painting by Wild Style Design, and balloon art by Unique Twist…Friday and Saturday matchups are set to begin at 7:15 while Sunday’s tilt drops at 3:05…each broadcast can be heard, starting with the pregame show 20 minutes before game time at http://mixlr.com/peoria-rivermen/

Group, single game, and season tickets for Peoria's 37th 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)