Morra, Summers Lead Rivermen to 5th Straight Win
December 26, 2014 - SPHL (SPHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
PEORIA - The Peoria Rivermen used a Matt Summers hat trick and a four-point night from Steve Morra in his return to the lineup to capture a 7-1 win over the Columbus Cottonmouths on Friday night at Carver Arena.
The Rivermen broke the ice with 3:16 elapsed in the game when Ben Oskroba cleaned up a rebound from the left circle on a shot by Steve Morra also assisted by Nick Schneider. Garrett Vermeersch found a carom in the high slot and lifted a top-shelf tally with just under 45 seconds remaining before the first intermission for a 2-0 Rivermen lead.
The Cottonmouths cut the deficit to 2-1 just 43 seconds into the second period on a power play goal by Matt Gingera from Bryce Williamson, but the Rivermen got the score back with 2:18 gone in the chapter with a Matt Summers drive assisted by Paul Arnott. Peoria pushed the second period lead to 5-1 on a shorthanded breakaway goal by Morra assisted by Rich Zobak with 15:59 left and a Summers tally in the slot on a feed from Morra also assisted by Vermeersch with 14:46 showing before the second intermission. Summers completed his hat trick when he got a piece of the puck in a flurry at the crease and it trickled just over the goal line with 6:15 left in the second period, assisted by Alec Hagaman and Jordan Sims, to give the Rivermen a 6-1 lead at the second break.
Peoria extended the advantage to 7-1 with their second shorthanded goal of the night as Sims finished a 2-on-1 break with Morra 1:39 into the third period.
Kyle Rank earned his 10th win of the season with 27 saves while Shannon Szabados stopped 33 Rivermen shots in the loss. The Rivermen outscored the visitors on Snakes power plays with two shorthanded goals while Columbus went 1-for-8 with the man advantage. Peoria was scoreless on five power plays.
The Rivermen (14-5-2, 30 points) remain in second place in the Southern Professional Hockey League and are 9-1-0 on home ice. The Cottonmouths (11-9-0) lost for only the second time in their last 13 games.
The Rivermen host the rematch with the Cottonmouths on Saturday with a 7:05 p.m. face-off with 6:45 pre-game on www.rivermen.net, 93.7 FM inside Carver Arena and on pay-per-view video at SPHLLive.com. Fans can still take advantage of special holiday pricing of two tickets for $20. Saturday is also Rivermen Hall of Fame Night as defenseman Darren Maloney is inducted during the first intermission.
Single game tickets for Peoria's 33rd season of professional hockey are on sale weekdays at the Peoria Civic Center. Season ticket packages and group ticket options for the 2014-15 campaign are on sale now through 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) and Twitter ( https://twitter.com/Peoria_Rivermen).
SPHL Stories from December 26, 2014
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- Ice Flyers Give up 6 Goals to Havoc in 6-1 Loss - Pensacola Ice Flyers
- Morra, Summers Lead Rivermen to 5th Straight Win - Peoria Rivermen
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