Rivermen Stun Fresno with a 4-3 Overtime Home Win
December 29, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
Peoria, Ill. (December 29, 2004) â Three-time ECHL All-Star Brian McCullough put the Peoria Rivermen on his back for the second night in a row, scoring an early third-period tally and then the overtime winner 1:36 into the extra session for a 4-3 Peoria Rivermen win over the Fresno Falcons before a crowd of 4,051 on Wednesday night at Carver Arena.
After Shaun Sutter deflected in his 11th tally of the season from in front of the Rivermen goal on a Derek Krestanovich shot from the left face-off circle at 4:20, McCullough went to work, tying the game 2-2 at 7:55. He took a pass from Tyler Rennette at center ice, broke into the Fresno end on left wing and whistled a low shot through the legs of Brett Jaeger for his team-leading ninth tally of the season.
The Falcons nearly broke Peoria's back with the Rivermen on the power play. Falcons Captain Dan Tessier stole the puck from Ed Hill at the Peoria blue line, broke down the right side of the slot and snapped his 11th goal of the season into the upper right corner. It was Peoria's fifth shorthanded goal allowed this season, giving Fresno its second lead of the third at 16:39.
Peoria quickly tied the game back up on the same power play 16 seconds later. Veteran Chris Bogas sent the puck on net from the right point and a diving Randy Rowe tipped it past rookie goaltender Brett Jaeger for his seventh goal of the year.
McCullough won it in overtime with a snap shot from the left face-off circle on a pass from Trevor Byrne, who tallied a goal in last night's 3-1 win over Fresno. McCullough accepted pass from Byrne while backpedaling toward the right-wing boards and slipped it through the right arm and torso of Jaeger for his 10th tally of the season.
Peoria (9-13-3, 21 points) has won two in a row and is now tied for seventh place in the North Division with the Dayton Bombers (10-17-1). The Rivermen improved to 6-5-2 on home ice and 7-2-0 lifetime in the regular season against West Division opponents. It was just the fifth time in the last 15 games, the Rivermen have scored three or more goals with all of those efforts resulting in wins. Fresno (12-13-2, 26 points) dropped to 3-6-1 on the road in the overtime loss.
Rivermen rookie goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu (6-8-1) turned away 31 of 34 shots in the win. Jaeger (6-4-3) stopped 33 of 37 in defeat.
Peoria took a 1-0 lead on rookie Jake Riddle's third professional goal in two games. Justin Maiser held the puck in the Fresno zone in the high slot and dropped it off to Reggie Stringer, who fired a shot low and wide right of the net. The rebound caromed right back to the right post, where rookie Jake Riddle lifted it up over the left shoulder of Jaeger. Riddle had two goals, including the game winner, and an assist in last night's 3-1 win over the Falcons.
The Rivermen, who were 1-for-23 on the power play in their last five games, continued their struggles in the opening session. Peoria went 0-for-4 in the first and failed to convert on a full two-minute 5-on-3 advantage.
The Falcons tied it early in the second period. Tessier fed Sam Ftorek at the top of the right face-off circle for howitzer of a shot that beat Beckford-Tseu past his blocker and inside the left post. It was Ftorek's fourth goal of the season.
On New Year's Eve (Friday, December 31, 2004), the Rivermen face off against the defending Kelly Cup Champion Idaho Steelheads on the road in the first of two in a row between the clubs. Game time is 8:10 p.m. CT at the Bank of American Centre.
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