IceGators Drop Home Opener To Rivermen
November 6, 2015 - SPHL (SPHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release
Louisiana IceGators and Peoria Rivermen Exchange Punches
(Louisiana IceGators, Credit: Brentney Lynn)
Lafayette, La.--The Peoria Rivermen waited seven months to avenge their playoff series loss to the Louisiana IceGators.
They didn't waste any opportunities to do so Thursday night.
The Rivermen success avenged themselves, knocking off the Louisiana IceGators 3-1 in the first game of the three-game weekend set and the IceGators' first home game of the year. Game two of the series is set for Friday at 7:05 p.m.
"We played very well and dominated the first period," said IceGators head coach Drew Omicioli. "(Antony) Pisano got us started with a great fight to start the game, and we fed off of the crowd and the excitement. Then in the second and third periods, we went back to making simple errors, and they cost us three goals. Our systems looked great in the first and sloppy in the next two periods."
Despite the dominating first period, the IceGators couldn't put the puck past Peoria goalie Kyle Rank and returned to the locker room with a scoreless tie at the first intermission.
Mike Gurtler opened the scoring at the 5:18 mark of the second period with an unassisted goal. Jeremy Boyer tied the game three-and-a-half minutes later when he scored off helpers from Mitchell Stretch and Nicholas Kuqali.
Then the ghosts of IceGators past came back to haunt the team.
Jake Trask broke the tie at the 14:57 mark, scoring off a Ben Oskroba assist to give Peoria a 2-1 lead heading into the second intermission. Adam Stuart tacked on an insurance goal during a powerplay when he scored off a Tim Hall feed with five minutes left in regulation.
Omicioli expects his team to perform better in next two games of the series and pick up victories in those games because he feels they are a better team than what they showed in this game.
"This team has talent and grit, but we need to find a way to put it together for three periods," Omicioli said. "We have a new addition coming in (for Friday's game) that will make us a faster team, and that is what we need at the moment. This game is now behind us, and now we need to focus on learning from our mistakes and getting back at it (Friday) night."
Images from this story
 Louisiana IceGators Fight vs. Peoria Rivermen (Brentney Lynn) |
 Louisiana IceGators and Peoria Rivermen Exchange Punches (Brentney Lynn) |
SPHL Stories from November 6, 2015
- Rivermen Win Second Straight over IceGators - Louisiana IceGators
- RiverKings honor Landmesser, beat Mayhem in OT, 4-3 - Mississippi RiverKings
- Mayhem Suffer Overtime Loss - Macon Mayhem
- Rivermen Beat Louisiana 5-4 in OT Friday - Peoria Rivermen
- Game Notes at Louisiana - Peoria Rivermen
- IceGators Drop Home Opener To Rivermen - Louisiana IceGators
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