Rivermen down Admirals, 4-3, in shootout
February 19, 2006 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
Peoria, IL (February 19, 2006) - On Sunday evening at Carver Arena, the Peoria Rivermen defeated the Milwaukee Admirals 4-3 in a shootout to cap off an entire weekend of winning. The 2005-06 American Hockey League (AHL) schedule had the Rivermen playing every day this past weekend, from Friday through Sunday, and Peoria's shootout win on Sunday gave the team three wins in those three days. Although some people might say "A win is a win is a win," the three Rivermen wins this weekend were, in fact, different.
This past weekend, the Rivermen won three games in three different ways. The Rivermen started off their weekend schedule with a conventional win in regulation, beating the San Antonio Rampage 3-2 on Friday night at Carver Arena. Peoria center Trent Whitfield led the way with one goal and one assist, and Reinhard Divis backstopped the team to the triumph with 19 saves. On Saturday afternoon in Milwaukee, the Rivermen prevailed again, but this time they did so in overtime by the score of 4-3 against the Milwaukee Admirals. Whitfield powered the Peoria offense once again, scoring a goal and adding two assists, while right wings Jon DiSalvatore and Mike Glumac both recorded one goal and one assist. Chris Beckford-Tseu got the call in goal for the Rivermen, and he came up big with 31 saves on 34 shots. In Sunday's re-match of the Rivermen and the Admirals at Carver Arena, the Peoria squad came away with yet another type of triumph, a shootout win. DiSalvatore and left wing Charles Linglet were the heroes of the shootout, as DiSalvatore kept the team alive by converting its fifth and final regular shootout try, and Linglet clinched the win by burying Peoria's first sudden-death shootout attempt. Divis did his part with 34 saves in regulation and overtime and then four stops on six shootout attempts. Each of the three Rivermen wins over the weekend came in a different fashion: one in regulation, another in overtime, and a third in a shootout.
In the wake of their winning weekend, the Rivermen presently stand 31-19-1-2 overall. At home, the Peoria club is 18-8-0-1. The Admirals, on the other hand, are now 35-14-5-2 on the year and 15-9-3-2 on the road.
The Admirals took the first lead of this contest on a first-period power play. From above the right circle in the Peoria zone, Milwaukee left wing Scottie Upshall got off a powerful snap shot that met the stick of center Simon Gamache in the slot and deflected up over the left shoulder of Divis and into the top right corner of the goal. The power-play goal at 15:06 of the first gave Milwaukee a 1-0 advantage and Gamache a season goal total of eight.
After the second period began, Milwaukee wasted little time in extending its lead. On a nice give-and-go play with center Kris Beech, Admirals winger Jordin Tootoo ended up with the puck at the bottom of the right circle in the Rivermen zone and beat Divis with a low shot inside the right post to light the lamp at the 1:56 mark of the middle frame. Tootoo's 12th goal of 2005-06 gave Milwaukee a 2-0 lead.
About five minutes later, the Rivermen pared the Admirals' advantage down to one goal. Collecting the puck in the right corner of the Milwaukee end during a Peoria power play, Linglet held it, looking to pass. With his passing lanes cut off, Linglet walked out to the bottom rim of the right circle, wheeled, and sent a precise wrist shot right over the blocker of Admirals goalie Pekka Rinne to make the score 2-1 in favor of Milwaukee at 7:05 of the second. The power-play marker pushed Linglet's goal total to 11.
The Rivermen were able to even things up at 2-2 later in the second session. On a shot from the right wing in the Milwaukee end by Peoria center Trent Whitfield, Rinne made the initial save but left a rebound headed into the slot. There, Rivermen forward Troy Riddle collected the puck behind an Admirals defender and shot it past a surprised Rinne for his 11th marker of the year at the 13:16 mark of the middle period.
The two teams traded goals in the third period. Peoria's came first at the 12:29 mark, as Rivermen centerman Blake Evans got the puck behind and to the right of the Milwaukee goal and passed it out front to right wing Brendan Brooks. Receiving the puck straight in front of the Admirals goal with his left skate, Brooks settled it before quickly firing it past Rinne's right, stick-side arm to put Peoria up 3-2 on his 11th tally of the season.
The Admirals' third-period goal deadlocked the contest at 3-3. After a Milwaukee skater threw the puck at the Peoria net, a scrum developed right in front of Divis. The puck then bounced free from the melee and into the slot, where pinching Admirals defenseman Greg Zanon came in from the right point and whacked home his eighth goal of 2005-06 at 16:07 of the third.
The Rivermen will now take Monday off before hosting the San Antonio Rampage this coming Tuesday and traveling to play the Chicago Wolves on Wednesday.
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American Hockey League Stories from February 19, 2006
- Rivermen down Admirals, 4-3, in shootout - Peoria Rivermen
- Campbell scores twice and adds assist in Phantoms loss - Adirondack Phantoms
- Hamilton upends Knights, 3-2 - Abbotsford Heat
- Barons end drought with win at Rochester, 4-2 - Cleveland Barons
- Monarchs score three goals In shootout for 5-4 victory - Manchester Monarchs
- P-Bruins defeat Penguins 8-3 - Providence Bruins
- Syracuse wins 5-2 in Binghamton - Binghamton Senators
- Bears take care of Wolves 3-1 Sunday - Hershey Bears
- Monsters take down Falcons, 4-1 - Albany Devils
- Winchester leads 'Dogs to victory - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Sound Tigers scratch out win over Admirals - Norfolk Admirals
- Sound Tigers beat Admirals 6-3 - Bridgeport Islanders
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