Peoria Secures Second Place In Loss to Rockford
April 10, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
ROCKFORD, Ill. (April 10, 2009) - The Peoria Rivermen suffered their second consecutive 2-1 shootout loss Friday night - this time, at the hands of the Rockford IceHogs. But by reaching overtime, the Rivermen snagged their 90th point, clinched second place in the West Division and secured home ice in the first round of the playoffs.
Rockford (86 points) also benefited merely by reaching sudden death. The IceHogs secured a playoff spot in front of a regular season record 5,983 fans at Rockford MetroCentre. Houston's overtime loss to San Antonio also clinched the Aeros a playoff spot.
The sellout crowd did not witness any goals in Friday's first period, but there was plenty of action. Rockford goalie Corey Crawford made 11 saves, two of which came on a two-on-one shorthanded break by Trent Whitfield and Jonathan Filewich. Crawford made the initial save on Filewich's snapper and then collected the quick rebound shot attempt by Whitfield. Crawford made 32 saves on the night.
As the opening frame came to an end, Yan Stastny lowered a shoulder and popped Pascal Pelletier near the IceHog blue line at the 19:13 mark. Both men fell to the ice, but Rockford defenseman Logan Stephenson pounced on Stastny and began delivering some blows in support of his fellow IceHog. Stastny was tagged with four penalty minutes: two for charging and two for roughing. Stephenson racked up two minutes for roughing and a 10-minute misconduct.
Rockford took a 1-0 lead on the power play at the 13:06 mark in the second period when Pete MacArthur backhanded a puck from point-blank range just outside of the crease. MacArthur's goal game 41 seconds into Rockford's fourth power play of the contest.
The Rivermen finally bested Crawford with 50 seconds remaining in the middle period. The IceHog goalie had just killed off a Peoria 5-on-3 power play, but Rockford received another penalty for too many men on the ice with just over a minute to go in the period. It was Stastny at Rockford's goal line who hit Justin Fletcher with a pass at the top of the crease where the Peoria defenseman slid the puck to his backhand and flipped towards the net. Aaron Palushaj got a piece of it on the way in and was given credit for the first goal of his professional career.
The rest of regulation was a dogfight. Danny Richmond was the only Rivermen to score in the shootout, while Akim Aliu and Evan Brophey bested Chris Holt to grab the shootout victory.
Peoria ended the year 6-3-0-1 against Rockford, but there's a chance these two teams will meet again in the first round of the playoffs.
The Rivermen's parent club, the St. Louis Blues, clinched a playoff spot Friday night. The Blues defeated the Blue Jackets and Nashville lost to Minnesota so St. Louis is back in the postseason for the first time since 2003-2004. The last time the Blues and their AAA minor league affiliate both qualified for the playoffs in the same year was also that season when the Worcester Icecats made the postseason.
Peoria has now gone nine consecutive games without suffering a regulation loss.
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American Hockey League Stories from April 10, 2009
- IceHogs playoff bound with shootout win - Rockford IceHogs
- Aeros earn playoff spot despite 3-2 overtime loss to San Antonio - Houston Aeros
- Peoria Secures Second Place In Loss to Rockford - Peoria Rivermen
- No Problems in Houston, Rampage win 6th Straight - San Antonio Rampage
- Griffins Fall 3-2 as Hamilton Clinches Home-Ice Advantage - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Marlies Clinch Playoff Spot and Announce Dates For Round 1 - Toronto Marlies
- Flames top Chops in shootout - Abbotsford Heat
- Sellout Crowd Witnesses 5-2 Win Over Hershey - Adirondack Phantoms
- Devils Shoot Down Wolf Pack, 3-2 - Albany Devils
- Sound Tigers in a tie for 1st place in the Eastern Conference - Bridgeport Islanders
- Phantoms Playoff Tickets Are On Sale - Adirondack Phantoms
- Bulldogs clinch second place with 3-2 win - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Wolf Pack drop decision Lowell in shootout - Connecticut Whale
- Segal's Hat Trick Paces Admirals Past Senators - Norfolk Admirals
- Crunch Playoff Hopes Dashed in Rochester - Syracuse Crunch
- Sharks Win Streak Ends In 3-1 Loss To Manchester - Worcester Sharks
- Marlies clip Moose in OT - Manitoba Moose
- Pirates Playoff Bound, Beat Bruins 6-5 - Portland Pirates
- Important Win Not Enough - Manchester Monarchs
- Penguins Discard River Rats 4-2 - Albany River Rats
- P-Bruins Fall To Pirates 6-5 - Providence Bruins
- D Geoff Kinrade Returns to Admirals - Norfolk Admirals
- Blues Assign Alex Pietrangelo to Peoria - Peoria Rivermen
- Hurricanes' First Round Draft Pick Zach Boychuk Heads To Albany - Albany River Rats
- Lehtonen Recalled By Boston - Providence Bruins
- Griffins Sign Notre Dame Netminder Jordan Pearce to Tryout - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Marlies Fan Appreciation and Team Awards Night on Saturday - Toronto Marlies
- Wilson Returns To Finish Season With Wolves - Chicago Wolves
- Aeros host Rampage tonight, just two home games left - Houston Aeros
- Alexandre Giroux named 2008-09 AHL Most Valuable Player - Hershey Bears
- Hershey's Alexandre Giroux named AHL's Most Valuable Player - AHL
- AHL Morning Skate - AHL
- Blackhawks First Round Pick Signs In Rockford - Iowa Chops
- Final Bacon Bits To Debut On Mystateline.com Saturday - Iowa Chops
- Hogs Host Peoria - Iowa Chops
- Amerks Close Out Home Slate Tonight Against Syracuse - Rochester Americans
- Due to overwhelming response, second Town Hall Meeting scheduled - Abbotsford Heat
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