ECHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen split two-game weekend in Dayton

January 26, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


THE RECAP:

Friday, January 23, 2004 vs. Dayton Game #40 ECHL Game #

Rivermen 3 Dayton 1

The Peoria Rivermen brawled and battled their way past the archrival Dayton Bombers 3-1 on Friday night in front of a Dayton record crowd of 10,057 at the Nutter Center.

Peoria took its second lead of the game just 27 seconds into the third period. Randy Rowe powered the puck toward the right goal post from the face-off circle. As Rowe closed in on the net, Rivermen Captain Trevor Baker and Tyler Rennette, along with two Dayton defensemen, converged on the goal. As the puck pinball-ed around in front of the goal, Rennette was able to slide it past Dayton goaltender Bujar Amidovski for the first of two tallies on the night and his 16th of the season. It proved to be the game winner.

A melee ensued in front of the Rivermen bench at 7:56 of the third. Initially, former NHL tough man Dody Wood tried to fight Baker but then was grabbed by several Rivermen on the bench after apparently sucker-punching Rennette. A linesman was knocked down during the altercation, and Peoria equipment manager Matt Briggle was nearly hit.

All told, 78 penalty minutes (PIM) were handed out by referee Joe Ernst. Wood was assessed 26 PIM – a cross checking minor, a double roughing minor and a double game misconduct. Greg Black, reassigned from the team's American Hockey League (AHL) – the Worcester IceCats – yesterday along with Colin Hemingway, was handed a minor for roughing and a 10-minute misconduct; Black and Hemingway, just coming off the injured reserve, had not played since December 10 and December 12, respectively.

Rivermen newcomer Kenny Goetz, who got into a fight in each of the first two periods, racked up a 10-minute misconduct during the rumble. Goetz has 16 fighting majors in 30 games, including five in four games with Peoria.

Baker and Olivier Proulx, who ended up fighting, each registered five-minute fighting majors and game misconducts for a third-man altercation.

Rennette sealed the victory with 46 seconds left. He stole the puck at the center point in the Dayton zone and fired his 17th marker of the season into an empty Dayton net.

Peoria (23-10-7, 53 points) pushed its season-best road winning streak to six games and improved to 14-3-4 away from home – the best road record in the ECHL. The Rivermen are 4-1-1 against the archrival Bombers this season. Dayton (14-23-3, 31 points) dropped its third straight game and fell to 8-10-1 on home ice.

Saturday, January 24, 2003 @ Dayton Game #41 ECHL Game #

Rivermen Dayton

The Peoria Rivermen surrendered just their fourth road regulation loss this season to the struggling archrival Dayton Bombers, losing 4-2 in front of 4,936 on Saturday night at the Nutter Center. The loss, just the fourth in 22 road opportunities, snapped Peoria's season-best, six-game road winning streak.

In a rare 4-on-3 power play, defenseman Sean Connolly netted his second goal of the game and just his third of the season at 13:17 of the third period for a 3-1 Dayton lead, one-timing a Brian Ridolfi cross-ice pass behind a helpless Mike Valley from the left face-off circle.

The Bombers were 1-for-3 on the power play, while Peoria was 0-for-3.

Peoria got within one at 16:16 of the third, making it 3-2. Doug MacIver fired a shot from the right point that Dayton goaltender Bujar Amidovski stopped, but Greg Black was there to poke in his first goal in a Rivermen uniform and second of the season.

Dayton sealed the victory with 36 seconds remaining in the game. With Valley pulled for the extra attacker, Dayton's Jason Deskins poked the puck away from Malcolm Hutt at the right point in the Bombers zone. Deskins broke into the Peoria zone and waited for Olivier Proulx, who took a pass and easily snapped the puck into an open net.

Peoria (23-11-7, 53 points) fell to 14-4-4 on the road. The Rivermen fell to 4-2-1 this season against the archrival Bombers. Dayton (15-23-3, 33 points) improved to 9-10-1 at home and snapped a three-game losing streak.

The Captain's Log

Nudging Our Way In The North

After a 1-1-0 weekend in Dayton against the archrival Bombers this past weekend, the Rivermen sit firmly in third place in the nine-team Northern Division, four points behind the defending Kelly Cup Champion Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies (28-10-1, 57 points) having played two more games and seven points behind the first place Wheeling Nailers (29-11-2, 60 points) with one game in hand. Peoria is 7-3-0 over its last 10 games and 8-3-0 in January.

Be Surprised... We Were Bested On The Road

The Rivermen reeled off six straight road wins over a span of nearly four weeks before surrendering to the archrival Dayton Bombers 4-2 on Saturday at the Nutter Center. Peoria opened its two-game weekend with a 3-1 victory over the Bombers on Friday in a fight-marred contest. Over the last 19 road games, Peoria is 13-2-4, which includes the aforementioned streak and an 11-game, unbeaten-in-regulation road streak (7-0-4) that was broken on December 26 in Cincinnati. At 14-4-4, the Rivermen own the best road point percentage in the ECHL at 76 percent.

