Rivermen Game Notes April 2 at Knoxville
April 2, 2016 - SPHL (SPHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
IS THAT YOU, GORDIE?
Last night's Peoria shootout loss included a "Gordie Howe hat trick" for Peoria gorward Benjamin Rubin,with a goal, two assists, and a fight against Knoxville enforcer Dennis Sicard. Rubin and Sicard squared off six seconds into the game, and at 9:19 of the first Rubin scored his first goal in his eighth game with the Rivermen. Rubin later added assists on two of Peoria's other three goals to give him three points, one shy of his career high set when he notched four assists January 26 against Columbus.
THE WILL TO WIN
Tonight marks the return of veteran winger Chris Wilson to the Peoria lineup after Wilson was activated from injured reserve earlier today. Before going on the IR after Peoria's late February series with Knoxville, Wilson had logged 39 games this season, scoring 20 goals and 19 assists. Since being acquired in a November trade with Louisiana, the 2010-11 SPHL rookie of the year has skated in 31 games and notched over a point per game during his stint with the Rivermen, adding a +23 rating, giving him a +25 for the season, second in the league to only teammate Brandon Greenside (+28).
THE WHOLE SHOOTING MATCH
This season, the Rivermen have out-shot opponents 617-495 and out-scored foes by more than double, 66-31, in the first period of games, each the widest such margin for any team in any period this season. Offensively this season, the Rivermen are second in the league with 34.02 shots on goal per game, and Peoria ranks sixth in fewest shots llowed per game at 30.69 after the Ice Bears managed a whopping 52 shots on goal last night. The Rivermen are 24-6-1 when out-shooting opponents this season. Peoria is 31-5-3 when scoring first this year, and when leading after one period the Rivermen are 24-5-1.
WHAT'S AHEAD
After tonight's game the Rivermen will return to their home ice at Carver Arena to wrap up the regular season April 7-9 against the Columbus Cottonmouths, a team the Rivermen have not seen since a two-game sweep in Columbus in late January before opening the postseason the following week with a best-two-out-of-three series against the SPHL's number eight seed.
SPHL Stories from April 2, 2016
- Ice Bears Sunk by Rivermen - Knoxville Ice Bears
- Ice Flyers Thump Havoc 7-1 - Pensacola Ice Flyers
- Rivermen Top Knoxville 3-0 Behind Jacobson Shutout - Peoria Rivermen
- IceGators Clinch Playoff Spot, Beat Cottonmouths - Louisiana IceGators
- RiverKings Drop Weekend Finale in Fayetteville - Mississippi RiverKings
- Rivermen Game Notes April 2 at Knoxville - Peoria Rivermen
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