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ECHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen take two of three on homestand

February 2, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


THE RECAP:

Friday, January 30, 2004 vs. Cincinnati Game #42 ECHL Game #659

Rivermen 1 Cincinnati 4

The Peoria Rivermen scored the night's first goal but left the rest for the Cincinnati Cyclones, losing 4-1 before a Friday night crowd of 5,752 at Carver Arena.

Cincinnati pushed its lead to 3-1 with less than five minutes remaining in the game. Richard Naumann pulled up at the left face-off circle and fed a breaking Mark Concannon – who barreled down the slot and kicked the puck to his forehand for a wicked slap shot just under the crossbar. It was Concannon's seventh goal of the year.

Tyler Deis sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with 10 seconds remaining. Deis finished the night with three points (1g, 2a) to lead all scorers. He has five points (2g, 3a) in three games against Peoria.

Cincinnati goaltender Randy Petruk was stellar in net, turning away 35 of 36 shots – many of which came at point-blank range in the second period – in his 15th victory of the season (15-16-1).

Peoria (23-12-7, 53 points) fell to 9-8-3 on home ice, averaging just 1.09 goals per game over 11 losses, which includes three overtime losses. The Rivermen dropped to 6-4-0 on the year against the Cyclones. Cincinnati (20-22-2, 42 points) improved to 9-12-0 on the road.

Saturday, January 31, 2004 vs. Cincinnati Game #43 ECHL Game #673

Rivermen 4 Cincinnati 1

The Peoria Rivermen had not scored a power play goal in six games but used three to beat the Cincinnati Cyclones on Saturday night by a 4-1 score in front of 6,021 at Carver Arena.

Peoria entered the game 0-for-20 on the power play over its last six games. It was just the second time the Rivermen tallied three man advantage markers in a game this season; they scored three (3-for-7) in a 7-0 win over the Wheeling Nailers on October 24 at Carver Arena. The Rivermen were 3-for-7 with the man advantage in this game, while Cincinnati was 0-for-6.

The Rivermen netted their third power play goal to seal the victory at 17:33 of the third. Marty Johnston took a pass from Bret DeCecco in the left wing corner and powered the puck to the goal, cutting in underneath a defenseman and slipping the puck through the legs of Cincinnati goaltender Tyler Masters. It was Johnston's ninth tally of the year and fifth in a Rivermen uniform.

Peoria pushed its lead to 3-1 at 3:54 of the third period. DeCecco chipped the puck up to Tyler Rennette, who broke into the Cincinnati zone on right wing and rocketed a shot from the top of the right face-off circle into the upper right corner. It was Rennette's 18th tally of the season.

Peoria (24-12-7, 55 points) improved to 10-8-3 on home ice and is averaging 4.20 goals per game when victorious at Carver Arena. The Rivermen, who lost 4-1 to the Cyclones last night, improved to 7-4-0 against them this season. Cincinnati (20-23-2, 42 points) dropped to 9-13-0 on the road and failed to equal a season-high, three-game winning streak.

Sunday, February 1, 2004 vs. Toledo Game #44 ECHL Game #680

Rivermen 3 Toledo 2

The Peoria Rivermen jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held on for a 3-2 win over the archrival Toledo Storm before 3,501 on Sunday afternoon at Carver Arena.

The Rivermen posted two wins in a row at home for the third time this season but have yet to post three straight there. They will get the chance on February 13 when they host the Pacific Division Idaho Steelheads. With the victory, the Rivermen improved to 11-8-3 on home ice, averaging 4.09 goals per game when victorious.

Peoria (25-12-7, 57 points) moved to within six points of the defending Kelly Cup Champion Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies, who lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Augusta Lynx this afternoon. The Rivermen stayed unbeaten in regulation against the Storm in five games (3-0-2). The teams will meet seven more times over the final two months of the regular season. Toledo (18-22-4, 40 points) has lost four of its last five games and dropped to 9-11-3 on the road.

The Captain's Log

Division Days Continue

Peoria, in the midst of 13 straight against Northern Division opponents, posted a 2-1-0 weekend at home with wins on Saturday and Sunday over Cincinnati and Toledo, respectively. Peoria improved to 7-4-0 against the Cincinnati Cyclones after posting a 4-1 home loss to the Cyclones on Friday and then returning the favor on Saturday. The Rivermen held on to beat the archrival Toledo Storm on Sunday in a 3-2 home win, staying unbeaten in regulation against them through five games (3-0-2) this season. Peoria (25-12-7, 57 points) sits in third place in the Northern Division, six points behind their Wednesday opponent – the defending Kelly Cup Champion Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies (30-10-3, 63 points), having played one more game. The Rivermen are four points in front of the rival Johnstown Chiefs (24-15-5, 53 points), who are their host for two games on Friday and Saturday.

Ready For A Road Ruckus

The Rivermen, with the ECHL's best road record (14-4-4, 76 percent point percentage), embark on a five-game, nine-day road trip, which begins on Wednesday in Atlantic City. In their most recent road action, the Rivermen split a two-game set in Dayton against the archrival Bombers. Peoria has posted six straight road wins this season along with an 11-game, unbeaten-in-regulation streak (7-0-4).

