ThunderBolts Fail to Bury Peoria, Rivermen Win in Shootout
October 22, 2017 - SPHL (SPHL) - Evansville Thunderbolts News Release
Evansville, Ind: Hockey season was finally back in full swing in Evansville and the rest of the SPHL after a long offseason, full of anticipation for the new year. The retooled Thunderbolts came out strong and gave the defending league finalists quite the run for their money, but it would not be enough as the Rivermen came back to win in a shootout, 5-4, after trailing 4-1.
In front of the home fans at the Ford Center, the Thunderbolts came out swinging in the first period. Following penalties to Peoria's Cody Dion and Alec Hagaman, Evansville's power play went to work and right after the first penalty expired, Justin MacDonald would put home a rebound from the side of the net to give the Bolts an early lead. A minute and 23 seconds later, they would double up, as Mark Petaccio would laser a shot past the glove of Eric Levine to make it 2-0. However, with 1:55 to go, Dion found a way to beat Jonah Imoo, and put Peoria on the board.
The second period would be more of the same. Despite Peoria coming out strong, the Thunderbolts would once again cash in on the power play, as Frank Schumacher would bury a shot to make it 3-1. Later, after serving a boarding penalty, MacDonald would get the puck right out of the penalty box, dashing in and creating a scoring chance, would be tapped in by Brandon Lubin to give Evansville their largest lead of the night, 4-1. The Rivermen would come back with 55 seconds left, as Jacob Barber powered his way to the net off a crisp pass from Kevin Patterson, scoring to get Peoria back within 2.
The turning point in the third period would come at the 3:28 mark, when Lubin caught Nick Neville up high in the slot, knocking his helmet down and sending Neville to the ice, earning Lubin a 5-minute major and game misconduct. Peoria would immediately respond, as captain Dave Pszenyczny would fire a shot from the point, off the post and in to make it a 1 goal lead. Evansville would get a reprieve after Dion got called for high sticking, and drawing blood on Dylan Clarke, resulting in a 4-minute double minor. However, immediately after the abbreviated Evansville power play had expired, Justin Greenberg -more- scored to tie the game at 4 aside. From here on it was a goaltending clinic from Eric Levine and Imoo, holding the score at 4-4, despite a late Peoria power play.
In overtime, Cory Melkert sat for the first 1:59 after being served an equipment violation penalty in the fading seconds of regulation, for playing after losing his helmet, instead of skating to the bench. Evansville would survive, and then fail to capitalize on a late penalty to Peoria's Joseph Widmar, resulting in a shootout. Williams and Petaccio would both miss the net on their shootout attempts, and Barber would score for Peoria, followed by Greenberg to finish off the Bolts for tonight, winning the shootout 2-0, and the game 5-4.
For Evansville, Schumacher scored a goal and assist, and the other goals would go to Lubin, MacDonald and Petaccio. Imoo would stop 33 of 37 shots for the shootout loss. For Peoria, Barber would score once in regulation as well as in the shootout, and goals also came from Pszenyczny, Greenburg and Dion. Connor Gorman added 2 assists, and Levine would stop 36 of 40 shots, and all 3 shootout attempts, for the shootout victory. Attendance for tonight's game at the Ford Center was 3,679.
These two teams will meet again on Ford Center ice on Tuesday morning, at 10 a.m.
About Evansville Thunderbolts: The Evansville Thunderbolts is the area's only professional hockey team. The Thunderbolts are a proud member of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). The team is owned and operated by VW Sports, L.L.C, a subsidiary of VenuWorks, Inc. www.evansvillethunderbolts.com
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SPHL Stories from October 22, 2017
- RiverKings Down Bulls for Second Straight Win - Mississippi RiverKings
- ThunderBolts Fail to Bury Peoria, Rivermen Win in Shootout - Evansville Thunderbolts
- MAYHEM GAME RECAP: Mayhem Handed Second Defeat of the Season by Huntsville - Macon Mayhem
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