AHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Fall Short in Grand Rapids 5-3

March 6, 2007 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


Grand Rapids, Mich. (March 6, 2007) - The Peoria Rivermen gave up three unanswered goals in the second period and could not recover, falling on the road 5-3 to the Grand Rapids Griffins on Tuesday night at Van Andel Arena. The game opened a season-long, seven-game road trip for the Rivermen.

Peoria (31-21-2-4, 68 pts), who had its three-game winning streak and seven-game point streak snapped in the loss, was playing without injured Captain defenseman Aaron MacKenzie, center Ryan Ramsay, left wing Yan Stastny and defenseman Mike Stuart (who left the game prior to its conclusion).

Grand Rapids (31-23-5-2, 69 pts) took a 1-0 lead at 5:03 of the opening session. Rookie right wing Jamie Tardif, who has spent the better part of the season with the ECHL Toledo Storm, stole the puck along the left-wing boards and fed it to center Jeff Campbell, who was in behind the Rivermen defense. Peoria goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu came out to meet Campbell, pulling himself out of position, and Campbell easily slipped in his eighth of the year.

The Rivermen, who finished their season series with the Griffins at 4-3-0-1, tied the game 1-1 on a 5-3 power play at 13:50 of the first. Veteran defenseman Jamie Rivers rifled a one-time from the right side of the high slot but broke his stick in the middle of the shot. The broken stick slowed Rivers' shot way down, freezing everyone and allowing center Trent Whitfield to deflect the puck in from off the right post. It was Whitfield's 23rd tally of the season and the first of two in a row with the man advantage.

Just 1:20 later in the remaining 5-on-4 man advantage, the Rivermen replayed their first goal in scoring their second, as Whitfield tipped home another Rivers slap shot from the deep high slot. It was Whitfield's 24th marker of the year and gave Peoria a 2-1 lead after one period despite being outshot by the Griffins 14-9 in the session and not registering a shot until the midpoint of the stanza.

The Rivermen finished the game 2-for-5 on the power play against the Griffins and 14-for-51 (27.5 percent) for the eight-game season series.

Grand Rapids tied it 2-2 early in the second on defenseman Dan Smith's first tally of the season in 61 games. Defenseman Derek Meech fired a shot on net from the left point that Smith tipped home past Beckford-Tseu at 5:28.

A little less than five minutes later, Peoria left wing Hans Benson, who is on a 25-game pro try-out on call-up from the ECHL Alaska Aces, manhandled Grand Rapids right wing Adam Keefe in a fight in the Griffins zone at 10:07 of the second.

The Griffins then struck quickly with two goals in a 1:09 span inside the last five minutes of the second to grab a 4-2 advantage. The first came off the stick of left wing Ryan Oulahen, who was left uncovered at the left hash marks in the slot for a snap shot goal, his eighth of the season, between the legs of Beckford-Tseu at 15:45; Oulahen got the puck after a slick pass through two Peoria defenders from Campbell, who at the top of the face-off circle. The second tally came at 16:54, when Rivermen rookie defenseman Roman Polak gave the puck up on the doorstep and allowed Miller to roof a backhand shot into the upper right corner for his 19th tally of the season.

The Rivermen were able to get within one with just 32 seconds left in regulation on their sixth shorthanded goal of the season. Veteran Rocky Thompson stole the puck outside the Grand Rapids zone and fed a pass to left wing Charles Linglet, who was breaking into the zone along the right-wing boards. Linglet pushed the puck in alone on Liv and clanged it off the inside of the left post from 10 feet for his team-leading 28th tally of the season.

The third period remained scoreless until Miller secured the victory for the Griffins with an empty-net tally from the center circle, giving him 20 or more goals in a season for eighth time in his 17-year career.

The Rivermen, who dropped to 12-10-1-2 on the road, continue their season-long, seven-game road swing on Friday, March 9 against the San Antonio Rampage at 7:00 p.m. at the AT&T Center.

Check out the Peoria Rivermen Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from March 6, 2007


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