Peoria "Spirits" Edge Out Knoxville 7-5 on Rebrand Night
Published on February 28, 2025 under SPHL (SPHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
PEORIA, IL - On their annual Rebrand Night, the Peoria Spirits edged out the Knoxville Ice Bears by a score of 7-5 at Carver Arena on Friday night. The rebrand follows the spirit of honoring Peoria's rich past while blending it with a modern flair. The Peoria Spirits draw their name from a term used to describe distilled alcohol and Peoria's importance in the distilling industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Peoria struck first as newcomer Nathan Adrian swatted at the puck in the slot and saw it deflect up and off the goaltender Stephen Mundinger and into the net for Adrian's first-ever professional goal. The Spirit killed off almost seven consecutive minutes of penalty time to hold on to their 1-0 lead but saw it stripped away in the last minute while even strength.
Coming into the second period tied 1-1, Knoxville netted a go-ahead goal off a quick shot in the high slot to take a 2-1 lead, but the Spirits were quick to answer. Just over a minute later Carson Baptiste received a pass from the left-wing corner and one-timed the pass into the back of the net to tie the game up 2-2. Though Knoxville answered back to take the lead off an odd-man rush, Peoria unleashed three unanswered goals to close the period. The first came off the stick of Garrett Devine as he buried a rebound from right in front of the net to tie the game 3-3. Two minutes later Jordan Gagnon Rifled home a shot from the slot after a nifty pass from newcomer Laudon Poellinger to extend Peoria's lead to 4-3. JM Piotrowski capped off the second period scoring after burying a deflected shot from Daniel Chartrand that came back to the crease area after it bounced off the end-boards.
Knoxville pulled within one just under four minutes into the third period and Peoria was forced to kill off several more penalties against. Carson Baptiste netted the game's eventual winner after he sent a shot from his blue line down into the empty Knoxville net with just about a minute and a half to play. Though the Ice Bears netted a goal late in the game, it was too little too late as Jordan Gagnon added on an empty-net-goal of his own to secure a 7-5 victory.
The win for the Spirits marked the fourth consecutive month that Peoria has won seven games and also marked the 11th consecutive loss of the season for the Knoxville Ice Bears. Peoria will be back in action on Saturday night as they take on the Knoxville Ice Bears at Carver Arena at 7:15 pm.
SPHL Stories from February 28, 2025
- Ice Bears Drop High-Scoring Affair in Peoria - Knoxville Ice Bears
- Ice Bears Drop High-Scoring Affair in Peoria - Knoxville Ice Bears
- Peoria "Spirits" Edge Out Knoxville 7-5 on Rebrand Night - Peoria Rivermen
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