Goaltending Keeps Getting Better

Goaltender Levente Szuper has won his last two starts and nine of his last 10 in goal for the Rivermen, posting a 9-4-1 season record with a 2.57 goals against average (GAA) and a .904 save percentage. Szuper had won seven straight starts from November 14 to January 10 before losing on January 15 at home to Dayton 3-2. The 23-year-old native of Budapest, Hungary, began the season 0-3-1 with a 4.53 GAA and a .818 save percentage.

Great Goetz!

Third-year left wing Kenny Goetz is averaging a fighting major per game in five games with the Rivermen. With 16 fighting majors in 31 games, he is tied for fourth in the ECHL, four behind League leader Nick Greenough of the Augusta Lynx. Goetz has twice fought Dayton newcomer and former NHL tough man Dody Wood and Johnstown ruffian Richard Paul. The Newtown, Pa. native Goetz has also fought Dayton's Riley Cote. 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.

Bet On Brooks At The Next Level

After being held scoreless in his first three games on reassignment to the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate – the Worcester IceCats, sixth-year center Brendan Brooks has tallied two points (1g, 1a), including Sunday's game-winning goal in a 4-2 road win over the Providence Bruins, in the last three games. He has eight shots over his six games with the IceCats. It is the third AHL team Brooks has seen action with in his career and first call-up since early in the 2001-2002 season.

Injury, Call-up & Transaction Report

· Rivermen left wing Randy Rowe has been called up to the St. John's Maple Leafs (AHL), 01/25/04.

· Forward Colin Hemingway and center Greg Black have been reassigned from Worcester (AHL) by St. Louis (NHL), 01/22/04.

· Defenseman Darwin McPherson has been released, 01/22/04.

· Rivermen center Brendan Brooks remains on reassignment to the Worcester IceCats (AHL), 01/14/04.

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

· Rivermen defenseman Craig Olynick remains 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 Monday, January 26 through Wednesday, January 28 at Owens Center at 10:00 a.m. The team will practice at Carver Arena on Thursday, January 29 through Saturday, January 31 at 10:00 a.m. Practice times subject to change.

GAMES:

· On Friday, January 30, the Rivermen host the Cincinnati Cyclones in the first of two in a row at Carver Arena. It will be the 10th and 11th meetings in the 13-game season series. Peoria has won the last two meetings, the most recent of which came on Tuesday, January 13 in Cincinnati. Captain Trevor Baker and Randy Rowe each netted three points (1g, 2a), as the shorthanded Rivermen won 3-1. On December 27, Peoria won going away 6-2 at home on the strength of a Rowe hat trick. The Rivermen are 6-3-0 on the season against the Cyclones and 4-1-0 against them in Cincinnati. Peoria owns a 31-12-2 lifetime ECHL record against the Cyclones. Cincinnati (18-22-2, 38 points) is tied with the Toledo Storm for seventh place in the nine-team Northern Division, one point behind the Trenton Titans (18-15-3, 39 points) – who have played six less games. The Cyclones are led by center Garrett Prosofsky, who has 35 points (15g, 20a) in 37 games. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts will perform in a post-game concert, sponsored by the Par-A-Dice Hotel-Casino, WGLO – 95.5 FM and Insight Media. Tickets start at just $16. 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 6:50 p.m. from Carver Arena. Game time is 7:00 p.m. CT.

· On Saturday, January 31, Peoria takes on the Cyclones for the second straight game and the 11th meeting of the season series. The first 2,000 fans will receive a Rivermen cap, courtesy of OSF – St. Francis Medical Center. 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 7:20 p.m. from Carver Arena. Special game time is 7:30 p.m. CT.

· On Sunday, February 1, the Rivermen host the archrival Toledo Storm in the fifth of 12 meetings on the season. Peoria is 2-0-2 against the Storm this season after winning both games of a home-and-home set between the clubs on January 3-4 by scores of 3-1 and 4-2, respectively. The Rivermen own a 46-22-5 lifetime ECHL record against the Storm. Toledo (17-20-4, 38 points) is tied with the Cincinnati Cyclones for seventh place in the nine-team Northern Division having played one less game. The Storm are led by newcomer Jim Abbott, who has 35 points (20g, 15a) in 40 games. It is a Journal Star/Insight Media Family Day. Kids 12 and Under receive a $2 Upper Bowl admission. Kids Meals are available for just $2.50 and the first 1,000 meals come with a Mike Valley player card. Chuckie from the Rugrats will also appear courtesy of Nickelodeon. 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 12:50 p.m. from Carver Arena. Special game time is 1:00 p.m. CT to accommodate the Super Bowl.

Check out the Peoria Rivermen Statistics



ECHL Stories from January 26, 2004


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