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February 12, 2007 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


WEEK 19 - RIVERMEN ACTION (2-0-1-0)

Sunday, February 11, RIVERMEN 1 vs. San Antonio 2 Overtime: It had been 38 days since the Peoria Rivermen needed an extra period to finish a game, and they were unable to come away victorious as they lost to the San Antonio Rampage 2-1 in front of 3,365 Sunday afternoon at Carver Arena. The loss came despite outshooting San Antonio 32-13; ironically, the Rivermen only win 50 percent of their games when outshooting the opponent (15-14-1-0). In 16 all-time games (13-1-1-1) against the Rampage, Peoria has only lost three times (once in regulation, once in a shootout and Sunday's game in overtime). Although the Rivermen (25-19-2-2, 54 pts) failed to score on a 1:19 two-man advantage midway into the opening period, they tallied the first goal later at 16:44. Left wing Cam Keith controlled the puck along the left-wing corner boards and just before being checked, centered a backhanded pass into the slot. Center Gavin Morgan was streaking down the right side of the slot and one-timed a shot that snuck just inside the right post before the Rampage goaltender David LeNeveu could slide over to block the shot. It was Morgan's second marker of the year. San Antonio (22-28-1-3, 48 pts) evened the contest 1-1 on center Yanick Lehoux's team-leading 23rd goal of the season at 6:36 of the middle period. Lehoux took a pass from center Pascal Rheaume in the neutral zone then sprinted down the right-wing boards. Once he reached the top of the right face-off circle, Lehoux quickly stopped and wristed a shot that sailed over the right shoulder of Rivermen netminder Jason Bacashihua. After a scoreless third period, the Rampage ended the game 1:27 into the extra frame. Defenseman Keith Yandle, who was near the right point, made a beautiful side-step, toe-drag move to clear some space around a Rivermen defenseman. Yandle fired a pass to the goalmouth, where center Jeff Taffe was there to tip the puck past the right arm of Bacashihua for his 17th goal of the year.

Saturday, February 10, RIVERMEN 4 vs. Houston 3: The Peoria Rivermen traded goals all night with the Houston Aeros and then took their first lead of the game on a power play goal with 1:12 remaining to win 4-3 in front of 5,076 at Carver Arena Saturday night. After tonight's victory, Peoria (25-19-1-2, 53 pts) owns a record of 13-5-1-2 in one-goal games. Houston, who has played a franchise-record nine straight one-goal games, fell to 8-10-3-5 in one-goal contests. The Aeros (20-24-3-5, 48 pts), who have lost seven straight road games (0-4-2-1), opened the scoring at 8:54 of the first frame on left wing Ryan Hamilton's sixth goal of the season. From behind the net, center Jason Morgan held the puck until he saw Hamilton streaking through the left circle. Hamilton one-timed the pass just inside the left post and past Peoria netminder Jason Bacashihua, who was sliding to his right in an attempt to stop the puck. Just under two minutes later, at 10:50 of the opening stanza, Peoria evened the contest 1-1. Center Gavin Morgan dished the puck from the left point down to the left-wing corner for left wing D.J. King, who attempted a wrap-around, but King was unable to put it on net as it slid through the crease. Luckily, left wing Cam Keith was in the right spot just to the left of Houston goalie Dieter Kochan for an easy tap-in and his fourth tally of the year. Houston responded to make the game 2-1 on Morgan's sixth marker of the 2006-07 campaign at 13:44 of the first period. Right wing Matt Foy was skating to his right through the right face-off circle and slid a shot on net that was tipped by a Rivermen defenseman and stopped by Bacashihua; however, the puck sat in the crease and Morgan skated in from the slot and poked it into the vacated net. The Rivermen again tied the game on right wing Jon DiSalvatore's 13th goal of the year at 7:14 of the middle period in a 4-on-4 situation. DiSalvatore flew toward the Aeros net through the slot and tried to lift a shot above the pads of Kochan, who fell to the ice to cover the low shot. Kochan denied the initial opportunity. Center Trent Whitfield hacked at the puck but was also stopped by the goalie, before finally DiSalvatore was able to jam it into the net. The goal was his eighth point (3g, 5a) in his last six games. The Aeros regained the lead for the third time with a power play goal at 10:04 of the second session. Defenseman Shawn Belle wound-up at the center point as if he were going to shoot, but then fired a pass to Foy just to the left of Bacashihua, who committed to the shot at the top of the crease. Foy was able to sneak the puck between the left post and Bacashihua's right skate for his team-leading 21st marker of the year. Peoria tied the game 3-3 on left wing Michal Birner's sixth tally of the season at 9:50 of the final frame. Center Yan Stastny forced a Houston player to make a bad pass from behind the net to the bottom of the right face-off circle, where Birner snapped a shot that deflected off the right post and into the net. The Rivermen took their first lead of the game with a goal on the man advantage at 18:48 of the last period. Center Ryan Ramsay started the play at the top of the right face-off circle, where he fired a pass cross-ice to the left face-off circle for Tomas Mojzis, who quickly dished it to the right of the Houston net for Birner. He easily slammed it into the net for his second goal of the period and seventh overall. It was his first professional two-goal contest. Houston had a chance to send the contest into overtime as right wing Danny Irmen earned a penalty shot with 2.2 seconds remaining. Irmen started off left then veered to the right in the slot, attempting to send a backhanded shot through the legs of Bacashihua, but Irmen was stoned to seal the victory for the Rivermen. The Rivermen, who improved to 15-11-0-0 at home, will continue their four-game home stand against the San Antonio Rampage tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 p.m.

