Rivermen Battle Back for Another OT Triumph
January 30, 2015 - SPHL (SPHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
LAFAYETTE, La. - The Peoria Rivermen gave up a three-goal lead but captured a 4-3 overtime win for the second straight night over the Louisiana IceGators on Friday night at the Cajundome.
After a scoreless first period, the Rivermen struck first as Garrett Vermeersch connected into the top right corner from the left circle on a 5-on-3 power play on assists from Christian Weidauer and Jake Trask 4:12 into the second period. Vermeersch completed a 2-on-1 break with Steve Morra 4:04 later to put the Rivermen ahead 2-0. Morra pounded a rebound home from the right circle assisted by Josh Harris after a Louisiana turnover to give Peoria a 3-0 lead with 6:03 left before the second intermission. The IceGators finally tallied with 1:26 remaining in the middle chapter on a Chris Wilson power play goal to cut the Rivermen lead to 3-1 at the intermission.
The IceGators cut their deficit to 3-2 4:27 into the final stanza off a Rivermen turnover at center ice converted by Bret Peppler from the right circle. The hosts tied the game with only 2:19 left in regulation on a backdoor feed at the left doorstep to Wilson.
The game-winner came at 2:47 of overtime as Josh Harris converted feeds from Alec Hagaman and Jordan Sims and scored from the right circle for his second game-winning goal.
Kyle Rank earned the win with 17 saves while Marco DiFilippo suffered the overtime loss while making 30 saves. On power plays, the Rivermen were 1-for-5 while the IceGators were 1-for-6.
The Rivermen (21-11-3, 45 points) remain in second place by one point behind Knoxville. The IceGators (18-11-6, 42 points) stay in third place in the Southern Professional Hockey League. The contest was the fourth straight overtime game between the clubs with the Rivermen taking the second point in three of them.
The Rivermen conclude the road trip with a quick trip to the Florida panhandle to face the defending champion Pensacola Ice Flyers for the final time in the regular season. Pre-game on SPHLLive.com subscription video and www.rivermen.net is at 6:45 p.m. with face-off at 7:05. The Rivermen return home to face the Huntsville Havoc on Friday, Saturday and Sunday next weekend.
SPHL Stories from January 30, 2015
- RiverKings Soar Past Ice Flyers 6-2 - Mississippi RiverKings
- Rivermen Down IceGators in OT Again - Louisiana IceGators
- Rivermen Battle Back for Another OT Triumph - Peoria Rivermen
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.
