Three-Goal Knoxville Third Ices Rivermen Friday

March 8, 2019 6:30 pm

Away | Regular

Knoxville Ice Bears

Final
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Ice
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Rivermen
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Photo Credit: Landon Lamb/Knoxville Ice Bears

Three-Goal Knoxville Third Ices Rivermen Friday

Knoxville bears down late to clinch playoff spot

 

Knoxville, TN – The Peoria Rivermen saw a 3-1 second-period lead evaporate Friday night as the Rivermen fell by a 5-3 score at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. The loss, Peoria’s third in their last four games, drops the Rivermen to 35-6-6 before tomorrow night’s rematch with the Knoxville Ice Bears.

The Rivermen roared to a 2-0 lead with a pair of first-period goals. Defenseman Ben Oskroba’s one-time cannon from the high slot netted a power-play goal at 7:30, and at 14:33 Peoria’s Justin Greenberg finished a net-front scramble to double the lead.

 

The Ice Bears battled back to within a goal with a power-play tally of their own late in the first. Ice Bears forward Bryce Nielsen finished a rebound of a teammate’s shot past Peoria netminder Stephen Klein at 18:19 of the first for the 2-1 score.

 

Peoria pushed their lead back to two goals with an even-strength marker at 14:54 of the second period. Rivermen winger Austin Vieth collected a pass in the right-wing corner of the Knoxville zone, skated up the boards, spun and fired a sharp-angle drive that leaked through Ice Bears netminder Cody Porter for a 3-1 lead.

 

The Ice Bears got back within a goal with a short-handed tally late in the second period. Knoxville winger Stefan Brucato absorbed a check along the right-wing boards of the Rivermen zone, and threw the puck toward the net, sneaking it past Klein at 17:57 of the frame.

 

Knoxville tied the game with a power-play tally early in the game’s final period. Knoxville won a faceoff in Peoria territory, and newly-signed forward Lonnie Clary tipped Doug Rose’s drive from the high slot past Klein for 3-3 at 6:45 of the frame.

 

The Ice Bears took the lead for good with a goal just past the midway point of the third period. Ice Bears blueliner Blake O’Neill took a shot from the point that made its way through traffic and past Klein for a 4-3 lead at 13:04 of the period. Peoria pulled Klein for an extra attacker in the final minute of regulation, but Ice Bears winger Marcus Ortiz logged an empty-net goal at 19:15 of the period to put the game out of reach at 5-3.

 

Klein suffered the loss in net, falling to 18-5-2 in net. The loss is Klein’s second straight, marking the first time this season Klein has dropped back-to-back decisions.

 

Notes: The win clinched Knoxville a playoff spot, mathematically locking them ahead of Quad City…Rivermen winger Alec Hagaman notched a pair of assists for his first multi-assist outing since January 12 at Evansville…Oskroba’s goal is just the sixth power-play goal allowed by the Ice Bears in Knoxville this season…The Rivermen return to action when they rematch the Ice Bears tomorrow night at 6:30 Central Time in Knoxville…The broadcast of the game can be heard, starting with the pregame show at 6:10 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)