AHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen weekly

Published on January 22, 2007 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


WEEK 16 - RIVERMEN ACTION (1-2-0-0)

Saturday, January 20, 2007, RIVERMEN 5 @ Iowa 4: Early leads equal success for the Peoria Rivermen, who utilized a 2-0 first-period advantage en route to a 5-4 win over the Iowa Stars on Saturday night in front of 6,791 at Wells Fargo Arena. Peoria is now 14-0-0-0 when leading after one period of play this season. The Rivermen wasted little time getting on the board as newly acquired center Yan Stastny, who played 51 games for Iowa last year, tallied his first goal with Peoria and fourth overall just 41 seconds into the game. From the neutral zone, defenseman Jeff Woywitka dumped the puck off the left-wing boards and it caromed into the high slot, where Stastny quickly wristed a shot over the left shoulder of Iowa netminder Steve Silverthorn. Peoria took a 2-0 lead as it tallied its fourth shorthanded goal of the year at 7:20 of the first period. Left wing Michal Birner gathered an arrant Stars pass in the neutral zone and hurried down the right-wing boards for a breakaway chance. Once Birner reached the slot, he faked right then lifted a forehand shot over the right pad of Silverthorn for his fifth goal of the season. The Rivermen were as efficient as you could get in the first period, as the two goals registered were the only two shots on net. Peoria continued its efficiency when it notched its third goal on its fourth shot of the game at 6:38 of the middle frame. From the Stars blue line, center Trent Whitfield poked the puck to the right point, where defenseman Roman Polak took it and skated into the right face-off dot and flicked a shot into the top right corner of the net. The goal was Polak's fourth of the year and first point in ten contests. The Stars recorded their first marker of the game with a man-advantage tally at 18:05 of the second stanza. Defenseman Marty Wilford launched a shot from the right point that was redirected past Rivermen goaltender Marek Schwarz in the slot by left wing Janos Vas for his seventh goal of the 2006-07 campaign. With three seconds left in the second period, the Rivermen responded with a power play goal of their own. Polak blasted a shot from the left point that was stopped by Silverthorn; however, before Silverthorn was able to cover up the loose puck, left wing Jon DiSalvatore was able to jam it between the goalie's legs for his 11th marker of the season. Iowa cut the Rivermen lead in half at 9:37 of the final frame on the second goal of the game and eighth of the year by Vas. Defenseman Mario Scalzo dropped the puck off to Vas from the top of the right face-off circle and from the right point, Vas snapped a shot that flew over the right shoulder of Schwarz. The Stars cut the deficit to 4-3 when right wing Vojtech Polak scored his 11th goal of the season at 12:17 of the last period. Polak collected the puck in the left-wing corner then skated behind the net and when he crossed the goal line chipped a shot that bounced off of the right arm of Schwarz and into the net. Stastny, who earned first star honors, tallied the eventual game-winner at 13:14 of the final period. From the neutral zone, DiSalvatore sent a beautiful pass to Stastny past an outstretched stick of a Stars defenseman; Stastny skated alone with the new Iowa goaltender Tobias Stephan, who replaced Silverthorn at the start of the third period. At the top of the crease, Stastny hit the brakes, tried to jam the puck past Stephan, but was blocked by the left pad. Stephan's momentum sent him into the net and Stastny was able to pick up the rebound and this time was able to slide it home. Iowa added another goal with 17 seconds left while on the power play and with its netminder pulled to put a bit of a scare in the Rivermen, but that was as close as they would get. Defenseman Mark Ardelan fired a shot from the right point, which was redirected in the slot by left wing Francis Wathier past Schwarz for his fourth marker of the year.

