Rivermen Outlast Ice Flyers in Overtime Saturday
Published on November 24, 2018 under SPHL (SPHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
Peoria, IL - The Peoria Rivermen battled to a 2-2 tie with the Pensacola Ice Flyers through 60 minutes before prevailing 3-2 in overtime Saturday night. The win, Peoria's fourth in a row, improves the Rivermen to 9-0-2 on the season before next weekend's games at Fayetteville.
The Rivermen broke the scoreless tie with a power-play marker early in the second period. With Ice Flyers defenseman Alfred Johansson in the box for tripping, Rivermen winger Alec Hagaman 's drive from the right point was deflected by teammate Ben Oskroba over the shoulder of Pensacola netminder Andrew D'Agostini for a 1-0 lead at 2:57 of the frame.
The Ice Flyers tied the game with a marker in the final minute of the second period. Pensacola center John Scorcia collected the puck out of a scrum behind the Rivermen net, fired it net-front, and banked it past Peoria goaltender Storm Phaneuf and into the net for a 1-1 score at the 19:21 mark of the period.
The teams traded goals less than a minute apart in the third. Pensacola took a 2-1 lead at 8:07 of the final period when Carter Struthers' shot sailed past Phaneuf's glove and into the Rivermen net. Peoria leveled the game at two goals apiece at 9:03 of the stanza when Ben Blasko's pass from behind the Ice Flyers net found teammate Austin Vieth, who snapped it past D'Agostini for the 2-2 tie.
The game remained tied until Peoria netted the overtime winner with 32.5 seconds left in the extra frame. Blasko held the puck at his own blue line, then slipped a pass ahead to Justin Greenberg, who weaved his way into the high slot of the Pensacola zone. Greenberg dropped a pass for Peoria winger Joe Kalisz, who cruised into the right-wing circle and rifled a shot past D'Agostini for the winner at 4:27 of overtime.
Phaneuf stopped 22 of 24 shots to earn the win in net, improving to 2-0-0 on the season. The win is Phaneuf's first since an April 8, 2017 victory over the Mississippi RiverKings in Peoria.
Notes: Kalisz's overtime goal extends his point-scoring streak to eight games, dating back to Peoria's November 2 win over Quad City...Blasko recorded a pair of assists for his second career multi-assist outing and first since October 26 at Quad City...The Rivermen return to action next weekend when they travel to Fayetteville, NC to battle the Marksmen Friday and Saturday at the Crown Coliseum...Friday's game is scheduled to begin at 6:00 PM central time, with Saturday's tilt beginning an hour earlier...Both games can be heard, starting with the pregame show 20 minutes prior to puck drop, at http://mixlr.com/peoria-rivermen/
Group, single game, and season tickets for Peoria's 37th season of professional hockey presented by Midwest Orthopaedic Center are on sale at the Toyota Box Office in the Peoria Civic Center, or by phone at the Rivermen office, located at 201 S.W. Jefferson Street, or over the phone at (309) 676-1040.
SPHL Stories from November 24, 2018
- Ice Flyers Fall Short, Lose 3-2 in Overtime - Pensacola Ice Flyers
- Rivermen Outlast Ice Flyers in Overtime Saturday - Peoria Rivermen
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- Bulls Streak Ends in Macon - Birmingham Bulls
- Defensive Failures Lead Marksmen to 7-2 Loss - Fayetteville Marksmen
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- Rail Yard Dawgs Game Notes: Rail Yard Dawgs (5-5-0) vs Havoc (4-6-1) - 7:05 PM - Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs
- Ice Bears Clip Marksmen in OT - Knoxville Ice Bears
- Struggles Continue for Havoc as Roanoke Doubles-Up Huntsville 4-2 - Huntsville Havoc
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