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ECHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen rebound, earning five of possible six points

December 6, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


THE RECAP:

Friday, December 3, 2004 vs. Wheeling Game #15 ECHL Game #229

Rivermen 3 Wheeling 4 Overtime

The Peoria Rivermen forced overtime but it wasn't enough to collect just their second win in 10 games, as they lost 3-2 to the Wheeling Nailers in front of 4,150 on Friday night at Carver Arena.

The Rivermen are 1-8-1 in their last 10 games, and they have been held to two goals or less in eight of their last nine games with two shutouts, two one-goal games and four two-goal efforts.

Brendan Hodge netted the game winner for the Nailers at 2:39 of overtime. Mark Kosick tugged and hooked at Rivermen Captain Trevor Baker in the high slot in the Peoria zone, stealing the puck and feeding Hodge, who circled out high and wristed a screen shot inside the left goal post past Rivermen goaltender Alfie Michaud. It was Hodge's third tally of the year and first game winner.

The Rivermen had tied the game 2-2 early in the third period with their second power play goal of the contest. Rookie James Sanford fired a slap shot from the high slot that Wheeling goaltender Andy Chiodo stopped, but the rebound popped out to the top of the left face-off circle, where Chad Starling tracked it down. Starling, darting toward the puck with his back to the goal, spun and fired a wrist shot into the upper right corner for his first tally of the season at 3:01.

Peoria (3-9-3, 9 points) earned a point for the overtime defeat, their second of the season in two opportunities, to move to 2-4-2 at Carver Arena. The Rivermen snapped a four-game overall losing streak and a three-game home skid with the overtime decision. Wheeling (11-7-0, 22 points) has won seven of its last eight contests and moved a game under .500 on the road in nine chances (4-5-0).

Saturday, December 4, 2004 @ Toledo Game #16 ECHL Game #244

Rivermen 4 Toledo 3

The Peoria Rivermen led 2-0 after one period, grabbing the lead to open a contest for just the third time this season, and held on to win 4-3 beating the archrival Toledo Storm before a crowd of 3,404 on Saturday night at the Toledo Sports Arena.

The victory allowed Peoria to snap a five-game winless skid (0-4-1) and pick up just their second win over the last 11 games (2-8-1).

The Rivermen (4-9-3, 11 points), who have notched both their road wins in Toledo, improved to 2-5-1 away from Carver Arena and 2-1-1 against the archrival Storm. Toledo (9-6-3, 21 points), who has lost three of its last four games, dropped to 5-3-0 at home this season.

Sunday, December 5, 2004 vs. Wheeling Game #17 ECHL Game #248

Rivermen 1 Wheeling 0

Heading into the weekend, rookie goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu was struggling like the rest of his Rivermen teammates, having lost his last six decisions, but a night after relieving veteran Alfie Michaud early in the second period of a 4-3 win in Toledo to snap that skid, Beckford-Tseu (3-6-1) posted his first professional shutout on Sunday, stopping all 25 Wheeling Nailers' shots in a 1-0 victory before a crowd of 3,349 at Carver Arena.

The 20-year-old native of Toronto, Ontario, stopped five shots in the first period and 10 in both the second and third for his third win in 10 appearances this year. He was also the recipient of some goal-post help, as the Nailers' Jason Jaffray hit the crossbar in the second period, and then Alex Rouleau, with just over two minutes left in the game, whistled a wrist shot from the left point off the right post and missed an entire open net.

The Rivermen (5-9-3, 13 points), who earned five of a possible six points this weekend, improved to 3-4-2 at home and 1-1-1 against the Nailers this season with six games left between the clubs. Peoria returned the 1-0 shutout favor to Wheeling, who blanked the Rivermen 1-0 at home on November 14. Wheeling (11-8-0, 22 points) has dropped two of its last three contests and dropped to 4-6-0 on the road.

The Captain's Log

Right On! A Rebound

The Rivermen (5-9-3, 13 points), after posting a 2-9-0 November record, rebounded to open the month of December, earning five of a possible six points this past weekend. On Friday at home against Wheeling, Peoria rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game 2-2 with two power play goals before falling in overtime. On Saturday in Toledo, Rivermen Captain Trevor Baker netted two first-period tallies, one of them shorthanded, as Peoria maintained a two-goal advantage for much of the first two sessions and then held on for a 4-3 victory over the archrival Storm. On Sunday at home against Wheeling again, rookie Chris Beckford-Tseu stopped all 25 shots he faced for a 1-0 shutout – the first of the 20-year-old professional's career. After suffering through two four-game losing streaks over a nine-game period, the Rivermen are unbeaten in regulation in their last three games (2-0-1).

Still Knee-Deep In Division Play

The Rivermen play their first 23 games of the season against teams in their own North Division with 60 of their 72 total games coming against the North. Peoria (5-9-3, 13 points), with six games left in their North Division stretch before welcoming the Fresno Falcons to Peoria on December 27 & 28 for two straight games, is ranked 13th in the eight-team North Division and 27th in 28-team ECHL.

