SPHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Hold Off Bulls 3-2

Published on January 24, 2025 under SPHL (SPHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


PEORIA, IL- Rivermen goaltender Jack Bostedt made 20 saves in his first victory in a Rivermen uniform as Peoria defeated the Birmingham Bulls 3-2 at Carver Arena on Friday night to pull within one point of first place in the SPHL.

Peoria struck first just 106 seconds into the game as Braydon Barker re-directed a shot from the point that deflected between the pads of Birmingham goaltender Hayden Stewart to put the Rivermen up 1-0. Jordan Ernst extended the Rivermen lead just eight seconds into their first power play as Michael McChesney received a pass at the goal line and then quickly sent the puck across the low slot to Jordan Ernst who rifled a one-timed shot in on the backside of the net for his league-leading 12th power-play goal of the season. Peoria's dominance in the first period was evident as the Rivermen out-shot the Bulls 12-3 in the first period.

Birmingham got on the board midway through the second period on a short angle shot from the left side to pull within one goal. But Zach Wilkie answered back a few minutes later after being fed a pass from the left-wing corner by Alec Baer. Wilkie, left all alone in the high slot rifled a hard wrist shot into the top-shelf past Stewart for his tenth point in four games. Up 3-1, the Rivermen looked like they were going to take a two-goal lead into the locker room, but the Bulls struck late in the period to make it a 3-2 game.

The third period was marked by back-and-forth chances and both Stewart and Bostedt making exceptional saves. In the end, Peoria's stingy defense late carried them to victory as the Rivermen were able to outlast the Bulls 3-2 to start off the weekend with a victory. Peoria will have little time to rest as they will host the Birmingham Bulls again on Saturday evening in the second of three straight games. Face-off for Saturday is set for 7:15 pm.

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