Walker’s Hat Trick Not Enough as Rivermen Fall in Shootout Friday

Photo Credit: Dennis Sievers/Peoria Rivermen

Walker’s Hat Trick Not Enough as Rivermen Fall in Shootout Friday

Peoria clinches fourth regular-season title in five years despite sudden-death defeat

Peoria, IL – The Peoria Rivermen erased a two-goal Evansville Thunderbolts lead in the final 10:31 of regulation and forced overtime before falling 5-4 to the Thunderbolts Friday night in Peoria. Despite the loss, Peoria improves to 83 points in the SPHL standings at 37-7-9, clinching their fourth regular-season championship in the last five years and ties them with the SPHL record-holding 2015-16 Rivermen for the most points in a regular season.

Peoria started the scoring in the game’s first minute. Peoria winger Alec Hagaman carried into the left wing of the Evansville zone and sent a pass to Austin Vieth in the right circle. Vieth’s shot was turned away by Thunderbolts netminder Braeden Ostepchuk and wavered above the Thunderbolts crease. Peoria winger Pijus Rulevicius pounced on the loose puck and lofted it over Ostepchuk for a 1-0 lead at the 42-second mark of the first period.

Evansville tied the game at 1:54 of the opening frame when winger Brandon Tucker stole the puck from Peoria goaltender Storm Phaneuf behind the Rivermen net and stuffed it into the goal for a 1-1 score. Evansville took the lead with a power-play tally in the middle phrases of the period when defenseman Austin Frank’s wrister from the high slot sailed past Phaneuf at 9:53 of the period.

Evansville pushed their lead to two goals with a marker in the final minute of the first period. Thunderbolts winger Shayne Morrissey collected the puck and center, skated it into the high slot of the Peoria zone, and fired a shot through Phaneuf and into the net at 19:13 of the period, chasing Phaneuf front the contest in favor of Stephen Klein after the first intermission.

Peoria cut the Thunderbolts lead in half with a goal late in the second period. After a mad netfront scramble in front of Ostepchuk, the puck banked off the helmet of Beau Walker and off his stick, into the net at 16:33 of the frame. Evansville scored 23 seconds later when winger Scott Donahue stuffed a wraparound out of the right corner past Klein to make the score 4-2 at the second intermission.

Peoria battled back to tie the game with a pair of goals in the final 10:31 of regulation, beginning at 9:29 of the third period when Walker took a feed from teammate Ben Blasko, split the Evansville defense, and deked the puck past Ostepchuk for 4-3. The Rivermen tied the game with Klein off the ice for an extra attacker at 19:04 of the period when Walker’s wrister fron the inside of the right circle zipped past Ostepchuk’s stick for a 4-4 tie.

The game remained tied through the rest of regulation and overtime and went to a shootout tiebreaker. The first six shooters from each team were turned aside, and Peoria’s seventh shooter, Rulevicius, was turned away by Ostepchuk before Morrissey’s shot from between the circles beat Klein’s glove for a 5-4 final.

Phaneuf turned aside 7 of 10 shots faced in the first period and took a no-decision while Klein denied 9 of 10 shots faced in the final 45 minutes of play and six of seven shootout attempts, falling to 20-5-3 on the season.

Notes: Walker netted his first career multi-goal game and first career hat trick…Walker has recorded eight points in his last four outings…Rivermen defenseman Nick Neville assisted on two of Walker’s three goals and has seven helpers in his last five outings…Vieth posted two assists for his first multi-assist performance since December 8 against Evansville…The Rivermen return to action tomorrow night when they wrap up their season series against the Thunderbolts at Carver Arena at 7:15…The game is Peoria’s annual Star Wars Night, presented by the Central Illinois Autism Association, with special Star Wars jerseys worn by the Rivermen and auctioned off postgame…The 501^st Midwest Garrison will be on hand for the game, taking pictures on the concourse throughout the evening…The broadcast of the game can be heard, starting with the pregame show at 6:55, 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)