ECHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Split Four-Game Week Heading into All-Star Break

January 19, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


THE RECAP:

Tuesday, January 13, 2004 @ Cincinnati Game #36 ECHL Game #556

Rivermen 3 Cincinnati 1

Despite starting the game with just 13 healthy skaters and finishing it with 12, the Peoria Rivermen needed just two players to handle the offense on Tuesday night, winning their season-high sixth in a row overall and fifth straight on the road.

Left wing Randy Rowe and Rivermen Captain Trevor Baker both had a hand in all three Peoria goals, which came in the second period, in a 3-1 road win over the Cincinnati Cyclones before a Tuesday night crowd of 907 at U.S. Bank Arena.

The Rivermen ended up skating with 12 players for most of the game because former All-Star Tyler Rennette went down to injury in the first period.

Rowe and Baker set each other up for goals, their 24th and 13th respectively, and then they combined to set up Brendan Brooks for a power play tally to complete the scoring. Rowe, who is tied for the ECHL lead in goal scoring with Florida's Brian McCullough, has points in each of his last 11 games with 21 (11g, 10a) and has 16 goals over his last 19 games with 31 points (16g, 15a). Baker has points in his last nine games with 16 (8g, 8a).

Peoria (21-8-7, 49 points) is undefeated in regulation in its last nine games (8-0-1) and moved into a second place tie with the defending Kelly Cup Champion Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies with two more games played. Cincinnati (17-17-2, 36 points) dropped to the .500 mark and has lost three of its last four games in regulation. The Cyclones fell to 10-7-2 on home ice.

Thursday, January 15, 2004 vs. Dayton Game #37 ECHL Game #567

Rivermen 2 Dayton 3

Three leads were too many to surmount, as the shorthanded Peoria Rivermen were edged by the archrival Dayton Bombers 3-2 before a crowd of 3,651 on Thursday night. The loss snapped Peoria's season-best, six-game winning streak.

Peoria skated with 14 healthy players, 13 of which played. Former Rivermen Darwin McPherson, who was 10 years into retirement, signed with the team to put an extra body on the bench but did not play.

The Bombers took their third lead of the night with just less than six minutes remaining in regulation. Chad Theuer won a face-off in the left circle back to Brian Ridolfi, who – stationed along the left wing boards – darted out from behind Theuer and rifled a slap shot by Rivermen goaltender Levente Szuper.

The Rivermen had tied it 2-2 at 4:30 of the third period. Adam Edinger took a pass from Joe Vandermeer at the bottom of the left face-off circle and slipped the puck past an out-of-position Dayton goaltender Bujar Amidovski for his 10th tally of the season.

Peoria (21-9-7, 49 points) had its four-game, unbeaten-in-regulation streak (3-0-1) at home snapped in the defeat as well. The Rivermen, who dropped to 3-1-1 against the Bombers this season, are averaging one goal per game in their nine home losses, which includes three overtime defeats. Dayton (14-20-3, 31 points) has won two in a row and improved to 6-11-2 on the road.

Friday, January 16, 2004 vs. Johnstown Game #38 ECHL Game #578

Rivermen 2 Johnstown 3

Leading 2-0, the Peoria Rivermen gave up three goals over the final 10:20, losing 3-2 to the rival Johnstown Chiefs in front of 4,684 on Friday night at Carver Arena. It was the first time Peoria lost two or more in a row in regulation since October 25, October 29 & October 31, when the Rivermen lost three in a row.

The Rivermen broke the scoreless tie at 2:08 of the third. Rivermen Captain Trevor Baker hammered Dominic Forget at center ice and carried the puck into the zone on right wing. Baker dropped it off to Randy Rowe at the bottom of the face-off circle, from where Rowe cut under a defenseman to the goal but was stopped by Johnstown goaltender David Currie. The rebound was picked up in the left face-off circle by Joe Vandermeer, who roofed his third goal of the season.

Peoria grabbed a short-lived 2-0 lead at 9:22 of the third. Malcolm MacMillan flipped the puck to Baker behind the Johnstown goal. Baker then found Ken Goetz in the high slot for a slap shot. Goetz was stopped on his initial shot but quickly fired his own rebound past an outstretched Currie from the right side of the slot. It was Goetz' first goal of the season.

