Rivermen Edged by Atlantic City 3-2 on the Road in Game One of the Northern Division Semifinals
Published on April 7, 2004 under ECHL (ECHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
Atlantic City, NJ (April 7, 2004) â Owning the best road record (23-7-6) in the ECHL during the regular season didn't help the Peoria Rivermen on Wednesday night in Game One of the Northern Division Semifinals.
The Rivermen were edged 3-2 by the defending Kelly Cup Champion Boardwalk Bullies before 1,125 at Boardwalk Hall in the first-ever playoff meeting between the clubs.
The Rivermen got within one goal at 6:14 of the third period. Garett Cameron, stationed behind the Atlantic City net, found fellow rookie Joe Pereira out front. Pereira, barreling down the slot, took the pass and wasted no time slapping the puck by Boardwalk Bullies goaltender Bujar Amidovski. The tally equaled Pereira's regular season total for goals, one.
Peoria (0-1) had won three in a row on the road to finish the 2003-2004 regular year. Atlantic City (1-0) posted its fourth straight home win, which included three in a row to finish out the regular season.
Rivermen goaltender Levente Szuper stopped 30 of 33 Atlantic City shots, standing on his head with 15 stops on 17 chances in the opening session; he dropped the first postseason decision of his career. Amidovski turned away 26 of 28 Peoria chances for the win, including 11 of 12 in the final period.
The Boardwalk Bullies opened the scoring at 3:03 the first period. Jon Cullen stole the puck at center ice and fed it to Sam Paolini, who broke into the Peoria zone on left wing. Paolini maneuvered to the near goal post and sent a pass across the goalmouth for Nick Parillo, who snapped his first goal of the playoffs into an open net.
The Rivermen tied the game 1-1 at 9:15 of the opening session. Joe Vandermeer took a pass from Adam Edinger and worked down the left side of the Atlantic City zone and into the corner. Vandermeer looked to be moving in behind the goal but instead snapped it to Marty Johnston, who hammered home his first marker of the postseason from the top of the goal crease.
The Boardwalk Bullies took their second of lead of the game with 1:47 left in the first. After Peoria failed to clear the zone, Ian Walterson took the puck from the left point down to the face-off circle and lifted his first tally of the postseason into the upper right corner for a 2-1 Boardwalk Bullies advantage.
Atlantic City opened up a two-goal lead early in the middle stanza in a 4-on-4 situation. Preston Mizzi collected a pass from Aaron Foster in the high slot, between the tops of the face-off circles, and rocketed his first postseason goal inside the right goal post at 2:18.
On Friday, April 9, the Rivermen and the Boardwalk Bullies face off in Game Two of the Northern Division Semifinals. Game time is 6:05 p.m. CT at Boardwalk Hall.
ECHL Stories from April 7, 2004
- Checkers 2003-04 season ends - Charlotte Checkers
- Gladiators Knock off Sea Wolves in OT, 2-1 - Atlanta Gladiators
- Gladiators Nip Sea Wolves 2-1 In Overtime In Game 1 - Mississippi Sea Wolves
- IceGators Strafe Ice Pilots 8-4 - Louisiana IceGators
- Rivermen Edged by Atlantic City 3-2 on the Road in Game One of the Northern Division Semifinals - Peoria Rivermen
- Bullies Slip By Rivermen 3-2 in Game 1 - Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies
- ECHL Transactions - ECHL
- Defenseman Starling Reassigned from the Houston Aeros - Peoria Rivermen
- Gulls - Aces Game 2 Preview - San Diego Gulls
- Peoria's Hemingway Named Sher-Wood ECHL Player of the Month - ECHL
- Peoria's Hemingway Named CCM ECHL Rookie of the Month - ECHL
- Right Wing Hemingway Named Sher-Wood ECHL Player of the Month & CCM ECHL Rookie of the Month for Mar - Peoria Rivermen
- Wheeling's Bingham Named Coach Of The Year - ECHL
- Cyclones to Suspend Operations for 2004-05 - Cincinnati Cyclones
- 30 Teams Will Take To Ice In ECHL For 2004-05 - ECHL
- Former Toledo Bench Boss Noel Named American Hockey League's Outstanding Coach - ECHL
- Chiefs Kickoff Jersey Auction - Johnstown Chiefs
- Nailers to re-launch web site - Wheeling Nailers
- Kuznetsov Activated For Game 1 Tonight - Mississippi Sea Wolves
- Today In The ECHL - ECHL
- Aces shock Gulls in Game One, 4-2 - Alaska Aces
- Gulls Fall To Alaska in Game 1, 4-2 - San Diego Gulls
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.
