Rivermen Get After Idaho Again, Winning 4-1 on New Year's Day
Published on January 2, 2005 under ECHL (ECHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
Boise, Idaho - Reggie Stringer tallied his first three goals in a Rivermen uniform all in the same game, his eighth with the team, as Peoria pushed past the defending Kelly Cup Champion Idaho Steelheads 4-1 in front of 4,225 on New Year's Day Night at the Bank of the America Centre.
The win was Peoria's fourth in a row for the second time in 12 games and in a month.
Stringer netted his hat trick goal at 10:37 of the final period on the power play. Jake Riddle, stationed in the right-wing corner, fed Brian McCullough in the high slot for a snap shot that Steelheads goaltender Blair Allison turned aside with his right pad, but Stringer was on the doorstep just off the left goal post to collect the rebound and lift it up into the corner. It was his sixth goal of the year.
Stringer, who collected his first point in a Rivermen uniform on Wednesday in Peoria in a 4-3 overtime win over the Fresno Falcons, also had an assist for a hand in all four Rivermen tallies.
Peoria was able to score two man advantage markers, one each night, against the best home penalty-killing unit in the ECHL in the Steelheads.
McCullough (4g, 4a) and Riddle (3g, 5a) were able to extend their point streaks to four games with eight points each.
The Rivermen finished the scoring with exactly five minutes left in the game. Randy Rowe and Justin Maiser broke up the ice out of the Rivermen zone on a two-on-two rush. Rowe dropped the puck off to Maiser as they worked into the Steelheads zone on left wing. Rowe pushed to the net, while Maiser sidestepped a defenseman from the face-off circle into the slot and roofed a snap shot into the upper left corner. It was his seventh goal of the year.
Peoria (11-13-3, 25 points), just two games under .500, improved to 5-8-1 on the road and 4-0-0 lifetime against the Steelheads. The Rivermen have won 10 out of 11 games this season when they score three or more goals. The Rivermen are 4-0-0 in the first four games of eight straight against the West Division. Idaho (14-12-2, 30 points) has lost three in a row and is winless in its last five games (0-4-1). The Steelheads dropped to 8-5-1 on home ice.
Rivermen netminder Alfie Michaud turned in his best performance of the year, stopping 35 of 36 Idaho shots and moving back to the .500 mark on the year in 12 appearances (5-5-2). Allison (0-2-0) turned away 33 of 37 chances in the loss.
Peoria opened the scoring just 1:02 into the game. Rowe backhanded a pass from the right-wing corner to Stringer, who floated a backhand shot toward the Idaho net with Maiser screening Allison. He never saw the puck, as Stringer recorded his first tally in a Rivermen uniform and his fourth on the season.
The Rivermen made it 2-0 on Stringer's second of the session at 16:32. Rookie James Sanford stole the puck from Jon Zion at the Peoria blue line and broke up the ice on right wing. Sanford then maneuvered into the Idaho zone, backed a defenseman into the middle of the ice, cut to the bottom of the face-off circle and fed Stringer at the left side of the goal crease for an easy chip-in tally.
The Steelheads stayed patient and capitalized late in the second period on a failed Peoria clearing attempt for what would be their only goal. Matt Elich, who stole the puck along the left-wing boards, fed Scott Burt, who darted out of the corner and headed toward the area behind the Rivermen goal, but before Burt made his way in behind the net, he dropped the puck off to Warren Peters, who caught Michaud moving from left to right and slipped his eighth tally of the year in between Michaud's legs.
Both goaltenders were scintillating in the second period with both Michaud and Allison stopping several chances at point-blank range. The Steelheads outshot Peoria 15-14 in the middle stanza.
On Tuesday, January 4, Peoria moves on to Fresno, Ca. to take on the Falcons at Save Mart Center. Game time is 9:00 p.m. CT.
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