ECHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Erupt Again at Home in 8-2 Win over Toledo

March 28, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


Peoria, Ill. (March 28, 2004) – For the second game in a row, eight different Peoria Rivermen players scored goals in an 8-2 home victory. This win came against the archrival Toledo Storm in front of 5,488 on Sunday afternoon at Carver Arena.

Last night, Peoria beat the archrival Dayton Bombers 8-2.

With the victory, the Rivermen finished the regular season with nine straight wins on home ice, outscoring the opposition 51-17 over the span.

Peoria added two goals in the third period, the first of which came at 7:30. At the bottom of the right face-off circle, Adam Edinger set up Scott Crawford at the left side of the slot for an easy, one-time slap shot goal. It was Crawford's seventh goal of the season.

The Rivermen completed their onslaught with 6:23 remaining in regulation. Trevor Baker took a pass from Jason Norrie and broke in alone on the Toledo goal and finished inside the left goal post for his 17th tally of the season.

Toledo picked up its second goal of the contest at 16:46 of the third. Rookie Chris Vail converted a Derek Campbell rebound at the top of the goal crease for his first professional goal.

Peoria (44-18-9, 97 points) has also won five in a row overall and improved to 22-11-3 at Carver Arena to finish out the 2003-2004 home schedule. The Rivermen remain in second place in the Northern Division by three points. Peoria averaged 5,101 fans over its 36 home games this season. Toledo (23-35-11, 57 points) is winless in its last five games (0-3-2) and fell to 12-16-5 on the road.

Rivermen goaltender Levente Szuper stopped 21 of 23 Toledo shots in his 22nd win of the season (22-8-1). Storm goaltender Cory Campbell stopped 30 of 36 over two periods, registering his 10th loss of the season (10-10-5). Jimi St. John turned away 10 of 12 shots in relief.

The Rivermen took a 1-0 lead just 1:11 into the game. Joe Pereira darted to the endboards in the Toledo zone and backhanded a pass to Marty Johnston at the bottom of the right face-off circle. Johnston quickly tapped it to Adam Edinger, who deflected the puck past Campbell on the backhand from the top of the goal crease. It was Edinger's 22nd tally of the season.

Toledo tied it 1-1 at 6:53 of the first. Jim Abbott fired a slap shot from the high slot that went wide and caromed off the endboards to the left wing, where former Rivermen defenseman Craig Olynick collected the puck and whistled a low shot inside the right goal post. It was his fourth goal of the season.

Peoria grabbed the lead right back just 37 seconds later shorthanded. Joe Vandermeer sent Tyler Rennette up the left wing of the ice on a partial breakaway into the Toledo zone. Rennette made his way to the end redline with a defenseman catching up to him but was able to backhand it out front to Colin Hemingway, who roofed the puck over Campbell. It was Hemingway's 19th tally of the season.

The Rivermen made 3-1 at 3:21 of the second in Igor Valeev's fifth goal in a Rivermen uniform. Baker stole a Toledo clearing attempt along the left wing boards and slid it to Norrie in the high slot. Norrie wasted no time tapping it to Valeev, who sidestepped Campbell and slipped the puck into an open goal.

Peoria pushed its lead to 4-1 less than two minutes later. Crawford's shot from the high slot was stopped by Campbell, but the rebound was bobbled, allowing rookie Garett Cameron to whack the puck into the net. It was Cameron's second professional goal.

The Rivermen stretched their lead to 5-1 on the power play. Edinger, stationed at the bottom of the right face-off circle, took a pass from Cameron and slid it across the goal mouth to Johnston, who lifted the puck into the net at 11:38 of the second. It was Johnston's 23rd marker of the season.

Peoria capped a four-goal second period on Rennette's 30th goal of the season. Rennette stole the puck from Olynick and tapped it to Valeev down the left side of the slot. Valeev quickly returned the pass to Rennette, who slipped it between the pads of Campbell.

On Friday, April 2, the Rivermen face off against the archrival Dayton Bombers on the road in their 2003-2004 regular season finale. Game time is 6:00 p.m. at the Nutter Center.

Check out the Peoria Rivermen Statistics



ECHL Stories from March 28, 2004


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