ECHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Come Back Late But Still Fall to Reading 3-2 at Home

Published on November 26, 2004 under ECHL (ECHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


Peoria, Ill. - The Peoria Rivermen scored two goals in the final 10 minutes of regulation but it was not enough to overcome the Reading Royals in a 3-2 loss in front of 4,981 on Friday night at Carver Arena.

Peoria started its comeback on the power play with 7:25 remaining in regulation. Captain Trevor Baker was stopped just off the right goal post by Royals rookie netminder Barry Brust, but rookie Justin Maiser walked into the right face-off circle and rifled his fourth of the season into the upper left corner.

With 2:23 left in the game and their rookie goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu pulled, the Rivermen got within one goal on rookie defenseman James Sanford's first professional goal. Sanford sneaked in from the left point, collecting a Trevor Johnson rebound off a right point shot and chipped the puck in from just off the left goal post.

Peoria nearly tied it with one second left on the clock and its goaltender still on the bench. Trevor Baker corralled a rebound off the right goal post and tried to roof it over Brust, but Baker didn't lift it enough, putting it right into Brust's glove and sealing the outcome.

Peoria (3-8-2, 8 points) has lost three in a row and seven of its last eight games in regulation. The Rivermen, who have been held to two goals or less in six of their last seven games, dropped to 2-4-1 at home and 0-3-0 against the Royals this season. Reading (9-5-0, 18 points) has won a franchise-record nine in a row after opening the season with five straight regulation losses.

Beckford-Tseu (1-5-1) turned aside 31 of 34 chances in the defeat, his fifth in a row in regulation. Brust stopped 32 of 34 shots for his fifth win (5-1-0) of the season in seven appearances.

Despite carrying much of the play in the opening period, outshooting Reading 9-7 and killing off nearly seven minutes in penalties, the Rivermen found themselves down 1-0 after one, allowing a Reading power play goal with 23 seconds left before the intermission and five seconds left in a double minor to Igor Valeev. Jeff Miles broke into the Peoria zone down the left side with a defender draped all over him and snapped a low shot just inside the right goal post past Beckford-Tseu for his fifth tally of the season.

Reading pushed its lead to 2-0 with its second power play goal of the game at 7:40 of the middle period. Cail MacLean worked a give-and-go with Ryan Kinasewich from the right face-off circle. MacLean, at the top of the circle, snapped a quick pass to Kinasewich, who was stationed along the endboards and gave the puck right back to MacLean for a one-time slap shot goal from the right side of the slot. It was MacLean's second tally of the year.

The Royals made it 3-0 with their ECHL-leading sixth shorthanded goal of the season with 2:33 left in the second. Jeff Miles batted the puck past Patrick Wellar at the right point in the Reading zone, darted through neutral ice and into the Rivermen zone. Miles was tugged at by a Peoria defender but got away and worked to the right side of the goal, where Beckford-Tseu closed down on him. Miles was able to slip the puck behind Beckford-Tseu and back out front for Graig Mischler, who chipped the puck into the open net for his third goal of the season.

Tomorrow night - Saturday, November 27, the Rivermen travel to Dayton, Ohio to face off against the Bombers. Game time is 6:00 p.m. CT at the Nutter Center.

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ECHL Stories from November 26, 2004


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