Rivermen Power Past Johnstown 5-3 at Carver Arena
March 22, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
Peoria, Ill. (March 22, 2005) â The Peoria Rivermen picked up their seventh home win in a row on Tuesday, beating the rival Johnstown Chiefs 5-3 before 3,424 at Carver Arena.
The win moved the Rivermen to within two points of the Toledo Storm for fifth place in the eight-team North Division with a game in hand. Peoria is just three points behind the Wheeling Nailers, a team they host twice this weekend, for the fourth and final playoff spot.
The Rivermen gave themselves a 5-3 advantage at 7:21 of the third period. Defenseman Ed Hill, at the top of the goal crease, chipped in his fourth tally of the season on a rebound after a Kris Kasper shot from just off the right goal post.
Johnstown's Joe Tallari wristed home his second goal of the game and 28th marker of the year from the left side of the face-off circle on a pass from Jean Desrochers.
Peoria (33-22-7, 73 points) improved to 20-7-5 at home in the victory and 4-2-1 against the Chiefs this season. Peoria has kept the opposition to three goals or less in 29 of the last 34 games. Johnstown (20-29-14, 54 points) has dropped its last two straight and is 1-11-3 in its last 15 contests. The Chiefs fell to 8-17-6 on the road.
Rivermen goaltender Alfie Michaud (24-10-4), who has won his last three starts, stopped 22 of 25 Johnstown shots. Johnstown goaltender Mark Scally (0-1-0), making his debut for the Chiefs, turned away 33 of 38 chances in the loss.
Peoria took a 1-0 lead on the power play just 1:54 into the game. Stationed at the top of the right face-off circle, newcomer Ryan Ramsay â who was loaned to the team from its American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Worcester IceCats, earlier in the day â snapped a quick pass down to the bottom of the circle to rookie Jake Riddle. Riddle quickly found rookie Kris Kasper at the top of the goal crease for a tip-in through the legs of Scally. It was Kasper's seventh goal of the season.
Johnstown would take a 2-1 lead on two goals in a 12-second span on the power play. The first came at 15:49 of the opening period on a 5-on-3 advantage for the Chiefs, as Brett Peterson, at the right point, fed Brent Kelly at the left face-off circle for a one-time blast into the near upper corner. It was Kelly's 13th tally of the year.
The Chiefs got their second power play marker at 16:01 of the opening stanza. Tallari collected a rebound at the left hash marks in the slot and whistled it inside the left goal post. It was Tallari's 27th goal of the season.
Peoria tied it 2-2 on the fourth power play tally of the session. Trevor Byrne rifled a shot on goal from the right point that Justin Maiser, who was just off the right post, tipped past Scally for his 17th goal of the year.
Each team went 2-for-3 on the power play in the game.
The Rivermen took their second lead of the game, one they would not relinquish, with 4:47 left in the second period with Johnstown on the power play. Chiefs defenseman Brett Peterson was unable to hold the puck in at the left point and went diving back toward the puck at center ice, swatting it to the Johnstown blue line. Brian McCullough caught up with it, broke into the Johnstown zone alone on Scally and tried to beat him through the five-hole. Scally made the stop, but Rivermen veteran Reggie Stringer was there to flip the rebound into the upper right corner for his 19th tally of the season.
It was Peoria's 12th shorthanded goal this season.
Peoria gave itself a 4-2 lead just 1:33 later. Stringer, in the right face-off circle, fed defenseman Chris Bogas cross-ice at the top of the left circle for a one-time shot inside the left goal post past a diving Scally. It was Bogas' sixth tally of the season.
Tomorrow night â Wednesday, March 23, the Rivermen host the rival Johnstown Chiefs again in the second of two in a row between the teams. Game time is 7:00 p.m. at Carver Arena.
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