Rivermen Shut Out Reading 2-0 at Home
February 27, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
Peoria, Ill. (February 27, 2004) â Rookie Mike Hoffman scored his first two professional goals and Mike Valley turned away all 29 shots he faced, as the Peoria Rivermen shut out the visiting Reading Royals 2-0 in front of 4,335 on Friday night at Carver Arena.
The Rivermen took a 1-0 lead at 13:17 of the first period. Joe Vandermeer found Mike Hoffman at the right point on a backhand shovel pass. Hoffman pushed the puck to the top of the right face-off circle and fired a low slap shot through a maze of players that made its way just inside the left goal post.
Peoria pushed its lead to 2-0 at 6:05 of the second period on Hoffman's second professional tally. Colin Hemingway chipped the puck to Adam Edinger on left wing, and Edinger brought it into the Reading zone with Hoffman trailing the play. Hoffman then cut to the middle and laid his stick out for an Edinger pass just above the goal crease, chipping the puck into the upper right corner past Reading goaltender and former Rivermen Cody Rudkowsky, who turned away 38 of 40 in his 13th loss of the season (18-13-3).
Valley stopped 10 shots in both the first and second periods and nine in the final session for his third shutout of the year and the 10th of his career. He nearly scored his first professional goal at the end of regulation, firing the puck down the ice into the middle net, but it was two seconds too late.
Peoria (32-16-8, 72 points) snapped a season-worst, three-game home losing streak in the win. The Rivermen improved to 14-11-3 on home ice and 2-1-1 on the season against the Royals. It was Peoria's fifth team shutout of the season. Reading (31-16-8, 70 points) had its three-game winning streak snapped and its eight-game, unbeaten-in-regulation streak halted. It was the Royals' first regulation loss since February 7 in Atlantic City. It was just the third time this season Reading was shut out.
Tomorrow night â Saturday, February 28 â the Rivermen host the Royals in the second of two in a row between the clubs. Game time is 7:00 p.m. at Carver Arena. It is Caterpillar Night. The first 2,000 fans receive a Rivermen Pop-Up Chair, courtesy of Caterpillar.
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