Rank Earns Second Straight Shutout in 3-0 Win
February 16, 2014 - SPHL (SPHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
Just two days after Kyle Rank blanked Fayetteville on Friday, the Peoria Rivermen goaltender stopped all 32 shots he faced Sunday afternoon en route to a 3-0 win over the Mississippi RiverKings at Carver Arena. The shutout was Rank's league-leading sixth of the year and extended his win streak to a season-best six games. Offensively, Parker Stanfield led the Rivermen with two goals.
With two consecutive shutouts, Rank has not allowed a goal in his last 142:30 of playing time and is now 6-0-0 with a 1.00 goals against average and a .969 save percentage in his last six games. In addition, the Rivermen extended their winning streak at home to seven games, the longest streak since Feb. 22 - Apr. 3, 2009.
Overall, Peoria improves to 23-14-4 on the season (50 points) and has now won three straight games overall. The Rivermen are also 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.
The Rivermen opened the scoring at 4:14 of the first courtesy of a power play goal from Stanfield. Just 13 seconds after Brett Valliquette was called for high sticking, Stanfield grabbed the puck at the bottom of the left circle and fired a shot from a tough angle that beat RiverKings netminder Matthew Krahn. The tally extended Stanfield's point streak to six games, while Garrett Vermeersch and Cole Ruwe each notched an assist.
Adam Feniak extended the lead at 5:46 of the second when he received a pass from Taylor Larsen during a 3-on-1 break and scored from the back post for his second of the year. Larsen and Vermeersch earned the helpers, which gave the latter his team-leading 10th multi-point game this year.
With 1:07 remaining in the third, the RiverKings pulled Krahn for an extra attacker, but just eight seconds later, Stanfield sealed the game with an empty netter at 19:01. Adam Hartley collected the only assist.
Between the pipes, Rank improved to 13-5-0, while Krahn fell to 12-7-3 after he stopped 21 shots.
The Rivermen finished the game 1-for-4 on the power play and a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. Mississippi outshot Peoria 32-24.
The Rivermen begin a three-game road trip on Friday with a 7:05 p.m. CST puck drop against the Mississippi Surge at the Mississippi Coastal Coliseum. The game can be heard locally on CD Country 107.9 FM or online here . Fans can also follow along via the live video and audio stream at www.americaonesports.com .
SPHL Stories from February 16, 2014
- IceGators Squeak by Pensacola in Shootout - Louisiana IceGators
- Rank Earns Second Straight Shutout in 3-0 Win - Peoria Rivermen
- RiverKings Fall in Road Trip Finale - Mississippi RiverKings
- Thunder Score Four Straight to Topple FireAntz in OT - Bloomington Thunder
- Surge Drop Two on Weekend Road Trip - Mississippi Surge
- Ice Bears Electrify Crowd with 2-1 Win - Knoxville Ice Bears
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
