ECHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Ousted from the Playoffs 3-1 in Game Four of the Northern Division Finals

Published on April 22, 2004 under ECHL (ECHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


Reading, Pa. (April 22, 2004) – In the end, two 3-0 deficits two nights in a row were too much to overcome, as the Peoria Rivermen fell 3-1 to the Reading Royals in Game Four of the Northern Division Finals on Thursday night before a crowd of 3,634 at the Sovereign Center.

The defeat ended Peoria's season in a 3-1 series loss to the Royals, who advance meet to the Florida Everblades in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Everblades swept the South Carolina Stingrays in three games.

Peoria (4-4), despite an ECHL-best 23-7-6 road record during the 2003-2004 regular season, dropped to 1-3 on the road in the playoffs. Reading (7-3) improved to 3-1 at home in the postseason.

The Rivermen, or goaltender Mike Valley to be exact, gave Reading an early 1-0 advantage. Royals defenseman Doug Nolan dumped the puck in toward the Peoria goal. Valley came slightly out of his net to the play the puck with his stick, but the puck slipped under his stick, off the inside of his right skate and into the goal. It was Nolan's first marker of the postseason.

Reading took a 2-0 lead with 6:04 left in the opening session. Royals defenseman Mat Snesrud wristed a shot from the left point that deflected off the stick of Valley and up inside the left post. It was Snesrud's third tally of the postseason. Nolan set up Snesrud on a pass from the right point.

The Royals grabbed a 3-0 advantage 41 seconds later. Chris Lynch won a face-off in the right circle, quickly drawing it back to Brad Church. Church – at the top of the circle – rifled his second goal of the postseason past Valley underneath the crossbar.

The goal chased a rattled Valley, who stopped just six of nine shots, from the net. Levente Szuper stopped all 12 Reading chances over the remainder of regulation.

Former Rivermen Cody Rudkowsky turned aside 47 of 48 shots for his ECHL-best seventh win (7-3) of the playoffs.

With just 17 seconds remaining in the second period, Peoria got on the board just as a third consecutive power play expired. Joe Vandermeer took a pass from George Halkidis at the center point, floating a shot through heavy traffic and sneaking it through the legs of Rudkowsky. It was Vandermeer's third tally of the playoffs.

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ECHL Stories from April 22, 2004


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