Just 18 seconds later, the Chiefs got within one and netted the first of three unanswered tallies. Mather connected in close for his 13th tally of the season, catching Rivermen goaltender Mike Valley out of position. It was the first of two in the period by Mather.

The Chiefs tied it 2-2 at 13:42 of the final session. P.L. Courchesne wristed a shot toward the Peoria goal that Valley misplayed trying to catch it with his glove, allowing it into the goal. It was Courchesne's seventh goal of the season.

Mather connected for his 14th tally of the year, the eventual game winner, with just less than three minutes remaining. Peoria rookie defenseman George Halkidis lost the puck at the center redline, where Mather took over and broke in a breakaway to roof the puck over Valley at 17:08.

Peoria (21-10-7, 49 points) dropped to 8-7-3 at Carver Arena. Johnstown (21-14-3, 45 points) has won four in a row, equaling its longest winning streak of the season. The Chiefs improved to 8-11-1 on the road.

Saturday, January 17, 2004 vs. Johnstown Game #39 ECHL Game #592

Rivermen 1 Johnstown 0 Shootout

Goaltender Levente Szuper pitched his first shutout in a Peoria Rivermen uniform, stopping 34 shots in regulation and overtime and three of four in the shootout, as the Rivermen defeated the rival Johnstown Chiefs 1-0 in front of 6,464 on Saturday night at Carver Arena. It was the ninth shutout of Szuper's career, as he improved his record to 8-4-1 on the season.

Johnstown's Cory Campbell also earned a shutout for blanking the Rivermen on 44 shots in regulation and overtime. Two of Campbell's three shutouts this season have come against the Rivermen. Campbell earned a shutout on December 13, stopping 40 shots in a 2-0 victory.

In the shootout, Johnstown's Dominic Forget scored first in the second round. Then the Rivermen rattled off three straight shootout tallies in the second, third and fourth rounds. Tyler Rennette, Randy Rowe (shootout winner) and Marty Johnston all scored to complete the win.

Peoria (22-10-7, 51 points) snapped a mild two-game losing skid in the shootout win. The Rivermen improved to 9-7-3 on home ice, winning for the first time beyond regulation there. Peoria, now 3-2-1 against Johnstown with two games left in the season series, is 4-3 in shootouts this season. Johnstown (21-14-4, 46 points) earned one point for the shootout loss and dropped to 1-4 in shootouts.

The Captain's Log

As We Head To The All-Star Break

The Rivermen snapped a mild two-game losing streak with a 1-0 shootout win over the Johnstown Chiefs on Saturday. It was the first time Peoria had lost two or more in a row in regulation since October 29 & 31. The Rivermen opened the week with a 3-1 road win in Cincinnati to extend their season-best winning streak to six games, before dropping 3-2 regulation decisions at home to Dayton and Johnstown on Thursday and Friday, respectively. After opening the season with a 2-3-1 record for October, the Rivermen have posted a 20-7-6 record through 33 games since November 1. Peoria is in third place in the nine-team Northern Division, two points behind the defending Kelly Cup Champion Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies having played two more games. The Rivermen are in the midst of 13 straight games against Division opponents before they host the Pacific Division Idaho Steelheads on February 13-14. Peoria is 19-9-7 against its Division. The Rivermen play 65 of 72 regular season games against Northern Division opponents – half of which come against close geographic rivals Cincinnati (13), Toledo (12) and Dayton (11).

Accept Our All-Star Invitation

For the first time in 22 years of professional hockey in Peoria, the Rivermen are hosting an All-Star Game with the 2004 Par-A-Dice ECHL All-Star Game & Skills Competition. The Skills Competition will be held Tuesday, January 20 at 7:00 p.m. at Carver Arena; tickets are $5. The 2004 Par-A-Dice ECHL All-Star Game will be held Wednesday, January 21 at 7:30 p.m. at Carver Arena; tickets are $15 (Lower Bowl) and $10 (Upper Bowl).

