ECHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Get Past Trenton 5-3 at Home for Seventh Straight Win

March 9, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


Peoria, Ill. (March 9, 2004) – The Peoria Rivermen won all six games of a season-long home stand, finishing the job with a 5-3 win over the Trenton Titans in front of 3,699 on Tuesday night at Carver Arena.

The six consecutive home wins are a new season high for the Rivermen, who outscored the opposition 29-13 over the home stand. The win was also Peoria's seventh in succession – a new season high.

Trenton got within one on the power play at 7:25 of the third period, making it 4-3. Scott Bertoli's shot from the center point was tipped just under the crossbar by Matt Zultek, who registered his 29th tally of the season from the top of the goal crease.

Peoria gave itself an insurance goal with 1:58 remaining in the game. Tyler Rennette stole the puck at center ice and fed Colin Hemingway, who worked into the Trenton zone on left wing on a 2-on-1 with Adam Edinger. Hemingway faked a pass to Edinger and rattled his 11th tally of the season off the inside of the left goal post.

Edinger led all scorers with three assists, while his linemates Rennette and Hemingway each had two points (1g, 1a). The line of Edinger, Rennette and Hemingway has averaged seven points per game over the last five with 35 points (13g, 22a) and a +27 plus/minus.

Peoria (37-16-8, 82 points) improved to 19-11-3 at Carver Arena with its six-game winning streak. The Rivermen moved to within one point of the second place and defending Kelly Cup Champion Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies (39-14-5, 83 points) with three more games played. Trenton (29-23-7, 65 points) is winless in its last three games (0-2-1) and fell to 2-3-1 through six games of a season-long, nine-game road trip. The Titans dropped to 11-17-4 on the road in defeat.

Peoria goaltender Levente Szuper turned away 22 of 25 Trenton shots in his 15th win of the season (15-7-1). Trenton's Chris Houle stopped 33 of 38 Peoria chances in his sixth loss of the season (7-6-3).

The Rivermen took a 1-0 lead on the power play at 6:31 of the first period. Jason Norrie tipped in his second tally in a Rivermen uniform and 10th of the season on a Randy Rowe shot from the left face-off circle.

Rennette's 25th goal of the season gave the Rivermen a 2-0 lead with 2:38 left in the opening period. Adam Edinger picked the puck out of the right wing corner and fed it to Rennette in the face-off circle for a one-time slap shot that got by Houle before he could even move.

Trenton got on the board at 4:11 of the second on what appeared to be a two-line, offside pass. Peter Metcalf floated the puck high in the air from beyond the center redline into the high slot in the Peoria zone. Bertoli raced between two Rivermen defenders and slid the puck inside the left goal post past Szuper. It was Bertoli's 13th tally of the season.

The Titans tied the game 2-2 just 18 seconds later on Bertoli's second marker of the night and 14th of the season. Zultek's shot from the high slot was stopped by Szuper but the puck popped up in the air. Bertoli was just off the right post and batted it into an open net.

The Rivermen took the lead back at the 4:57 mark, just 28 second later. Edinger stole the puck along the left wing boards, brought the puck into the corner and sent it out to a breaking Scott Crawford on the right wing. Crawford carried the puck to the right goal post, waited for Houle to go down and slipped it underneath Houle's pads.

Peoria grabbed its two-goal lead back at 18:12 of the second, making it 4-2. Edinger, from the right wing corner, fed Norrie at the right side of the slot for a quick snap shot that beat Houle past the blocker. It was his second of the night and 11th goal of the season.

On Friday, March 12, the Rivermen face off against the archrival Toledo Storm in the first of two in a row between the clubs and the first of seven straight on the road. Game time is 6:30 p.m. CT.

Check out the Peoria Rivermen Statistics



ECHL Stories from March 9, 2004


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