Rivermen Seize Second Place With 3-1 Win Over Aeros
April 3, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
PEORIA, Ill. (April 3, 2009) - It only took the Peoria Rivermen two shots against Houston Aeros' netminder Rejean Beauchemin to take a 2-0 lead as they went on to secure a 3-1 win Friday night at Carver Arena, as well as a little breathing room in the West Division standings. It was the Rivermen's fifth consecutive win overall and their 10th straight win on home ice. Peoria has earned a point in 10 of their last 11 games.
The win pushed the Rivermen into sole possession of second place, two points ahead of the Aeros and the Rockford IceHogs. The West Division playoff picture can begin to take form on Sunday as Peoria can clinch their first post-season berth since the 2005-06 season with a single point in the game with Quad City. Rockford and Houston can both secure their playoff presence with a win of their own combined with a Peoria win over the Flames.
On Peoria's first power play, Steve Regier slid the Rivermen's first shot of the game from the bottom of the right circle through Beauchemin's five-hole for an early 1-0 lead at the 4:57 mark of the opening period. With his goal, Regier snatched the team lead with 21 for the season and his fourth goal in the past five games.
The Rivermen went back on the power play just over two minutes later and found a similar result at the 7:50 mark. Jonas Junland's slapshot from just inside the blue line deflected off a defender and bounced through the legs of Beauchemin for his 12th of the season. Talbot and Regier picked up helpers on the play.
Peoria and Houston traded goals in the second frame. Danny Irmen struck first for the Aeros on the power play at the 10:20 mark. Houston's right winger poked the puck near the top of the crease and it squirted through Legace's legs to cut Peoria's lead in half. Irmen's goal ended an impressive streak of 131 minutes and 14 seconds in which Legace did not allow a goal.
The Rivermen regained their two-goal lead only 1:56 seconds later. Jeff Cowan shot the puck from the bottom of the left circle and the rebound bounced just outside of the crease toward Talbot and Houston's Clayton Stoner. Talbot bumped Stoner in front of the net and the puck deflected off of Stoner's stick past Beauchemin to give Peoria a 3-1 lead. Cowan picked up the credit and his fifth goal of the season.
Manny Legace made 27 stops for his 12th Rivermen win of the year. Peoria, who was outshot 28-19 on Friday night, is now 24-15-1-1 when surrendering more shots than they take.
The Rivermen are right back at it on Sunday night at 7:05 p.m. as they visit the Quad City Flames in Moline, Ill. The game will be broadcast live on Hippie 101.1FM as well as www.rivermen.net.
American Hockey League Stories from April 3, 2009
- Admirals Sunk by Lake Erie - Milwaukee Admirals
- Houston falls 3-1 to Peoria Friday, could clinch playoffs Saturday - Houston Aeros
- Rivermen Seize Second Place With 3-1 Win Over Aeros - Peoria Rivermen
- Crunch Fall to Rockford in a Shootout - Syracuse Crunch
- Moose drop divisional battle to Marlies, 3-1 - Manitoba Moose
- Bentivoglio's tally 25 seconds into overtime gives Sound Tigers 4-3 victory over Hershey - Bridgeport Islanders
- Bulldogs ground Griffins with a 6-3 win - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Greentree provides offense as Flames top Wolves - Abbotsford Heat
- Griffins fall late in 6-3 loss at Hamilton - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Hartford smacks P-Bruins,6-0 - Connecticut Whale
- Rampage roast Chops - San Antonio Rampage
- Bernier, First In Flight - Manchester Monarchs
- Sharks Edge Albany 3-2 - Albany River Rats
- Phantoms Sneak Past Admirals in Overtime - Norfolk Admirals
- Crawford shines in shootout - Rockford IceHogs
- Devils Lose Battle Versus Pirates, 3-1 - Albany Devils
- Phantoms Take Control Of Playoff Race With 3-2 Overtime Win In Norfolk - Adirondack Phantoms
- Sharks Edge Albany 3-2 - Albany River Rats
- Sharks Riley past Rats 3-2 - Worcester Sharks
- P-Bruins Fall To Wolf Pack 6-0 - Providence Bruins
- Pirates Get 3-1 Victory Over Devils - Portland Pirates
- Sharks reassign forward Ryan Vesce to Worchester - Worcester Sharks
- Moose one of many to thank Flood Fighters with free tickets - Manitoba Moose
- Goaltender Anton Khudobin reassigned to Houston Aeros - Houston Aeros
- Teaming Up for a Great Cause - Cleveland Monsters
- Kings Ink Free Agent Mullen - Manchester Monarchs
- Amerks To Honor Thomas M. Nichols Scholarship Winners April 5th - Rochester Americans
- Dallas Assigns Dan Jancevski To Hamilton - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Amerks Host B-Sens Tonight - Rochester Americans
- Potter Sent to Pack - Connecticut Whale
- Rampage Host Boy Scout Night - San Antonio Rampage
- Boychuk Named AHL's Top Defenseman - Providence Bruins
- Providence's Johnny Boychuk wins AHL's Eddie Shore Award - AHL
- Admirals Team Up with Wisconsin State Fair - Milwaukee Admirals
- Rampage Sign Staal to ATO - San Antonio Rampage
- AHL Quick Hits - AHL
- Admirals Sign LW Brandon Buck to Tryout - Norfolk Admirals
- Aeros visit Peoria tonight at 7 p.m. in battle for second place - Houston Aeros
- Blackhawks Assign Aliu To Rockford - Rockford IceHogs
- Flames Recall Defencemen John Negrin And Matt Pelech From American Hockey League - Abbotsford Heat
- Stanley Cup Visit to Cap Off Griffins' Home Schedule - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Peter White Hall Of Fame Induction Higlights Big Night With Phantoms - Adirondack Phantoms
- Chops stay alive with big 5-3 win in Houston on Thursday - Iowa Chops
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