Rivermen Edge Hamilton 3-2 at Home on New Year's Eve
December 31, 2006 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
Peoria, IL (December 31, 2006) - For the second straight game against the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Peoria Rivermen used three power-play goals to skate to victory, winning 3-2 in front of a New Year's Eve crowd of 3,604 on Sunday evening at Carver Arena.
The Rivermen were 3-for-6 on the power play in this game and 3-for-5 on the man advantage in a 4-2 road win in Hamilton on October 21. And for the second time this week, the Rivermen were on the winning end of a game that featured all power-play goals. On Tuesday in Grand Rapids, Peoria won a 4-3 contest by going 4-for-9 with the man advantage.
Peoria improved to 12-0-0-1 when leading after two periods this season and pushed its record to 17-4-0-0 when scoring three or more tallies in a contest.
The Rivermen (18-12-1-2, 39 pts), who finished their five-games-in-six-nights streak with six points out of a possible 10, opened the scoring on the power play midway through the opening session. Defenseman Stephen Wood rifled a snap shot from the high slot that whistled just wide right of the Hamilton goal. The rebound popped off the end boards to center Trent Whitfield, who played a backhand bank shot in off the stomach of a down and prone Bulldogs goaltender Jaroslav Halak. It was Whitfield's 16th goal of the season and came at 9:14 of the first.
Halak (11-7-0), the American Hockey League's leading netminder, turned away 32 of 35 chances in the loss.
The Bulldogs (21-13-1-1, 44 pts) equalized with a power play goal of their own just less than four minutes later. Defenseman Mathieu Roy, stationed at the center point, took a pass from center Mikhail Grabovski and slapped a low shot on net that Rivermen goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu stopped with his right pad. The rebound, though, landed just off the left post for uncovered right wing Duncan Milroy, who popped the puck over Beckford-Tseu into the net at 13:12. It was Milroy's 15th tally of the year.
Beckford-Tseu (4-3-1), who started his second straight game, stopped 30 shots in the win.
Peoria potted another power-play marker at 7:34 of the second stanza for a 2-1 lead on left wing Jon DiSalvatore's ninth goal of the season and third in the last two games. At the bottom of the right face-off circle, Whitfield snapped a centering pass to the top of the goal crease, where DiSalvatore swooped in, laid his stick out and deflected the puck up under the crossbar.
Whitfield had a hand in all three Rivermen tallies to extend his point streak to seven games with 13 points (5g, 8a).
The Rivermen extended their advantage to two goals with another power-play marker a little more than five minutes later. Peoria quickly moved the puck from the left side of the zone to the right face-off circle, where left wing Peter Sejna howitzer-ed a puck inside the right post past an out-of-position Halak at 12:42 of the second. It was Sejna's 11th tally of the season. He extended his team, season-best point streak to nine games with 17 points (7g, 10a).
The Bulldogs got back within one 1:45 later on a 5-on-3 power play. Center Corey Locke, stationed at the right goal post, took a goal-mouth feed from Milroy, who was just off to the left of the goal, and snapped home his 10th of the year to make it 3-2 at 14:27 of the second.
It was all the closer Hamilton would get as they failed to score with the extra attacker in the final 1:10 of the game.
The Rivermen improved 11-7-0-0 at home and host the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights on Wednesday, January 3 at 7:00 p.m. at Carver Arena.
American Hockey League Stories from December 31, 2006
- Stars' streak snapped at five - Iowa Chops
- Griffins Shut Out Another North Division Power - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Bears close out '06 in style - Hershey Bears
- Rivermen Edge Hamilton 3-2 at Home on New Year's Eve - Peoria Rivermen
- Monarchs Toast New Year's With Win Over Falcons - Manchester Monarchs
- Bulldogs Edged by Rivermen - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Wild signs D John Scott - Houston Aeros
- River Rats Topple Sound Tigers - Bridgeport Islanders
- Stafford returns, Amerks at Grand Rapids - Rochester Americans
- Wedderburn Returns to Wolves - Chicago Wolves
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