AHL Peoria Rivermen

Peoria Finishes Road Trip With Shootout Win in Iowa

January 30, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


DES MOINES, Iowa (January 30, 2009) - The Peoria Rivermen finished their five-game road trip with a 4-3 shootout win over the Iowa Chops on Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena. Ben Bishop turned aside 16 shots in the third period, 31 overall, and stopped three-of-four in the shootout to improve to 4-1 in shootouts this season.

The Rivermen (24-20-1-1) finished their trip 3-2-0 after picking up a win in San Antonio, Houston and Iowa. They return home to Carver Arena on Saturday for a rematch with the Chops (22-18-2-5). The win pushed the Rivermen's point total to 50 and leapfrogged them past Chicago into fifth place in the West Division. They are now just four points behind Rockford for second place.

Julian Talbot and Jonathan Filewich both scored in regulation and in the shootout. Filewich's goal at 9:40 of the second period chased J.P. Levasseur from the game after he made 13 saves on 16 shots through 29:40. David LeNeveu was inserted and stopped all 14 shots he faced in regulation and overtime before allowing three-of-four in the shootout.

Talbot opened the scoring for the Rivermen a mere 50 seconds after the opening faceoff. Steve Wagner's shot generated a rebound in the low-slot and Talbot snapped it over Levasseur's glove for his 12th goal of the season.

The two teams exchanged a pair of goals in the second period as Peoria won the shot battle 11-10. The Chops tied the game in the opening minutes of the frame on a T.J. Trevelyan goal. It was his team-leading 15th of the year as he scored shorthanded at 1:27. Breaking in two-on-one, he snuck a shot between the legs of Bishop to even the score.

Justin Fletcher was quick to give the Rivermen back the lead with a slap shot just 42 seconds later. Andy Wozniewski setup Fletcher for a one-timer from just inside the blue line for his third of the season. Wozniewski was also involved in Filewich's goal at 9:40 to give the Rivermen a 3-1 advantage. After Levasseur stopped a Wozniewski shot, Filewich flung the rebound back on goal. While on his knees at the side of the net, he was able to lift his own rebound back over the goaltender and into the cage. It was his fifth goal of the season and third with Peoria since being traded from Pittsburgh in December.

Iowa rallied to tie the game with a quick one in the second and an early one in the third. Adrian Veideman forced the puck an inch across the line for just long enough to have the goal judge flip the light on and count the goal at 13:38 of the second. The Chops evened the score at 3-3 on a Matt Beleskey one-timer 1:37 into the third. It was the only power-play goal of the game with Peoria going 0-for-5 and Iowa scoring once on their four chances.

Despite the 17-5 shot advantage in the third period for the Chops, the Rivermen held strong and forced overtime. After a rather uneventful five minute sudden-death session, it took only four shooters for the Rivermen to win in the shootout.

The game featured a total of 52 penalty minutes and three fights. Eric Neilson and Ryan Reaves both fought Ryan Donally. Curtis Fraser fought Francis Wathier for the third time this season. Of the 60 fights this year for the Rivermen, 10 have been against the Chops.

A rematch is scheduled for Saturday night at Carver Arena. The game will begin at 7:00 p.m. while Cody Linley, from Disney's Hannah Montana and ABC's Dancing with the Stars, will be in attendance and signing autographs from 6:30-8:30p.m. Tickets are available at the Peoria Civic Center Box Office, by calling (309) 676-1040 or online at www.rivermen.net/tickets.

Check out the Peoria Rivermen Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from January 30, 2009


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