Sports stats



SPHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Hold Off Bulls 3-2

January 24, 2025 - 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.


• Discuss this story on the SPHL message board...

SPHL Stories from January 24, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Peoria Rivermen Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central