Sports stats



ECHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Edged in Toledo Late 3-2 on the Road

March 11, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


Toledo, Ohio - The Peoria Rivermen fought back from two one-goal deficits but gave up a goal late in regulation to fall to the archrival Toledo Storm, 3-2, before 3,936 on Friday night at the Toledo Sports Arena.

For the second time in the game, Peoria was unable to clear the puck as Toledo's Todd Jackson held the puck in near the right point. Jackson then found veteran Rick Judson down the left side of the zone for an easy tip-in goal on the doorstep with exactly one minute left, beating Rivermen goaltender Alfie Michaud, who relieved rookie Chris Beckford-Tseu late in the game after he was run by a Toledo player.

Peoria (29-19-7, 65 points) had its season-best, six-game winning streak come to an end in the loss. The Rivermen, who had posted an 8-1-2 record in an 11-game franchise record homestand, dropped to 10-12-2 on the road; it was their first road game since February 12. Peoria has allowed three goals or less in 23 of its last 27 games. Toledo (32-22-4, 68 points) snapped a three-game losing streak with the win; the last two games in the streak were at the hands of the Rivermen. The Storm, who have won three of their last four home games, improved to 19-8-1 at the Sports Arena this season.

Michaud (21-9-4) turned away three-of-four Toledo shots, registering the loss. Beckford-Tseu had 28 stops on 30 opposition chances. Toledo netminder Scott Fankhouser (21-12-3) turned away 27 of 29 Peoria shots in the victory.

Reggie Stringer's first goal in five games and just his fourth in the last 21 contests gave the Rivermen a 1-0 lead at 4:38 of the opening period. Rookie defenseman Patrick Wellar, who was activated from the 7-day injured reserve earlier in the day, took a shot from the left point that Fankhouser stopped. The rebound popped to the left face-off circle, where Stringer took a slap shot from near the face-off dot that deflected off the left arm of Fankhouser into the upper right corner. It was Stringer's 14th goal of the season.

The Storm tied it 1-1 on the power play at 8:09. Newcomer Kevin Bergin finished a tic-tac-toe passing play in front of the Peoria goal for an easy tally with Beckford-Tseu well out of position. Bergin got help from Carl Mallette, the ECHL's third leading scorer, on the play. Bergin and Mallette, along with defenseman Joey Martin, were acquired from the Greenville Grrrowl on Tuesday in exchange for forwards Sam Paolini (Captain), Tyler Knight, Maris Ziedins and defenseman Jason Jozsa.

Toledo grabbed its second lead of the night on a failed Rivermen clearing attempt. Defenseman Doug Andress stepped into the puck from the high slot and rifled a shot that appeared to deflect off a stick or a player and past a screened Beckford-Tseu. It was Andress' third goal of season.

The Rivermen equalized again with 5:08 remaining in the middle stanza. Rookie Jake Riddle took a pass from Justin Maiser in the slot, muscled his way to the top of the Toledo goal crease, and tried to poke a backhand chance past Fankhouser. Riddle continued to whack away and finally shoved the puck in on his fourth attempt for his seventh tally.

Tomorrow night - Saturday, March 12, the Rivermen continue their grueling five-city, seven-game, nine-day road trip against the archrival Storm. Game time is 6:30 p.m. CT at the Toledo Sports Arena.

Check out the Peoria Rivermen Statistics

• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...

ECHL Stories from March 11, 2005


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.

Other Recent Peoria Rivermen Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central