Rivermen Prevail, 5-4, over Knoxville in the Shootout
SPHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Prevail, 5-4, over Knoxville in the Shootout

Published on January 2, 2026 under SPHL (SPHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


PEORIA, IL - The Peoria Rivermen (17-8-1) prevailed 5-4 over the Knoxville Ice Bears (1 2-10-2) in the shootout on Friday night at Car ver Aren a in the first of three straight matchups between the two sides. Alec Baer, Khaden Henry, and Connor Szmul all scored for the Rivermen whil e Goaltender Nick Latinovich made 27 saves on 31 shots to secure his tenth win of the season. Peoria outshot the I c e Bears 40-31 and finished 1/5 on the power play and a perfect 4/4 on the penalty kill.

The Rivermen, now on a 7-0-1 streak, host the Ice Bears for th e second of three consecutive matchups on Saturday, January 3, at Carver Arena. Face-off is set for 7:15 pm.

FIRST PERIOD

Knoxville was able to strike first after Kyle Soper rifled home a shot right off the face-off at the left side to secure his first goal of the season to put the Ice Bears up 1-0. Peoria answered back midway through the period on their first power play of the game as Mike Gelatt set up at in the middle of the high slot, just inside the blue line. Gelatt sent a shot on net that was initially saved by Knoxville goaltender Stephen Mundinger put in a rebound that Braydon Barker, standing in front of the net, tou ched to the left side of the net for Alec Baer swept it in. Baer's seventh of the season tied the game up 1-1, but that would only last for less than a minute as a low-slot pass from Carson Vance found Andrew Kurapov on the back-door of the net who made no mistake as he rifled a shot high blocker on Nick Latinovich to give the Ice Bears the lead right back 38 seconds after the Rivermen had tied it.

SECOND PERIOD

Peoria came on strong in the second period, dominating the physical and speed battles in the offensive zone, and it was their speed that brought them back into the game. In his own zone, Terry Ryder sent a pass out of the neutral zone that found Khaden Henry in stride. Henry then streaked forward with a. burst of speed to split the Knoxville defenders and stepped in on a breakaway. Henry didn't bother with a deke, instead lifting the puck into the top-shelf to tie the game up 2-2. Khaden Henry gave Peoria t heir first lead of the game just over three minutes later. A Josh Martin shot from the blue line produced a rebound and a scramble for the puck at the front and side of the net. The puck came loose, and as Mundinger was reaching for it, Connor Szmul was able to reach it first and backhand it underneath the outstretched arm of the Knoxville netminder and into the net. Peoria's 3-2 lead lasted four minutes before a short-handed goal by Brendan Dowler tied the game up again, this time 3-3.

T HIRD PERIOD

The Rivermen struck less than one minute into the third period as Henry deposited another rebound just 42 seconds into the frame to give Peoria the lead right back, but a deflected shot by Kurapov found the back of the net past Latinovich to once again tie the game, this time 4-4. Despite some great follow-up chances for both sides later in the third, the contest would need extra time to be decided.

OVERTIME

Both Peoria and Knoxville had excellent chances to end the game in a thrilling overtime session. For the Ice Bears, Jarred Westcott came up empty on a breakaway from center ice after Latinovich flashed the pad to keep the game tied. Later in overtime, Garrett Devine received a drop pass from Jordan Henderson as soon as he sped in over the line on the right-wing side. Devine streaked down to the left circle before feeding a perfect pass to Khaden Henry, all alone in the slot. Henry, however, shot it right int o Mundinger, who quickly moved across in time to deny the hat trick to the Rivermen forward.

SHOOTOUT

The Shootout took eight total rounds to complete. Garrett Devine scored at the top of the fifth inning, but was answered by Tyler Williams, who sent the skills competition to extras. In death, at the top of the eighth round, Connor Szmul accelerated into the low slot, then slowed down, waited for Mundinger to go into the butterfly before skating around the Knoxville goaltender to deposit the puck into the back of the net. Nick Latinovich was able to make one last save to end the night and secure a shootout victory for the Rivermen, the second such win for Peoria this year.

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