Rivermen Capture Defensive Victory
March 6, 2015 - SPHL (SPHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
PEORIA - The Peoria Rivermen extended their Southern Professional Hockey League back to nine points while holding the Mississippi RiverKings to one shot in the final period in a 3-1 victory on Friday night at Carver Arena.
The defensive affair saw its first scoring 10:49 into the second period when Mike Gurtler converted a thread-the-needle back-door feed from Ryan Raven at the right post. The RiverKings found the equalizer with 17:30 remaining in the middle chapter on a 5-on-3 power play with a back-door feed of their own from Leo Thomas to Matt Whitehead for a 1-1 second intermission score.
The Rivermen took a 2-1 lead on a 2-on-1 break completed by Josh Harris from Raven also assisted by Ben Oskroba 4:40 into the final period. Another odd-man rush gave Peoria a 3-1 lead when Raven wristed from the right circle assisted by Harris with 3:26 remaining.
Kyle Rank stopped 14 of the 15 shots he faced for the win while Peter Di Salvo took his first loss against the Rivermen while making 38 saves. Mississippi was 1-for-5 on power plays while the Rivermen were scoreless on four opportunities.
The Rivermen host the RiverKings Saturday in the Carver Arena regular season finale. Face-off is 7:05 p.m. with pre-game at 6:45 on 93.7 FM inside the arena and online at www.rivermen.net as well as via subscription video at SPHLLive.com. CEFCU Fan Fest features $8 upper bowl seats and an autograph session with the Rivermen on the concourse after the game.
Single game tickets for Peoria's 33rd season of professional hockey are on sale weekdays at the Peoria Civic Center. Season ticket packages and group ticket options for the 2015-16 campaign are on sale now through the Rivermen office, located at 201 S.W. Jefferson Street, or over the phone at (309) 676-1040. For the latest Rivermen news and notes, follow online at www.rivermen.net or through Facebook ( www.facebook.com/PeoriaRivermen) and Twitter ( https://twitter.com/Peoria_Rivermen).
SPHL Stories from March 6, 2015
- Third Period Pushes Rivermen Past RiverKings, 3-1 - Mississippi RiverKings
- Ice Bears Power Past FireAntz 5-3 - Knoxville Ice Bears
- Havoc Stun IceGators 7-1 - Louisiana IceGators
- Rivermen Capture Defensive Victory - 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.