Friday, January 19, 2007, RIVERMEN 1 vs. Chicago 6: The Peoria Rivermen provided the needed elixir on Friday night for the Chicago Wolves, who snapped a season-high, five-game losing streak in 6-1 victory at Carver Arena in front of 5,126. In four Chicago wins in Peoria this season, the Rivermen have been outscored 27-9. Part of Chicago's domination of Peoria (22-17-1-2, 47 pts) centers on power play, where the Rivermen have surrendered 13 goals in 45 man-advantage opportunities; the Wolves were 1-for-4 on this night. Peoria's loss ties a season-high for consecutive defeats at home and overall at three; the Rivermen fell to 13-10-0-0 at Carver Arena this season. The Wolves (27-14-1-2, 57 pts) tallied the first goal of the game on right wing Darren Haydar's 26th marker of the year at 12:42 of the opening session. Center Cory Larose dumped the puck into the left face-off circle from the neutral zone. Peoria goaltender Marek Schwarz started to creep out of the crease as if he were going to try to play the puck, but Haydar was flying down the left-wing boards, reached it first, then crossed into the slot and directed a shot around the left leg of an out-of-position Schwarz. The Rivermen responded just 41 seconds later on a beautiful turn-around goal by center Ryan Ramsay. Left wing Cam Keith, skating from left to right behind the net, attempted to bury a wrap-around that was stuffed by Chicago netminder Michael Garnett. The rebound trickled out to the slot, where Ramsay picked it up, spun around to face the net and wristed a shot above the right shoulder of Garnett for his sixth goal of the season and first in 16 contests. Chicago regained the lead with its 10th shorthanded goal of the year at 18:15 of the first frame. Left wing Colin Stuart controlled the puck along the boards near the left face-off circle, where he fired a centering pass into the slot for center Kevin Doell, who tapped it into the net from just off the right post. It was Doell's eighth marker of the 2006-07 campaign, and he is now tied for the team lead with center Derek MacKenzie with three tallies when down a man. The Wolves increased their lead to 3-1 only 53 seconds into the middle period on center Cory Larose's 12th tally of the season. Defenseman Brian Sipotz blasted a shot from the right point, which was redirected through the legs of Schwarz by Larose in the slot. Chicago notched a power-play goal at 13:31 of the second stanza on Larose's 13th marker of the year and second of the game. Larose skated behind the net with the puck from the left-wing corner and chipped a centering pass into the slot. The pass accidentally bounced off the stick of Rivermen defenseman Roman Polak and slipped through the legs of Schwarz before he could react quickly enough. The Wolves buried another goal at 2:05 of the final frame for a 5-1 advantage. Doell won the face-off in the right circle in the Rivermen zone, flipping the puck back to Sipotz at the right point. Sipotz snapped a shot on net that flew over the right shoulder of a screened Schwarz for his first goal of the season. Chicago notched its fifth unanswered marker on Doell's second goal of the game and ninth of the season at 13:41 of the last period. From the right-wing corner, Stuart dished the puck to right wing Kyle Wanvig, who was at the bottom of the right face-off circle. Wanvig tried to jam it past Schwarz but was initially stopped, and the rebound went directly to Doell, who was at the left side of the goal mouth for the easy tap-in.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007, RIVERMEN 2 vs. Rochester 4: The Peoria Rivermen fell victim to the Western Conference leader, the Rochester Americans, for the second time this season, suffering a home-and-home sweep on Wednesday night in a 4-2 decision in front of 3,106 at Carver Arena. Rochester, (28-11-1-0, 57 pts) who has now won five in a row, opened the scoring at 7:36 of the first frame on right wing Patrick Kaleta's first professional marker. After Rivermen goaltender Jason Bacashihua stopped left wing Clarke MacArthur's shot from the slot, Kaleta gathered the rebound in the left face-off circle, spun around and slid the puck underneath Bacashihua's pads. The Rivermen (22-16-1-2, 47 pts) tied the game 1-1 at 7:04 of the second session. Off the face-off in the Rivermen zone, center Cam Keith skated down the right-wing boards and fired a centering pass once he reached the goal line in the right-wing corner. Center Gavin Morgan was just in front of the goal mouth, where he tipped the puck between the legs of the Americans rookie netminder Adam Dennis; it was Morgan's first tally with Peoria this season after netting seven in 24 games with Vienna of the Austrian League. Just 1:45 later, Peoria took the lead on left wing Charles Linglet's team-leading 22nd goal of the year. Right wing Mike Glumac, playing in his first game after missing three contests with an ankle injury, dished a pass from the left-wing corner to the left face-off dot for Linglet, who skated to his right into the slot then backhanded a shot that slipped inside the left post and past the right arm of Dennis. The Americans evened the game at 2-2 at 16:02 of the second period. Defenseman Mike Card wound up as if he was going to shoot the puck from center point, but fired a pass just to the left of the slot for center Marek Zagrapan, who simply tipped it past the right leg of Bacashihua. Bacashihua had fallen to the ice in anticipation for a shot by Card. It was Zagrapan's sixth marker of the year. Rochester regained the lead at 14:54 of the final period as MacArthur notched his 17th goal of the season and third point of the tilt. From behind the net, right wing Mark Mancari dished the puck into the slot for MacArthur, who wristed a shot that found an opening in the lower right corner of the net. The Americans sealed the deal with an empty-net goal from left wing Stefan Meyer, his eighth goal of the 2006-07 campaign, at 19:39 of the last period.

HARRIED HOCKEY HALTED

After completing a stretch of 16 games (9-7-0-0 record) in 30 days (more than a game every other day) from December 15-January 13, the Rivermen are in the midst playing just six games in stretch of 17 days (nearly a game every third day) or seven games in 21 days.

