Rivermen Top Mississippi Surge, 5-2 on Saturday
January 4, 2014 - SPHL (SPHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
The Peoria Rivermen netted five goals from five different skaters on Saturday en route to a 5-2 win over the Mississippi Surge at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. With the win, Peoria swept the two-game weekend series in Biloxi and improved to 13-10-3 on the season, while Eric Levine (8-7-3) made 26 saves on 28 shots and earned his eighth win of the year.
Peoria opened the scoring on the power play at 11:15 of the first period. After Tom Janosz was called for hooking at 10:17, Tyler Amburgey ripped a shot from the left point that hit Aaron McGill in the back and fell to Justin Gvora in front of the net. Gvora then collected the puck and beat Surge netminder Mathieu Dugas for a 1-0 lead.
Nick Prockow extended Peoria's lead at 3:56 of the second when he received a pass from Steve Morra in the slot and put it home for his team-leading 12th of the season. However, just 21 seconds later, Chapen LeBlond notched Mississippi's first goal when he beat Levine from the left side at the 4:17 mark.
At 12:29 of the middle frame, Justin MacDonald evened the game when he intercepted a pass in the Peoria zone and threw a backhand pass across the crease. From the blue paint, Levine misplayed the pass and the puck redirected off his leg pad and into the net.
The Rivermen responded just 1:16 later and regained the lead courtesy of Steve Morra at 13:45. From the right corner, Amburgey pried the puck free from the wall and fed it in front to Morra for a one-timer and a 3-2 Peoria advantage.
In the third, Peoria added a pair of goals to seal the deal courtesy of Charlie Carkin and Taylor Larsen. From the right point, Carkin wristed a shot on net, where Joe Schiller created traffic and Dugas never saw it for a 4-2 lead at 1:38. The final goal of the night was scored shorthanded at 10:12 when Matt Viola fed the puck ahead for Larsen, who wound up and sniped a slap shot from the right circle for the 5-2 final.
Prockow (1g, 1a), Morra (1g, 1a), and Amburgey (2a) each produced a multi-point night for the Rivermen.
Peoria finished the night 1-for-5 on the power play, while the Surge's best power play in the league went 0-for-5. However, Mississippi outshot Peoria for the second straight night, 28-24. Dugas made 19 saves in the loss.
The Rivermen conclude a three-game road trip next Friday with a 7:05 p.m. puck drop against the Bloomington Thunder at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum. The game can be heard locally on CD Country 107.9 FM or online at www.cd1079.net . Fans can also follow along via the live video and audio stream at www.americaonesports.com.
SPHL Stories from January 4, 2014
- Rivermen Top Mississippi Surge, 5-2 on Saturday - Peoria Rivermen
- Ice Bears Pay Tribute to Swider with Victory - Knoxville Ice Bears
- Hosmer's Hat Trick Helps Hold off Fayetteville - Mississippi RiverKings
- Ice Flyers' Comeback Attempt Falls Short, Lose 2-1 - Pensacola Ice Flyers
- Thunder Shut out at Columbus - Bloomington Thunder
- IceGators Snap Skid with SO Win over Huntsville - Louisiana IceGators
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