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Rivermen Run and Gun in Second, Shoot Down Marksmen Friday

February 16, 2018 - SPHL (SPHL) - Peoria Rivermen News Release


Peoria, IL - The Peoria Rivermen scored an early goal and never trailed Friday night as they beat the Fayetteville Marksmen 3-2 at Carver Arena. The win, Peoria's second straight, lifts the Rivermen to 25-10-3 on the season, first place in the SPHL with two games left in the weekend series against the Marksmen.

The Rivermen broke the scoreless tie early in the opening period when Rivermen winger Michael Economos backhanded a pass along the end boards of the Fayetteville zone to teammate Mike Gurtler. Gurtler collected the pass behind the Fayetteville net, came out of the right corner, and wrapped it around the right pad of Marksmen goaltender Patrick Spano for the 1-0 edge at 4:48 of the first period.

The Marksmen evened the score late in the middle frame when winger Ryan Patsch fired a shot that went wide of the Rivermen net. The puck caromed off the end boards, and Marksmen winger Jamie Hill collected it and put a shot off the back of Rivermen goaltender Peter Di Salvo's back that bounced into the back of the net to tie the score at 1-1 at 13:50 of the second period.

The Rivermen regained the lead with their own goal moments later. Rivermen winger Will smith collected the puck on the left-wing boards of the Marksmen end and slipped a pass to the low slot, where teammate Joe McKeown skated through the slot and deposited a backhander top shelf past Spano for the 2-1 Rivermen edge at 14:07 of the middle frame.

Fayetteville re-tied the contest just over a minute later when center Jake Hauswirth fired a pass from behind the goal line to the low slot. Hill gathered the puck just above the Rivermen crease and fired a shot past Di Salvo to tie the game 2-2 at 15:30 of the second period.

Peoria regained the lead for good in the closing minutes of the second period. Rivermen winger Alec Hagaman picked off a Fayetteville clearing attempt deep in Marksmen territory and found Smith stationed at the bottom of the right circle. Smith took Hagaman's pass and fired a shot that whistled past Spano and into the back of the net for the 3-2 Rivermen lead at 18:09 of the second stanza.

Di Salvo stopped 19 or 21 shots in net to earn his second consecutive win in goal. The victory improves Di Salvo to 9-8-4 on the season and 4-1-1 as a member of the Rivermen.

Notes: McKeown's second-period goal was the first of his professional career...Hagaman recorded a pair of assists for his first multi-helper performance since January 5 at Mississippi...Smith recorded a goal and an assist for the second straight game, and a point in his third straight...The Rivermen return to action Saturday night as they continue with the second game of this three game weekend series with Fayetteville, with puck drop at 7:15...The broadcast of each game can be heard, starting with the pre-game show, at 6:55 p.m. at http://mixlr.com/peoria-rivermen/

Group, single game, and season tickets for Peoria's 36th 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).


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