Forgiving Ourselves With Our First-Period Play & First Goals

With two first-period goals (both from Captain Trevor Baker) in last Friday night's 4-3 road win in Toledo, the Rivermen improved their first-period scoring deficit against the opposition to eight (8) (10 for & 18 against). They have also tallied the first goal between either team to open a contest now four times, winning three of those games (5-2 @ Toledo, November 19, 4-3 @ Toledo, December 4 & 1-0 vs. Wheeling, December 5).

Believe In Beckford-Tseu

Heading into this past weekend, Rivermen rookie goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu had a six-game losing streak in tow with a 1-6-1 record, but the 20-year-old native of Toronto, Ontario, turned things around with a 22-save performance (25 shots) in relief of veteran Alfie Michaud on Saturday in Toledo in a 4-3 win over the archrival Storm and a 25-save shutout of the Wheeling Nailers in a 1-0 victory at home on Sunday. It was Beckford-Tseu's first professional shutout, and it improved him to 3-6-1 on the season with a 2.70 goals against average (GAA) and a .908 save percentage.

Riddles Record Points

The rookie Brothers Riddle, Troy-23 & Jake-21, achieved a couple of milestones at nearly the same time this past Sunday afternoon, and they did it in two different leagues, two different time zones, and 1,229 miles apart. With 10 seconds left in the second period of the Rivermen 1-0 shutout win over the Wheeling Nailers, Jake – stationed behind the Wheeling net – set up Randy Rowe for the game winner. It was Jake's first professional point, and it came in Peoria, IL, the ECHL and the Central Time Zone. In Portland, Maine, in the American Hockey League (AHL) and in the Eastern Time Zone, Troy was busy registering a game-tying assist and a go-ahead goal for Peoria's AHL affiliate – the Worcester IceCats – in a 3-2 regulation road win. Jake was claimed off waivers from, of all teams, the Wheeling Nailers on Thanksgiving (November 25). Troy, selected by St. Louis Blues in the fourth round (129th overall) of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, was reassigned to Worcester last Wednesday and departed the Rivermen with the team lead in assists (8) and points (12).

Injury, Call-up & Transaction Report

· Rivermen left wing Scott Turner remains on the 7-day injured reserve, 12/03/04.

· Rivermen defenseman Chad Starling has been activated from the 7-day injured reserve, 12/03/04.

· Rivermen defenseman Warren Toews has been activated from the 30-day injured reserve, 12/03/04.

· Defenseman Ed Hill has been reassigned by the Lowell Lock Monsters (AHL) from the Florida Everblades in exchange for defenseman Bryce Charpentier, 12/02/04.

· Rivermen goaltender Alfie Michaud has been reassigned from the Worcester IceCats (AHL), 12/01/04.

· Rivermen rookie center Troy Riddle has been reassigned to the Worcester IceCats (AHL), 12/01/04.

· Rivermen forward Colin Hemingway remains on the 7-day injured reserve, 11/25/04.

· Left wing/defenseman Mark Jerant remains on reassignment from the Worcester IceCats (AHL), 11/04/04.

· Rivermen left wing David Kaczowka remains on reassignment to the Worcester IceCats (AHL), 11/04/04.

· Forward Colin Hemingway remains on reassignment from the Worcester IceCats (AHL) by the St. Louis Blues (NHL), 11/03/04.

Steering Our Way Through The Schedule

PRACTICE:

· The team will practice Tuesday, December 7 through Thursday, December 9 at Owens Center (1019 West Lake Avenue, Peoria, IL 61614) at 10:00 a.m. Practice times are subject to change.

GAMES:

· On Friday, December 10, the Rivermen open a home-and-home set with the Dayton Bombers on the road. It will be fourth of nine meetings on the year and the second of four in Dayton. The Rivermen own a 1-1-1 record against the Bombers thus far – winning 5-2 in Peoria's home opener on October 22, falling 2-1 in a shootout at home on October 30 and losing 5-2 on the road on November 27. Peoria owns a 47-26-10 lifetime ECHL regular season record against Dayton. The Bombers (9-10-0, 18 points) have won three in a row and are just a game under .500. They are in seventh place in the eight-team North Division, just two points behind the sixth place Reading Royals (10-6-0) but have played three more games. Dayton is three points out of a fourth-place tie with the Toledo Storm (9-6-3) and the Johnstown Chiefs (7-5-7). The Bombers are led by forward Tyler Kolarik, who has 16 points (10g, 6a) in 19 games with two game-winning goals. The game broadcast can be heard LIVE on WWFS FOX Sports Radio 1290 AM and online at www.rivermen.net, beginning at 5:45 p.m. from the Nutter Center. Game time is 6:00 p.m. CT.

· On Saturday, December 11, Peoria completes the back end of a home-and-home tilt with Dayton at Carver Arena in the fifth of nine season matchups and the third of five in Peoria between the teams. It is the first of two Church Nights this season. There will be a post-game, double-bill Christian concert, featuring ZOEgirl and Three63. It is presented by the Berean Bookstore. The game broadcast can be heard LIVE on WWFS FOX Sports Radio 1290 AM and online at www.rivermen.net, beginning at 5:45 p.m. from Carver Arena. Special game time is 6:00 p.m. CT.

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