Finally A Win When It's Close At Carver

Peoria posted its first home victory when scoring less than three goals with Saturday's night 1-0 shootout win over the Johnstown Chiefs. The Rivermen are 9-7-3 at Carver Arena. Saturday's win also marked the first time Peoria had won beyond regulation at home. When victorious on home ice, the Rivermen are averaging 4.22 goals per game (38 goals). When losing on home ice, which includes three overtime defeats, Peoria is averaging 1.10 per game (11 goals) over 10 losses. With seven home regulation losses this season, the Rivermen have never lost nine or more in a season in their ECHL tenure. The Rivermen own a 184-53-30 lifetime ECHL home record (75 percent point percentage) 19 games into their eighth ECHL season. Last season, the Rivermen posted a 26-5-5 home mark with the second fewest home losses in one season in ECHL franchise history. Peoria notched a 27-4-4 record at home in its first ECHL season (1996-1997).

Back To Being Szuper

Rivermen goaltender Levente Szuper got back to his winning ways on Saturday with a 34-save performance and his first shutout in a Rivermen uniform in a 1-0 shootout win over the rival Johnstown Chiefs. Szuper had won seven straight starts from November 14 to January 10 before losing 3-2 at home to Dayton January 15. Szuper opened the season 0-3-1 with 4.53 goals against average and a .818 save percentage. He has since improved his 8-4-1 with 2.70 GAA and .900 save percentage.

He Goetz It

Third-year left wing Ken Goetz has made an impact in his three games with the team. He fought once in each game on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, battling former NHL tough man Dody Wood on Thursday and duking it out with Johnstown tough man Richard Paul on Friday and Saturday. Goetz amassed 374 PIM and 40 majors in 61 games for the Corpus Christi Ice Rays of the Central Hockey League (CHL) last season, ranking first in the CHL in majors and second in PIM behind San Angelo's Kori Davison. Goetz racked up 368 PIM and 38 majors as a rookie (2001-2002) with Corpus Christi, ranking first in the CHL in majors and second in PIM behind Tulsa's Dallas Anderson.

Injury, Call-up & Transaction Report

· Defenseman Darwin McPherson has been signed and added to the roster, 01/15/04.

· Rivermen defenseman Joe Vandermeer reassigned from the Worcester IceCats (AHL), 01/15/04.

· Defenseman Doug MacIver has been signed and added to the roster, 01/15/04.

· Rivermen defenseman Joe Vandermeer and center Brendan Brooks have been reassigned to the Worcester IceCats (AHL), 01/14/04.

· Left wing Ken Goetz has been acquired from the Florence Pride for cash considerations, 01/13/04.

· Rivermen right wing Joe Pereira has been placed on the 30-day injured reserve, 01/13/04.

· Rivermen defenseman Craig Olynick has been placed on the 7-day injured reserve, 01/11/04.

· Rivermen left wing Josh Kern remains on team suspension, 01/02/04.

Steering Our Way Through The Schedule

PRACTICES:

· The Rivermen will practice Thursday, January 22 at Owens Center at 10:00 a.m. Practice times subject to change.

GAMES:

· On Friday, January 23, the Rivermen travel to Dayton, Ohio to face off against the archrival Bombers in the first of two in a row between the clubs and the sixth of 11 meetings on the season. Peoria is 3-1-1 against Dayton this year and is 42-23-9 lifetime in the ECHL against the Bombers. On January 15, the Rivermen had their season-high, six-game winning streak snapped in a 3-2 home regulation loss to the Bombers. It was Peoria's first regulation loss of the season to Dayton. The Bombers (14-22-3, 31 points) are in last place in the nine-team Northern Division, four points behind the Trenton Titans (16-15-3, 35 points) having played five more games. Dayton is led by center Olivier Proulx, who has 30 points (9g, 21a) in 39 games. The game broadcast can be heard on WWFS 1290 AM, Insight Communications (Peoria-44; Bloomington-Normal-22; Pekin, Morton & Galesburg-70) and online at www.rivermen.net, beginning at 5:50 p.m. from the Nutter Center. Game time is 6:00 p.m. CT.

· On Saturday, January 24, Peoria will face off against the Bombers for the second game in a row and the seventh of 11 meetings this season. The game broadcast can be heard on WWFS 1290 AM, Insight Communications (Peoria-44; Bloomington-Normal-22; Pekin, Morton & Galesburg-70) and online at www.rivermen.net, beginning at 5:50 p.m. from the Nutter Center. Game time is 6:00 p.m. CT.

Check out the Peoria Rivermen Statistics



ECHL Stories from January 19, 2004


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