IceGators Sink Rivermen
January 16, 2015 - SPHL (SPHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release
PEORIA, Ill.--The Louisiana IceGators have had a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde complex this year, playing solid hockey in some games and playing poorly in others.
Dr. Jekyll showed up in Peoria Friday night.
The IceGators scored four goals in the second period en route to a 5-3 victory over the Peoria Rivermen. Bret Peppler scored twice in the contest.
The IceGators and the Rivermen meet again Saturday night in Peoria. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m.
"This is a great road win for our team," said IceGators head coach Drew Omicioli. "We played a solid first period and a tremendous second period. We outworked (the Rivermen) and did it by simplifying our game plan. I was also extremely proud of how well we took care of special teams, as well.
"We outbattled The Rivermen in the third period. They crept back into the game late, but we held on to our lead, fought until the end, and picked up two points."
The IceGators and the Rivermen played a scoreless first period despite the teams combining for 20 total shots on goal.
The IceGators dominated the rest of the way.
Luke Kasteel, Jake Hauswirth, and Peppler all scored in the first 8:31 of the frame to put Louisiana up 3-0.
Jake Trask put Peoria on the board with 3:35 left in the period, but Benjamin Rubin responded one minute later to give Louisiana a 4-1 lead going into the final intermission.
Peoria cut the IceGator lead to a single goal midway through the third period thanks to goals from Mike Gurtler and Ben Oskroba.
A Peppler empty-netter with 48 seconds left in the game put the final nail in the Rivermen's coffin.
SPHL Stories from January 16, 2015
- IceGators Sink Rivermen - Louisiana IceGators
- Ice Bears Back on Top - Knoxville Ice Bears
- RiverKings Jump Past FireAntz, 5-3 - Mississippi RiverKings
- IceGators Explode in 2nd Period to Down Rivermen - Peoria Rivermen
- RiverKings Freeze Ticket Prices, Add Referral Program for 2015-16 - Mississippi RiverKings
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