Wednesday, February 7, RIVERMEN 3 vs. San Antonio 2: Heading into tonight's contest, the Peoria Rivermen had averaged only two goals per game in the past ten tilts, but three is the key as the Rivermen tallied three goals on the man-advantage en route to a 3-2 victory over the San Antonio Rampage in front of 3,184 on Wednesday night at Carver Arena. The Rivermen are 22-4-0-0 when they score three or more goals in a game this season. Peoria (24-19-1-2, 51 pts) began the scoring on a power play tally at 6:04 of the opening session. Once he regained his balance after attempting to split two Rampage defenders, right wing Mike Glumac fired a shot from just to the right of the slot that was initially stopped by San Antonio netminder Josh Tordjman. The rebound landed in the slot, where center Trent Whitfield tried to flip the puck over the pad of Tordjman, but again Peoria was denied. Finally, on the third chance, center Yan Stastny deposited the puck into the net from just to the right of the slot for his sixth marker of the year. The Rivermen notched another goal on the man-advantage at 12:56 of the first frame. From the right point, left wing Jon DiSalvatore blasted a shot that was denied by Tordjman. The rebound fell just in front of the crease, and before Tordjman could freeze the puck, Whitfield, while skating from left to right, snatched it and slid it around the left leg of the goalie. It was Whitfield's 19th tally of the season. San Antonio cut the deficit in half at 17:12 of the first period on center Tyler Redenbach's sixth marker of the year. Center Chris Ferraro controlled the puck in the right wing corner, where he dished it off to the slot for a wide-open Redenbach, who launched a shot that flew just over the right shoulder of Rivermen goaltender Marek Schwarz, who stopped 33 shots in the victory. Just before the second stanza ended, at 19:48, Peoria registered its third goal with a man-advantage. From the right-wing corner, Whitfield flung the puck through the crease to DiSalvatore, who tried to jam it underneath the right pad of Tordjman. Stastny saw that the puck snuck behind Tordjman but not quite across the line, and Stastny skated in from the bottom of the right face-off circle to push it past the goal line for his second marker of the contest and seventh overall. The Rampage added a goal at 13:29 of the final period. Defenseman Keith Yandle flew down the left-wing boards and once he reached the top of the left face-off circle, sent a low shot that slipped just inside the right post. The goal was Yandle's fourth goal of the season. With just under five minutes remaining in the game, Schwarz left the ice and headed to the locker room in place of goalie Jason Bacashihua, who was able to secure the victory.

BEST AND WORST AGAINST THE WEST

It is feast or famine for the Peoria Rivermen when it comes to taking on their fellow West Division opponents. Against the San Antonio Rampage (4-1-1-0), the Iowa Stars (5-2-0-0), the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights (5-0-0-0) and the Houston Aeros (3-1-0-0), the Rivermen are a combined 17-4-1-0. Against the Chicago Wolves (1-4-0-1) and the Milwaukee Admirals (1-3-1-0), Peoria is 2-7-1-1 this year.

TWO TOO FEW

In games in which it scores two goals or less, Peoria is 2-16-1-2 for a 16.7 percent point-making percentage. In games in which they score three tallies or more, which has happened in two of Peoria's three contests last week, the Rivermen are 23-4-0-0 for an 85.2 percent point-making percentage.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT ONE-GOAL GAMES?

After notching one-goal game wins on Wednesday and Saturday this past week, the Rivermen dropped their third one-goal game in the last six contests, all of which have been decided by one goal, with a 2-1 overtime loss to San Antonio this past Sunday to drop to 13-6-1-2 in such scenarios.

HERE WE GO WITH HARRIED HOCKEY

After completing a stretch of six games in 22 days (which excludes a postponed February 3 game in Grand Rapids), the Rivermen are now in the midst of nine games over 17 days to finish February. Peoria plays a season-high, er season-worst, 18 games in the month of March, before finishing the month of April with eight games over 15 days.

