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ECHL Peoria Rivermen

Peoria moves over .500 with two straight wins over Atlantic City

January 24, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


THE RECAP:

Friday, January 21, 2005 vs. Atlantic City Game #34 ECHL Game #509

Rivermen 4 Atlantic City 1

Brian McCullough netted two goals for the second game in a row and has six in his last four games, as the Peoria Rivermen beat the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies 4-1 before a Friday-night crowd of 4,486 at Carver Arena.

The victory gave Rivermen Head Coach Jason Christie 210 career regular season and playoff victories, making him the winningest coach in Peoria's 23-year professional hockey history. He surpassed ECHL Commissioner Emeritus Pat Kelly, who has 209.

Peoria grabbed a two-goal lead with the Boardwalk Bullies on the power play, making it 3-1. Tyler Rennette pushed the puck into the Atlantic City zone on right wing and slid it toward the slot, where McCullough – with an outstretched arm and a defenseman hanging all over him – tipped the puck through the legs of Atlantic City goaltender Jake Moreland.

It was McCullough's second tally of the game and team-leading 18th on the season. It was Peoria's fifth shorthanded goal of the year. McCullough's four-game goal scoring streak is the longest by a Rivermen player this season.

The Rivermen added an insurance goal with a little more than six minutes remaining on the power play. McCullough took a Justin Maiser pass while breaking down the left side of the Atlantic City zone and then circled in behind the goal. McCullough found Reggie Stringer just off the right goal post for an easy chip-in and his 10th tally of the season. It was Stringer's seventh goal in a Rivermen uniform.

Peoria (15-15-4, 34 points) moved back to the .500 mark for the first time since November 12 with the victory and has won three in a row overall. The Rivermen have won five straight on home ice and improved to 9-5-2 at Carver Arena this season. The Rivermen improved to 13-2-1 when scoring three or more goals in a game this season. Atlantic City (21-10-5, 47 points) has lost four of its last five games and has just one win in its last seven contests (1-5-1).

Sunday, January 23, 2005 vs. Atlantic City Game #35 ECHL Game #528

Rivermen 3 Atlantic City 1

The Peoria Rivermen netted three power play goals in a contest for the first time this season and killed off all eight Atlantic City power play chances in a 3-1 win over Boardwalk Bullies in front of 3,962 on Sunday afternoon at Carver Arena.

Peoria has scored seven power play goals in its last three contests, improving to 16.2 percent with the man advantage on the year. The Rivermen have killed off 23 straight opposition power plays with their penalty-killing performance on the afternoon. They are killing penalties at an 86.5 efficiency clip.

Peoria (16-15-4, 36 points) has moved above the .500 mark for the first time since November 6, when they improved to 2-1-2 after a 6-3 home win over the Boardwalk Bullies. The Rivermen have won four in a row overall and a season-best six straight on Carver Arena ice; Peoria improved to 10-5-2 on home ice this season. The Rivermen are 14-2-1 when scoring three or more goals in a game this season. Atlantic City (21-11-5, 47 points) has dropped two in a row and five of its last six contests. The Boardwalk Bullies are 1-6-1 in their last eight games.

The Captain's Log

Continuing Our Carver Arena Catharsis

The Rivermen (16-15-4, 36 points) have won a season-best six in a row at Carver Arena and four in a row overall after sweeping a two-game home set over three days against the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies with a 4-1 victory last Friday and a 3-1 win last Sunday. The Rivermen, in the midst of six home games in row over three weekends, are 10-5-2 at home this season. Peoria owns a 207-62-32 lifetime regular season ECHL record (74.1 percent point percentage) at Carver Arena. The Rivermen host the West Division San Diego Gulls this Friday, January 28 and the archrival Toledo Storm on Saturday, January 29 to complete their six-game homestand.

Tri-umph

The Rivermen are 14-2-1 when scoring three or more goals in a game this season. Peoria swept Atlantic City this past weekend with 4-1 and 3-1 home wins, respectively, on Friday and Sunday. It was the 10th time in the last 12 games Peoria netted three tallies in a contest. The Rivermen are ranked 20th in the ECHL in goals scored per game, averaging 2.69 goals per contest.

Christie Moves Beyond Kelly

With last Friday night's 4-1 win over the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies, Rivermen Head Coach Jason Christie has set the Rivermen All-Time ECHL/International Hockey League (IHL) Franchise Regular Season & Playoff Coaching Wins mark, surpassing former Rivermen IHL Head Coach and ECHL Commissioner Emeritus Pat Kelly at 209. The 35-year-old native of Gibbons, Alberta owns the best regular season winning percentage (.663) of any coach in Rivermen ECHL history with a record of 195-90-38.

