Legace Makes 33 Saves in 3-1 Win Over Rockford
February 13, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
ROCKFORD, Ill. (February 13, 2009) - After being shut out by the Rockford IceHogs on Wednesday night, Manny Legace and the Peoria Rivermen found redemption in a 3-1 victory on Friday night at the Rockford MetroCentre. Legace stopped 33 of 34 shots and Trent Whitfield earned assists on all three Rivermen goals.
Legace, now 1-1-0 with Peoria, has only given up two goals on 56 shots in his two starts for the Rivermen.
Peoria (26-24-1-1) controlled the puck for a majority of the opening frame, outshooting Rockford 15-6. The Rivermen worked to give Legace a breather as the Peoria netminder didn't face a single shot in the final 12 minutes of the first period.
On the other end of the ice, IceHogs' goalie Corey Crawford was kept pretty busy during the opening 20 minutes. Amidst Peoria's constant offensive pressure, Chris Conner notched his 15th goal of the season at 10:48 to give the Rivermen a 1-0 lead. The right winger glided past the top of the crease and flipped the puck past a sliding Jimmy Sharrow and a diving Crawford.
Justin Fletcher doubled Peoria's lead in the middle frame at 13:21. The defenseman blasted a one-timer from the top of the right circle through a screen by teammate Steve Regier on the Rivermen's third power play of the game. Legace stayed perfect through the first two periods, snatching multiple shots in mid-air and securing every loose puck.
Rockford (28-22-0-4) cut the Rivermen lead in half 5:10 into the final period when Tim Brent skated in deep and slipped one over Legace's right shoulder. Brent's 13th goal of the season ended a streak of 30 straight scoreless power plays for Rockford.
One goal would be as close as the IceHogs would get within tying the game as Legace made 17 saves in the third period alone. With time ticking down, he stoned the IceHogs' leading scorer, Pascal Pelletier, on a breakaway.
Jonas Junland locked up the win with an empty netter for the Rivermen at 18:07. Junland lofted the puck over everyone and into the empty cage from his own blue line.
Both teams finished 1-for-5 on the power play. Rockford outshot Peoria 34-31. Peoria's 54 points places them sixth in the West Division, only three points behind a logjam in the standings: Fifth-place Chicago, fourth-place Houston and third-place Iowa all have 57 points.
Peoria and Rockford's parent clubs faced off Friday night as well with the Blues shuting out the Blackhawks 1-0 in St. Louis.
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