ECHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Throttle Johnstown 7-0 on the Road

March 17, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


Johnstown, Pa. (March 17, 2005) – It was a collective effort in Johnstown on Tuesday night, as six different Peoria Rivermen players scored in a 7-0 hammering of the rival Johnstown Chiefs before a crowd of 1,446 at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena. It was Peoria's final trip in its ECHL history to Johnstown.

Russ Guzior, who was the night's only two-goal scorer, netted the only tally of the final period at 7:25 to make it 7-0. After rookie Travis Rycroft was stopped on a shot at the bottom of the right face-off circle, the rebound popped just off the left goal post and right to Guzior, who easily tapped in his second marker of the contest and fifth of the year.

Alfie Michaud stopped all 25 shots he faced, posting his fifth shutout this season and setting a 23-year Peoria professional hockey record for shutouts by a goaltender in a regular season. Michaud is one shutout away from his personal best of six in one season, registered in his third professional season (2001-2002). With one shutout in 2002-2003 for the Rivermen, Michaud's six in a Peoria uniform make him the All-Time Shutouts Leader in the Regular Season by a Rivermen Goaltender.

Newcomer Luke Stauffacher, who was signed before the game out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, dropped the gloves early in the third period in his first professional contest, taking on Johnstown defenseman Ian Manzano. The diminutive forward (5'7", 175 pounds) held his own against Manzano. Stauffacher did not have his jersey tied down, so along with a five-minute fighting major came a game misconduct.

Peoria (31-21-7, 69 points) improved to 2-3-0 through five games of a seven-game, nine-day road trip and is now 12-14-2 away from Carver Arena this year. The Rivermen have held the opposition to two goals or less in 16 of the last 31 games. Peoria moved to within three points of fifth-place Toledo with a game in hand and to within four points of fourth-place Trenton with a game in hand. Johnstown (19-27-14, 52 points) has lost two straight and is winless in its last 12 games (0-9-3). The Chiefs fell to 12-12-8 at home this season.

Johnstown goaltender David Cann (9-15-7) stopped 20 of 26 Peoria shots before being relieved to start the third period by rookie Brian Gratz, who turned away 16 of 17 chances.

Peoria took a 1-0 lead at 1:56 of the opening session. Tyler Rennette, just below the right hash marks in the slot, took what looked like a shot/pass that Randy Rowe, stationed just off the left goal post, chipped past Cann. It was Rowe's 18th tally of the season and his second in the past three games.

Patrick Wellar's second professional goal gave the Rivermen a 2-0 lead at 3:16 of the first. Captain Trevor Baker, in the right face-off circle, found Wellar charging down the middle of the Johnstown zone. Wellar pushed the puck into the slot and sent it past Cann. It was Baker's first point in five games after his nine-game, 12-point (4g, 8a) streak ended on March 11 in Toledo.

The Rivermen pushed their lead to 3-0 at 8:01 of the first. Rookie Justin Maiser nearly lost the puck in the right face-off circle but caught up to it, finding Brian McCullough just off the left post for his team-leading 32nd tally of the season. It was McCullough's 10th marker in the last 12 games, which includes a seven-goal, seven-game goal-scoring streak.

Peoria gave themselves a 4-0 advantage at 9:53 of the second. Veteran Reggie Stringer left the puck in the left wing corner for Maiser, who – from just above the end red line – threw it toward the Johnstown net, banking it in off the side of Cann. It was Maiser's 15th goal of the season.

The Rivermen poured in another at 12:17 of the middle stanza. Defenseman Trevor Byrne, who was reassigned from the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Worcester IceCats, earlier in the day, carried the puck into the Chiefs zone on right wing. After Byrne got to the face-off circle, he chipped a quick pass to Stringer, who was circling at the right hash marks and one-timed his 18th of the season inside the left goal post. The tally extended Stringer's goal-scoring streak to five games with five markers, and Stringer has a six-game point streak with eight points (5g, 3a).

Peoria tallied its sixth goal of the contest with 4:55 remaining in the second. Rookie Aaron Forsythe's shot from the right point after the Rivermen had won a draw in the right circle was tipped down and past Cann by Guzior for his third goal in a Rivermen uniform and fourth marker this season.

On Friday, March 18, the Rivermen visit Atlantic City, NJ, to take on the Boardwalk Bullies. Game time is 6:00 p.m. at Historic Boardwalk Hall.

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ECHL Stories from March 17, 2005


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