ONES AND FIRSTS ARE BIG

Peoria is nearly automatic in one-goal games, winning more than 75 percent (78.1) this season in 17 opportunities (11-3-1-2). The Rivermen also improved to 14-0-0-0 when leading after the first period with Saturday night's 5-4 win in Iowa.

GOT THE CHICAGO SHAKES

The Rivermen just can't find a remedy for the Chicago Wolves at Carver Arena this season. In four games, Peoria has been outscored 27-9, which includes last Friday night's 6-1 drubbing at the hands of the Wolves. In addition, the Rivermen have lost by scores of 5-0 (October 7), 10-5 (November 4) and 6-3 (December 29). Nearly half of the Wolves' goals in Peoria (13) have come on the power play (13-for-45, 29 percent).

HITHER & YAN

Center Yan Stastny, who joined the Rivermen early last week after the parent St. Louis Blues acquired him from the Boston Bruins in exchange for a fifth-round draft choice in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, had an inauspicious start to his Peoria career, posting a -4 plus/minus rating in a 4-2 home loss to the North Division-leading Rochester Americans on Wednesday. He followed that up with a -1 plus/minus rating on Friday in a 6-1 home loss to the Chicago Wolves. On Saturday, against an Iowa Stars team he played for in 2005-06, Stastny earned full redemption by scoring two goals, including the game's first tally and the game winner, and registering a +4 plus/minus rating for the game.

RECENT RIVERMEN TRANSACTIONS

January 21, 2007 RW David Backes, LW Peter Sejna, LW D.J. King returned on loan from the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

January 16, 2007 C Yan Stastny loaned from the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

January 13, 2007 D Matt Walker recalled from conditioning loan by the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

January 13, 2007 LW Peter Sejna recalled from loan by the St. Louis Blues (NHL) under emergency conditions.

January 13, 2007 G Curtis Sanford recalled from conditioning loan by the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

January 13, 2007 G Marek Schwarz returned on loan from the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

RIVERMEN ACTION THIS WEEK

DAY DATE TIME OPPONENT

Friday January 26, 2007 7:30 PM Iowa Stars

Saturday January 27, 2007 7:30 PM @ Milwaukee Admirals

RIVERMEN PROMOTIONS THIS WEEK

Friday, January 26

- Coca-Cola/Insight Date Night - two (2) tickets, two (2) Cokes and a tub of popcorn for JUST $25

- CEFCU - Your Credit Union Night - First 2,000 fans receive a Rivermen 25th anniversary puck

- U.S. Cellular 25 Greatest Rivermen of All-Time continues with Dave Mackey cards to the first 2,500 fans. There will be an appearance and autograph signing.

- Claude Scott - The Happy Trumpeter - will appear and entertain the crowd.

Radio: The Rivermen will be broadcast LIVE on Friday, January 26 and broadcast TAPE DELAY on Saturday, January 27 on Classic Country 1290 AM (WIRL-AM), the flagship radio station of the Rivermen.

Internet Audio: LIVE streaming audio of all Rivermen games is available for no charge at www.rivermen.net.

Internet Video: LIVE streaming video with the accompanying audio feed is available at www.rivermen.net through the facilities of the b2 networks. The video Web cast of each game is available for a pay-per-view fee of $6.

SCOUTING THE STARS

National Hockey League Parent Club: Dallas Stars

Record Entering This Week: 21-19-2-1

Standings Points (Relative to Rivermen): 45 (-4)

Western Conference Standing: 9th Place

West Division Standing: 5th Place

Rivermen Record vs. Stars: 5-1-0-0

Leading Scorer: C Joel Lundqvist (36 GP, 15 G, 21 A, 36 PTS)

Number-1 Goaltender: Tobias Stephan (19 GP, 8-10-0, 2.76 GAA, .904 SV PCT., 1 SO)

AHL Power-play Ranking Entering This Week: T-19th (15.7%)

AHL Penalty-kill Ranking Entering This Week: T-8th (84.8%)

SCOUTING THE ADMIRALS

National Hockey League Parent Club: Nashville Predators

Record Entering This Week: 21-16-3-4

Standings Points (Relative to Rivermen): 49 (-)

Western Conference Standing: 1st Place

West Division Standing: T-6th place

Rivermen Record vs. Admirals: 1-2-1-0

Leading Scorer: C Rich Peverley (44 GP, 18 G, 29 A, 47 PTS)

Number-1 Goaltender: Karl Goehring (33 GP, 17-10-4, 2.64 GAA, .909 SV PCT., 1 SO)

AHL Power-play Ranking Entering This Week: T-19th (15.7%)

AHL Penalty-kill Ranking Entering This Week: 3rd (86.8%)

Check out the Peoria Rivermen Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from January 22, 2007


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central