AHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Upcoming Action

Published on December 15, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


Upcoming Action

DAY

DATE

TIME

OPPONENT

Friday

December 19

7:00 p.m.

vs. Iowa Chops

Saturday

December 20

7:05 p.m.

@ Iowa Chops

Sunday

December 21

5:00 p.m.

vs. Houston Aeros

*Home Games in BOLD; all times are local - ALL games are broadcast live on Hippie 101.1 FM, streamed live on www.rivermen.net . Video broadcasts are available through www.AHLlive.com on a pay-per-view basis.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS

Present - December 31 - Pilot's House tickets to all Rivermen home games are available for just $8 until the end of 2008.

Friday, December 19 - WWE Legends Night - "Hacksaw" Jim Dugan, Jerry "The King" Lawler and Koko B. Ware will appear and sign autographs. Illinois Pork Producers Night; Eco-Friendly Bag Night for first 2,500 fans.

Sunday, December 21 - Comcast/Journal Star/Fun on the Run/Coke Family Day - Just $1 admission for kids 12 and under plus hot dogs, cokes and chips will be available for just $1 each for one hour prior to the game. Inflatable games, balloon art and face painting will be available. Fans can skate with the team after the game (please bring your own skates).

WEEK 10 IN REVIEW (2-2-0)

DAY

DATE

OPPONENT

RESULT

RIVERMEN GOALS

RIVERMEN GOALIE (GA/SV)

Wed.

12/10

@ Lake Erie

3-2 L

Cowan, Wagner

Ben Bishop (3/9)

Thurs.

12/11

@ Hamilton

2-1 W

Talbot, Soares

Chris Holt (1/24)

Fri.

12/12

@ Rochester

2-0 W

Strachan, Junland

Chris Holt (0/17)

Sun.

12/14

@ Lake Erie

2-1 L

Jackson

Chris Holt (2/16)

@ Lake Erie (12/10): The Peoria Rivermen had their three-game winning streak snapped in a 3-2 loss to the Lake Erie Monsters on Wednesday night at the Quicken Loans Arena. The Monsters were limited to just one shot on goal in the third period and a total of 12 in the game but were able to beat the Rivermen for the first time in seven all-time meetings. The two teams combined for a season-low eight penalty minutes as both teams went 0-for-2 on the power play. Lake Erie netminder, Jason Bacashihua got the better of his former team by stopping 20 of 22 and earning his first win since Oct. 22.

@ Hamilton (12/11): The Rivermen split the first two games of their four-game trip after beating the Hamilton Bulldogs 2-1 on Thursday night. The Rivermen had won four out of their last five games at that point, all of which have been decided by a single goal. Chris Holt, who was assigned from Alaska prior to Wednesday's game in Cleveland, came within 1:55 of a shutout and improved to 3-0-0 this season in the AHL. He stopped 24 of 25 in his first AHL action since Oct. 26 against Lake Erie. Hamilton native, Josh Soares continued his hot hand by scoring for the sixth time in the past seven games. He earned the No. 1 star of the game in front of friends and family and now has nine points (six goals, three assists) in 11 games with the Rivermen. Julian Talbot notched the game's first goal, on the power play, just 6:35 into regulation.

@ Rochester (12/12): Chris Holt came within two minutes of notching a shutout on Thursday in Hamilton; on Friday night he finished the job. Holt made 17 saves en route to a 2-0 win for the Peoria Rivermen over the Rochester Americans at Blue Cross Arena. Holt improved to 4-0-0 with the Rivermen and has allowed two goals or fewer in all four starts. It was the first shutout by a Rivermen goaltender this season and the fifth win in the last six games for Peoria. A goaltending battle between Holt and Americans' netminder Mike Brodeur kept the game scoreless until the third period when Tyson Strachan notched the eventual game-winner. Brodeur made 25 saves through the first two periods but Peoria scored twice on just four shots in the third. Jonas Junland scored on a shorthanded breakaway to push the final score to 2-0.

@ Lake Erie (12/14): The Lake Erie Monsters withstood a late push from the Peoria Rivermen and held on for 2-1 Sunday night at Quicken Loans Arena. The loss capped a four-game road trip that saw the Rivermen go 2-2-0 with wins in Hamilton and Rochester but two losses against Lake Erie. Jim Jackson scored the only Peoria goal at 3:47 of the third period to put the Rivermen back within one but Tyler Weiman made nine saves in the third period and 20 overall to keep the Rivermen off the board the rest of the way. It was the first loss for Chris Holt in five starts with the Rivermen this season as he made 16 saves.

TEAM LEADERS

THIS SEASON

THIS WEEK

POINTS

Regier - 21

Regier - 4

GOALS

Talbot/Conner - 10

Seven Players - 1

ASSISTS

Lemtyugov - 14

Regier - 4

POWER PLAY

32-for-163, 19.6%

1-for-12, 8.3%

PENALTY KILL

121-for-146, 82.9%

11-for-12, 91.7%

NEWS AND NOTES

Road Weary.The Rivermen just completed a stretch of four games in five nights in three different cities in one of their longer road trips this season. They only make a longer trip twice this season. Both of those trips consist of a flight to Texas and involve five games.

