AHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen lose special teams struggle, 4-2

Published on November 30, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


Milwaukee, WI (November 30, 2005) - The Milwaukee Admirals beat the Peoria Rivermen 4-2 on this night at the Bradley Center. With a hat-trick, Admirals center Kris Beech controlled the scoring in this tilt, which included six goals but not one at even strength.

The Rivermen and the Admirals, who came into this game with identical 11-5-0-1 records, traded power-play goals in the first period. A similar exchange of power-play goals occurred in the second period before Beech secured victory for Milwaukee in the third with a short-handed goal and a power-play empty-net goal.

Peoria falls to 11-6-0-1 with the loss, and the team is now 4-2-0-0 away from home. Milwaukee goes just ahead of the Rivermen in the West Division standings at 12-5-0-1 overall. The Admirals are now 7-1-0-0 at home in the Bradley Center.

The Rivermen dented the twine first in this contest, going up 1-0 on a power play well into the first period. Right wing Jon DiSalvatore started the play from near the goal line with a pass straight up the left-wing boards to defenseman Aaron MacKenzie, who swept the puck toward the Milwaukee goal. Skating across the low slot, Peoria center Jay McClement tipped the puck by Milwaukee goaltender Brian Finley at 14:24.

The Admirals responded with a power-play marker of their own. Soon after a face-off in the Peoria zone, the puck came to Milwaukee center Kris Beech at the right edge of the slot. Throwing it on net, Beech got the puck to bounce fortuitously into the goal off of the left leg pad of Rivermen goaltender Jason Bacashihua. The Milwaukee lamp-lighter tied the game at 1-1 at 18:02 of the first.

With less than two minutes remaining in the middle frame, Peoria took a 2-1 lead, again on the power play. After taking a pass from the right point by McClement, left wing Peter Sejna stickhandled in the right corner for a moment before firing the puck on net from behind the goal line. The shot hit Milwaukee's Finley in the left arm and went in the goal at the 18:05 mark of the second period.

The Rivermen lead was again short-lived, however, for the Admirals evened the score just 1:36 later. During an Admirals power play, Milwaukee blueliner Greg Zanon fired a shot from the right point. Bacashihua stopped the puck but left a rebound among a crowd of players in front of the goal. Greg Classen was able to then poke the puck right under Bacashihua at 19:41 of the second for a 2-2 tie.

In the third period, Milwaukee took its first lead of the game. While killing a Peoria power play, Milwaukee's Beech stole the puck in the neutral zone and entered the Rivermen zone on the right wing. Cutting across the ice to the left to allow a screen to develop in front of the Peoria goal, Beech then shot the puck on net from the high slot. Although Bacashihua got his glove on it, the puck fluttered into the cage for a 3-2 Admirals lead on a short-handed goal at the 12:18 mark of the third frame.

The Admirals clinched the win with an empty-net goal in the final minute of play. After Peoria defenseman Mike Mottau blocked a point-blank shot by Milwaukee winger Timofei Shishkanov, the puck came to Milwaukee's Beech, who was trailing the play. The center then fired the puck by Mottau from within the right circle to seal a 4-2 win with one second remaining in regulation.

The Rivermen return to action on Friday at Carver Arena to take on the Grand Rapids Griffins at 7:30 p.m.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 30, 2005


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