Rivermen Roll Over Quad City 7-3 In First Of Three Straight
February 21, 2025 - SPHL (SPHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
PEORIA, IL - The Peoria Rivermen rolled over the Quad City Storm on Friday night as Peoria started a three-game stretch against Quad City with a 7-3 victory at Carver Arena.
Both Peoria and the Storm had multiple good chances in front, especially the Rivermen as they shot-shot the Storm 11-3, in the first period of play. Despite these changes, however, both goaltenders stood their ground and remained perfect through the first period of play.
The Rivermen offense exploded in the second period as the offense was sparked by a power-play goal. Jordan Ernst received a nifty pass at the base of the right-wing circle and wired a hard shot short-side on Quad City goaltender Brent Moran as Ernst eclipsed 30 goals for the first time in his career to put the Rivermen up 1-0. Just ten seconds later Peoria struck again. Griffen Fox received a drop pass from Garrett Devine as he stepped in over the Storm line. Fox rifled a shot off the cross-bar to put the Rivermen up 2-0 in the blink of an eye. Less than two minutes later, Carlos Fornaris deposited a rebound right in front of the net on a goal-mouth scramble while on the power-play to secure a 3-0 lead for the Rivermen. Quad City got some chances after Fornaris' goal but the Rivermen defense and Jack Bostedt held the line well. With just seven minutes left in the period, Carlos Fornaris received a long pass from Zach Wilkie and stepped in over the line. He touched a quick pass across to the right for Alec Baer who then quickly passed it into the slot for Carso Baptiste who was streaking to the front of the net. Baptiste out-deked Moran and stuffed the puck into the back of the net to extend Peoria's lead to 4-0. Michael McChesney added his third point of the night just 21 seconds later on a short-angle shot to secure his 16th goal of the season and a 5-0 lead for the Rivermen.
Quad City came out quickly in the third period and netted two quick goals on their first three shots on the net to open the final period of the game. Peoria answered back with John Kaljian's first in the SPHL as JM Piotrowski centered a pass from below the goal line. As he was being knocked down to the ice, Kaljian swatted at the puck and directed it into the top shelf for his first-ever goal in a Rivermen uniform. Though the Storm answered back with another goal a few minutes later, Fox had the last laugh with an empty netter with just under three minutes to play to secure his second goal of the game and a 7-3 win for Peoria.
The victory stands as Peoria's third straight against the Storm, dating back to December 31, 2024. Peoria will travel to the Quad Cities to take on the Storm again on Saturday at 7:10 pm before coming back to Peoria on Sunday for a 3:15 pm matchup against Quad City at Carver Arena.
SPHL Stories from February 21, 2025
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- Rivermen Roll Over Quad City 7-3 In First Of Three Straight - Peoria Rivermen
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