North Stars.After splitting the trip against the North Division, the Rivermen are now 5-4-0 against the Northern foes. Overall the West is 29-25-1-3 against the North. The Rivermen will next see a northern opponent on Dec. 26 when they head to Grand Rapids.

In the Middle.Peoria won two of the four games and by taking the middle two against Hamilton and Rochester, it marked the first time this season they won back-to-back games on the road. They are now 6-9-0 away from Carver Arena this season.

Carving the Competition.Their 10 home wins (10-2-1) are second to only Hershey and Providence, who each have 11 and are both in first place.

Hometown Heroes.Julian Talbot and Josh Soares accounted for the goals in Peoria's 2-1 win over Hamitlon on Thursday. Both Talbot and Soares hail from the province of Ontario. Talbot is from Wahnapitae while Soares was really at home in Hamilton.

Goalie of the Week.Rochester goaltender, Mike Brodeur, was named Reebok/AHL Player of the Week for his efforts over the past six days. He went 3-2-0 in that stretch and stopped 130 of 137 shots. Peoria was one of just two teams to score multiple goals against him and one of the same two teams (San Antonio) to defeat him.

Share the Wealth.On the four-game trip the Rivermen went 2-2-0 while scoring seven goals and allowing seven goals. Peoria had seven goals scored by seven different players as Jeff Cowan, Steve Wagner, Julian Talbot, Josh Soares, Tyson Strachan, Jonas Junland and Jim Jackson all contributed with a goal.

Defense or Offense.Of those seven players to score this week, four of them were defensemen. In fact the Rivermen defense has accounted for 64 points (12g, 52a) this season, roughly 29 percent of the Rivermen total offense.

Slim Wins.Six of the Rivermen's last seven games have been decided by just a single goal with the lone exception being Peoria's 2-0 win over Rochester on Friday night. The Rivermen have now played 10 one-goal games and are 6-3-1 in those contests. 19 of the Rivermen's 28 total games have been decided by two goals or less.

Holt to the Rescue.With Manny Legace being placed on injured reserve and Ben Bishop recalled to St. Louis to fill his place on Wednesday, Chris Holt was thrust into the starting role for the final three games of the trip. He went 2-1-0 with a 1.01 goals-against average and a save percentage of .950. Overall with the Rivermen this season, he is 4-1-0 with a 1.41 GAA and a .935 save percentage.

Missing Penalties.The Rivermen had been one of the most penalized teams over the first few months of the season but on this recent trip the penalties went missing. Peoria had to kill of just 12 penalties in the four games and were only given 12 power-play opportunities as well.

NHL Update.Jeff Woywitka, Cam Paddock and Brad Winchester all remain on the St. Louis Blues roster with Chris Conner is currently on call with the Dallas Stars. Conner registered two assists this week to bring his total to four assists in 11 games this season for Dallas. Woywitka (4a in 15 games), Winchester (2g, 1a in 11 games) and Cam Paddock (2g, 1a in 15 games) have all contributed to the Blues.

WEEK 11 PREVIEW

Iowa Chops

National Hockey League Parent Club

Anaheim Ducks

Iowa Chops

Record

15-9-1-2

Standings Points (Relative to Rivermen)

33 (even)

West Division Standing

t-2nd

Rivermen Record Against

0-1-1

Leading Scorer

Andrew Ebbett (10g, 19a - 29pts)

Starting Goaltender

David LeNeveu (8-6-1, 2.58 GAA, .900 sv%)

AHL Power-Play Rank

9th - 19.4% (27-for-139)

AHL Penalty-Kill Rank

19th - 82.1% (124-for-151)

Houston Aeros

National Hockey League Parent Club

Minnesota Wild

Houston Aeros

Record

13-10-1-3

Standings Points (Relative to Rivermen)

30 (-3)

West Division Standing

6th

Rivermen Record Against

0-0-0

Leading Scorer

Corey Locke (10g, 20a - 30pts)

Starting Goaltender

Nolan Schaefer (6-8-0, 2.58 GAA, .908 sv%)

AHL Power-Play Rank

15th - 17.3% (24-for-139)

AHL Penalty-Kill Rank

5th - 83.6% (122-for-146)

*All statistics as of 12/15/08

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

12/11/2008 Ben Bishop (G) Recalled from loan by St. Louis (NHL)

12/11/2008 Marek Schwarz (G) Reassigned by St. Louis (NHL) from Alaksa (ECHL)

12/09/2008 Chris Holt (G) Reassigned by St. Louis (NHL) from Alaska (ECHL)

12/09/2008 Marek Schwarz (G) Reassigned by St. Louis (NHL) to Alaska (ECHL)

Check out the Peoria Rivermen Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from December 15, 2008


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