RECENT RIVERMEN TRANSACTIONS

February 9, 2007 G Chris Beckford-Tseu reassigned from the Alaska Aces (ECHL) by the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

February 1, 2007 D Jamie Rivers loaned from the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

January 31, 2007 LW D.J. King returned on loan from the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

January 31, 2007 LW Peter Sejna recalled from loan by the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

January 30, 2007 LW Peter Sejna returned on loan from the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

January 29, 2007 D Jeff Woywitka recalled from loan by the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

January 26, 2007 LW D.J. King recalled from loan by the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

January 25, 2007 LW Peter Sejna recalled from loan by the St. Louis Blues (NHL) under emergency conditions.

RIVERMEN PROMOTIONS THIS WEEK

Wednesday, February 14

- Nesquik Wacky Wednesday - Receive a Buy One, Get One Upper Bowl Ticket Free offer by presenting a Nesquik cap or UPC at the Carver Arena Box Office

- U.S. Cellular 25 Greatest Rivermen of All-Time continues with Nelson Emerson cards to the first 2,500 fans

- "Weddings on Ice" - presented by Eastport Banquet & Meeting Center, Jenerations Salon & Spa and Ducky's Formal Wear

Sunday, February 18

- Insight Family Day - four (4) tickets, four (4) hot dogs, four (4) Cokes & four (4) bags of Kitchen Cooked chips for JUST $38 (a $70 value!)

- U.S. Cellular 25 Greatest Rivermen of All-Time continues with Tony Curtale cards to the first 2,500 fans; Curtale will appear and sign autographs

Radio: The Rivermen will be broadcast LIVE on Wednesday, February 14; Friday, February 16; and Saturday, February 17; and JOIN-IN-PROGRESS on Sunday, February 18 on Classic Country 1290 AM (WIRL-AM), the flagship radio station of the Rivermen.

Internet Audio: LIVE streaming audio of all Rivermen games is available for no charge at www.rivermen.net.

Internet Video: LIVE streaming video with the accompanying audio feed is available at www.rivermen.net through the facilities of the b2 networks. The video Web cast of each game is available for a pay-per-view fee of $6.

SCOUTING THE RAMPAGE

National Hockey League Parent Club: Phoenix Coyotes

Record Entering This Week: 22-28-1-3

Standings Points (Relative to Rivermen): 48 (-6)

Western Conference Standing: T-10th Place

West Division Standing: 7th Place

Rivermen Record vs. Rampage: 4-1-1-0

Leading Scorer: C Yanick Lehoux (52 GP, 23 G, 32 A, 55 PTS)

Number-1 Goaltender: David LeNeveu (24 GP, 8-13-2, 3.19 GAA, .902 SV PCT., 1 SO)

AHL Power-play Ranking Entering This Week: T-14th (17.3%)

AHL Penalty-kill Ranking Entering This Week: 15th (82.5%)

SCOUTING THE ADMIRALS

National Hockey League Parent Club: Nashville Predators

Record Entering This Week: 26-19-3-6

Standings Points (Relative to Rivermen): 61 (+7)

Western Conference Standing: T-5th Place

West Division Standing: 3rd Place

Rivermen Record vs. Admirals: 1-3-1-0

Leading Scorer: C Rich Peverley (54 GP, 24 G, 33 A, 57 PTS)

Number-1 Goaltender: Karl Goehring (38 GP, 19-13-4, 2.72 GAA, .906 SV PCT., 1 SO)

AHL Power-play Ranking Entering This Week: 16th (16.5%)

AHL Penalty-kill Ranking Entering This Week: 3rd (86.0%)

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS

National Hockey League Parent Club: Calgary Flames

Record Entering This Week: 30-16-3-1

Standings Points (Relative to Rivermen): 64 (+10)

Western Conference Standing: 4th Place

West Division Standing: 2nd Place

Rivermen Record vs. Knights: 5-0-0-0

Leading Scorer: C Andrei Taratukhin (50 GP, 14 G, 26 A, 40 PTS)

Number-1 Goaltender: Curtis McElhinney (35 GP, 21-10-1, 2.22 GAA, .915 SV PCT., 4 SO)

AHL Power-play Ranking Entering This Week: 27th (13.8%)

AHL Penalty-kill Ranking Entering This Week: 5th (85.7%)

SCOUTING THE GRIFFINS

National Hockey League Parent Club: Detroit Red Wings

Record Entering This Week: 24-20-4-2

Standings Points (Relative to Rivermen): 54 (-)

Western Conference Standing: T-7th Place

North Division Standing: 6th Place

Rivermen Record vs. Griffins: 3-2-0-0

Leading Scorer: C Kip Miller (50 GP, 16 G, 37 A, 53 PTS)

Number-1 Goaltender: Jimmy Howard (30 GP, 14-12-1, 2.79 GAA, .907 SV PCT., 3 SO)

AHL Power-play Ranking Entering This Week: 26th (13.9%)

AHL Penalty-kill Ranking Entering This Week: 10th (83.4%)

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