‘Mazing McCullough

With two goals last Friday and an assist last Saturday, three-time ECHL All-Star Brian McCullough has posted his second five-game point streak in the last 12 games. Despite his team, season-high four-game, goal-scoring streak coming to an end last Sunday in a 3-1 home win over Atlantic City, McCullough added an assist on the team's first tally of the game and now has nine points (6g, 3a) and a +5 plus/minus over this five-game point streak. He has 20 points (10g, 10a) over the 12-game stretch with a +10 plus/minus. The 27-year-old native of Burr Ridge, Ill., leads the Rivermen in games played (T-35), goals (18), points (37), power play goals (4) and game-winning tallies (4).

Playing Well-ar

Rookie defenseman Patrick Wellar has been selected to replace fellow rookie backliner James Sanford, who is currently on reassignment with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League (AHL), as the Rivermen representative in the 2005 ECHL All-Star Game in Reading, Pa. on Wednesday, January 26. Wellar, just this past Sunday, potted his first professional goal and two-point (1g, 1a) game. He has five points (1g, 4a) in 31 games with 45 penalty minutes.

Extra "Special"

Peoria has scored seven power play goals in its last three contests, improving to 16.2 percent (16th in the ECHL) with the man advantage on the year. The Rivermen have killed off 23 straight opposition power plays and are killing penalties at an 86.5 efficiency clip, good for fourth in the ECHL.

Injury, Call-up & Transaction Report

· Left wing/defenseman Mark Jerant has been activated from the 7-day injured reserve, 01/21/05.

· Center Russ Guzior has been acquired from the Mississippi Sea Wolves in exchange for the rights to center John Evangelista, 01/19/05.

· Rivermen left wing David Kaczowka remains on reassignment to the Worcester IceCats, 01/15/05.

· Rivermen Captain and center Trevor Baker remains on the 7-day injured reserve, 01/12/05.

· Rivermen defenseman James Sanford remains on reassignment to the Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL), 01/03/05.

· Left wing/defenseman Mark Jerant remains on reassignment from the Worcester IceCats (AHL), 12/26/04.

· Rivermen defenseman Chad Starling remains on the 30-day injured reserve, 12/16/04.

· Rivermen rookie center Troy Riddle remains on reassignment to the Worcester IceCats (AHL), 12/01/04.

· Rivermen forward Colin Hemingway remains on the 30-day injured reserve, 11/25/04.

· Forward Colin Hemingway remains on reassignment from the Worcester IceCats (AHL) by the St. Louis Blues (NHL), 11/03/04.

Steering Our Way Through The Schedule

GAMES:

· On Friday, January 28, the Rivermen host the West Division San Diego Gulls for the first time in the team's nine-year ECHL history. Peoria beat a depleted Gulls club 5-2 on January 5 at the San Diego Sports Arena, as part of a four-city, six-game and 11-day road trip against the West Division earlier this month. San Diego (21-12-4, 46 points) has won six of its last seven games and is tied with the Fresno Falcons (21-13-4) for fourth place in the tightly-packed West Division with a game in hand. The Gulls are led by center Sylvain Deschatelets, who has 29 points (10g, 19a) in 27 games. The game broadcast can be heard LIVE on WWFS FOX Sports Radio 1290 AM and online at www.rivermen.net, beginning at 7:15 p.m. from Carver Arena. Game time is 7:30 p.m. CT.

· On Saturday, January 29, Peoria welcomes the archrival Toledo Storm to Carver Arena for the third of five meetings this season. It has been a tale of the road team in the season series through five of 11 total meetings on the year. The Rivermen have lost both home matchups with the Storm this season in regulation on November 20 (1-0) and December 17 (2-1), while Peoria is unbeaten in regulation in three meetings at the Toledo Sports Arena on October 29 (2-1 OTL), November 19 (5-2 W) and December 4 (4-3 W). Peoria owns a 56-24-6 lifetime regular season record in the ECHL against the Storm. Toledo (20-14-4, 44 points) currently occupies the fourth and final playoff spot in the North Division but has played three more games than the Rivermen. The Storm are led by left wing Sam Paolini, who has 32 points (9g, 23a) in 37 games. It is Caterpillar Night. The first 2,500 fans will receive a CD Holder, courtesy of Caterpillar. The game broadcast can be heard LIVE on WWFS FOX Sports Radio 1290 AM and online at www.rivermen.net, beginning at 7:45 p.m. from Carver Arena. Game time is 8:00 p.m. CT.

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