Carver Crazy

With Sunday's 3-2 win over the archrival Toledo Storm, the Rivermen posted consecutive home wins for just the third time this season. They have yet to win three in a row at Carver Arena this year, while bringing a 76 percent home point percentage (175-46-27) in seven ECHL seasons into 2003-2004. Over 11 home wins (11-8-3), the Rivermen are averaging 4.09 (45 goals), while collecting just 1.09 goals per game (12 goals) over 11 defeats – which include three overtime losses. Peoria also won two straight at Carver Arena on November 27 & 28 and January 2 & 4. With eight home regulation losses this season, the Rivermen have never lost more than nine in a season in their ECHL tenure. Currently, the Rivermen own a 186-54-30 lifetime ECHL home record (74 percent point percentage) 22 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).

"Powering" Back For A Game

The Rivermen temporarily revived a left-for-dead power play on Saturday, posting three power play goals (3-for-7) en route to a 4-1 win over the Cincinnati Cyclones; Peoria went 0-for-3 on the power play in Sunday's 3-2 home win over archrival Toledo. It was just the second time the Rivermen posted three power play goals in one game this year. They notched three (3-for-7) in a 7-0 home win over the Wheeling Nailers during the second weekend of the 2003-2004 season. Coming into Saturday's contest, Peoria was 0-for-20 over its last six games. For the season, the Rivermen rank 24th out of 31 ECHL teams with a 14.1 percent conversion rate with the man advantage.

Brooks Baby Brooks!

Sixth-year center Brendan Brooks is on a three-game goal and point streak with three tallies and four points, respectively, on reassignment with Peoria's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate – the Worcester IceCats. Over the last three contests, he is also a +5 with nine shots. He has now played a total of eight games with five points (3g, 2a) and +4 plus/minus with 15 shots. One of his three Worcester goals was a game winner, coming on January 25 in a 4-2 road win over the Providence Bruins. 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.

Rowe Showing He's Ready

Rivermen left wing Randy Rowe, currently on the first call-up of his career with the American Hockey League's (AHL) St. John's Maple Leafs, tallied his second AHL point last Saturday, setting up Kyle Wellwood for the second game in a row in the Maple Leafs' 4-3 home loss to the Cleveland Barons. Rowe and Wellwood were linemates with the Major Junior "A" Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

Injury, Call-up & Transaction Report

· Defenseman Chad Starling has been reassigned from the Houston Aeros (AHL), 01/30/04.

· Rivermen left wing Randy Rowe remains on call-up with the St. John's Maple Leafs (AHL), 01/27/04.

· 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

GAMES:

· On Wednesday, February 4, the Rivermen travel to Atlantic City to face off against the defending Kelly Cup Champion Boardwalk Bullies in the first of five straight road games and the third of four meetings on the year between the clubs. In the first two matchups of the season – which came in Peoria over the first of the calendar year – Peoria and Atlantic City split overtime decisions by scores of 3-2 and 4-3, respectively. The teams will meet for a fourth and final time on Friday, March 19 in Atlantic City. Wednesday's game was a reschedule from Saturday, March 20. With a 1-0-1 record against them this season, the Rivermen are 7-2-2 lifetime in the ECHL against the Boardwalk Bullies. Atlantic City (30-10-3, 63 points) is in second place in the nine-team Northern Division, six points in front of the Rivermen with a game in hand and three points back of the Wheeling Nailers (32-11-2, 66 points) with two games in hand. The Boardwalk Bullies are led by left wing Luke Curtin, who has 53 points (23g, 30a) in 43 games. The game broadcast can be heard on TAPE DELAY on WWFS 1290 AM, and LIVE on Insight Communications (Peoria-44; Bloomington-Normal-22; Pekin, Morton & Galesburg-70) and online at www.rivermen.net, beginning at 5:50 p.m. at Boardwalk Hall. Game time is 6:00 p.m. CT.

· On Friday, February 6, Peoria makes its way to Johnstown, Pa. to face off in the first of two in a row against the rival Chiefs and the seventh of eight meetings on the season. The Rivermen own a 3-2-1 season mark against the Chiefs after splitting two games in Peoria just over two weeks ago. The Chiefs prevailed 3-2 on January 16, while the Rivermen rebounded for a 1-0 shootout win. The Rivermen own a 32-14-6 lifetime ECHL record against the Chiefs. Johnstown (24-15-5, 53 points) is in fourth place in the nine-team Northern Division, four points behind the Rivermen. The Chiefs are led by forward Jason Notermann, who has 33 points (15g, 18a) in 43 games. The game broadcast can be heard LIVE 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 Cambria County War Memorial. Game time is 6:00 p.m. CT.

· On Saturday, February 7, the Rivermen take on the Chiefs for the second game in a row and the eighth and final time during the regular season. The game broadcast can be heard LIVE 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 Cambria County War Memorial. Game time is 6:00 p.m. CT.

· On Sunday, February 8, the Rivermen travel to Toledo, Ohio to battle the archrival Storm in the sixth of 12 meetings on the season. Peoria is 3-0-2 against the Storm this season after holding on for a 3-2 home win this past Sunday. The teams meet eight times over February and March. The Rivermen own a 47-22-5 lifetime ECHL record against the Storm. Toledo (18-22-4, 40 points) is in eighth place in the nine-team Northern Division, two points behind the Cincinnati Cyclones (20-23-2, 42 points) with a game in hand. The Storm are led by former All-Star left wing Nick Parillo, who has 38 points (14g, 24a) in 44 games. The game broadcast can be heard on TAPE DELAY WWFS 1290 AM, and LIVE on Insight Communications (Peoria-44; Bloomington-Normal-22; Pekin, Morton & Galesburg-70) and online at www.rivermen.net, beginning at 1:50 p.m. from the Toledo Sports Arena. Game time is 2:00 p.m. CT.

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