ECHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Undefeated in Regulation in Three over Thanksgiving Week

Published on December 1, 2003 under ECHL (ECHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


THE RECAP:

Thursday, November 27, 2003 vs. Dayton Game #15 ECHL Game #250

Rivermen 3 Dayton 0

Mike Valley recorded his second shutout of the season, and Brendan Brooks and Adam Edinger each tallied three points, as the Peoria Rivermen blanked the archrival Dayton Bombers 3-0 before a Thanksgiving Day crowd of 4,385 on Thursday night at Carver Arena.

Valley stopped 29 shots in keeping Dayton off the board, including 15 in the second period. In his first shutout of the season, he turned away 23 shots in a 7-0 shutout of the Wheeling Nailers on October 24 at home.

The Rivermen took a 1-0 lead on the power play with just 1:10 left in the opening period. Brooks followed his own rebound off the end glass, slapping at the puck from the side of the Dayton goal. His shot deflected off the stick of Dayton center Jason Deskins and then off goaltender Bujar Amidovski and into the net.

It was Brooks' sixth goal of the season. He is in the midst of a six-game point streak with 10 points (3g, 7a).

Peoria pushed its lead to 2-0 at 11:47 of the second period. Defenseman Joe Vandermeer partially fanned on a shot from the high slot and the puck deflected to Adam Edinger in front of the Dayton goal. Edinger chipped it past a down and prone Amidovski for his first tally with the Rivermen and fourth of the season.

Edinger wasn't done, though. With 2:56 left in the middle stanza, Brooks powered the puck toward the Dayton goal finding Edinger at the top of the crease again for Edinger's second of the period and fifth of the year.

Peoria (8-5-2, 18 points) has won five of its last six games and moved back to the .500 mark on home ice (3-3-2). The Rivermen improved to 3-0-0 against the Bombers this season. Dayton (3-10-1, 7 points) has lost four in a row in regulation and is winless in its last eight games (0-7-1).

– more –

Scoring Summary (Peoria 3, Dayton 0)

1st period: PEO – Brooks-6 (Edinger, Vandermeer), 18:50 (PP)

2nd period: PEO – Edinger-4 (Vandermeer, Brooks), 11:47; PEO – Edinger-5 (Brooks, Kim), 17:04

3rd period: No Scoring

Shots on Goal

PEO – 15+11+3=29 DAY – 5+15+9=29

Power Plays

PEO – 1/1 DAY – 0/5

Goaltenders

PEO – Valley, W (4-1-1), Saves=29 of 29 DAY – Amidovski, L (2-6-1), Saves=26 of 29

Penalties

PEO – 9/43 DAY – 3/12

Friday, November 28, 2003 vs. Cincinnati Game #16 ECHL Game #260

Rivermen 4 Cincinnati 1

The most unassuming shot of the game made its way past Peoria Rivermen goaltender Mike Valley, spoiling his chance for a second straight shutout, but the Rivermen were victorious in a 4-1 win over the visiting Cincinnati Cyclones in front of 5,077 on Friday night at Carver Arena.

The goal came at 6:27 of the third period. Defenseman Derrick Byfuglien, stationed just inside the blue line, floated a shot toward the Peoria goal that Valley redirected into his own net after throwing his stick at the puck, which launched it into the air and past himself. It was Byfuglien's second tally of the season.

Including his last game in Alaska on November 1, Valley – who stopped 20 of 21 in this night's game for his fifth victory (5-1-1) of the season – had a shutout streak of 124:48 up until the Cincinnati tally.

Peoria grabbed its two-goal lead back a little more than two minutes later at 8:49 of the third. Adam Edinger stole the puck from Byfuglien at the Cincinnati line, broke in on a breakaway and snapped his third goal in two nights and sixth of the season over Cyclones goaltender Randy Petruk.

Josh Kern completed the scoring with 1:33 left in the game. Defenseman Scott Crawford maneuvered the puck down to the bottom of the right face-off circle and snapped it toward the right goal post, where Josh Kern tipped the puck past Petruk for his first of the season.

Colin Hemingway helped set up the goal and had three assists to lead all scorers.

There were three fights in the third period. The first at 7:39 pitted each team's leading scorer – Peoria's Brendan Brooks and Cincinnati defenseman Ryan Brindley – against one another. The second came with 36 seconds remaining in the game with Peoria's Joe Pereira and Cincinnati's Tom Rouleau duking it out. The final bout had Peoria's Jeremy Yablonski punishing Cincinnati's Mark Concannon with 13 seconds left.

Peoria (9-5-2, 20 points) has won two straight at home and six of its last seven games overall. The Rivermen improved to 4-3-2 on home ice and 4-1-0 against the Cyclones on the season with eight games left in the season series. Cincinnati (9-9-0, 18 points) had won two in a row and dropped to 4-5-0 on the road.

Scoring Summary (Peoria 4, Cincinnati 1)

1st period: No Scoring

2nd period: PEO – Rowe-9 (Black, Hemingway), :37; PEO – Rowe-10 (Hemingway, Kern), 10:13

3rd period: CIN – Byfuglien-2 (Prosofsky, Dunlop), 6:27; PEO – Edinger-6 (UNA), 8:49; PEO – Kern-1 (Crawford, Hemingway), 18:27

Shots on Goal

PEO – 9+11+15=35 CIN – 8+8+5=21

Power Plays

PEO – 0/4 CIN – 0/3

Goaltenders

PEO – Valley, W (5-1-1), Saves=20 of 21 CIN – Petruk, L (7-6-0), Saves=31 of 35

Penalties

PEO – 10/45 CIN – 10/37

Saturday, November 29, 2003 @ Toledo Game #17 ECHL Game #277

Rivermen 4 Toledo 5 Shootout

The Peoria Rivermen blew a three-goal lead and fell 5-4 in a shootout on the road, losing to the archrival Toledo Storm before a crowd of 3,983 on Saturday night at the Toledo Sports Arena.

Veteran Rick Judson scored in the first shootout round, stickhandling into the Peoria zone straight away and flipping a shot over the right shoulder of Rivermen rookie goaltender Daniel Boisclair. The tally was the only of the shootout session and proved to be the winner.

Boisclair, who fell to 3-2-1 on the year, was stellar, turning away 40 of 44 shots in regulation, then two of two in overtime and three of four in the shootout.

Peoria (9-5-3, 21 points) has fallen in extra time – once in overtime and once in a shootout – in both meetings (0-0-2) with the Storm this season. The Rivermen have won six of their last eight games and are 8-3-3 on the season against Northern Division opponents. With the point for a shootout loss, Peoria has moved into a tie for fourth place in the Northern Division with the Reading Royals. Toledo (8-8-1, 17 points) has won three of its last four games at home.

Scoring Summary (Peoria 4, Toledo 5) Shootout

1st period: PEO – DeCecco-2 (Pereira, Kern), 2:51

2nd period: PEO – Crawford-3 (Brooks, DeCecco), 5:21 (SH); TOL – Judson-2 (Ballantyne, Jacques), 11:12 (PP); PEO – Kern-2 (Hemingway), 15:11; PEO – Kern-3 (Rowe, Hemingway), 16:42; TOL – Nelson-6 (Kingston), 17:17

3rd period: TOL – Mason-6 (Parillo, Ballantyne) 14:26; TOL – Jacques-8 (Mason, Kingston), 19:05

Overtime: No Scoring

Shootout: Judson (SOW)

Shots on Goal

PEO – 5+9+10+2=26 TOL – 9+22+13+2=46

Power Plays

PEO – 0/5 TOL – 1/5

Goaltenders

PEO – Boisclair, SOL (3-2-1), Saves=42 of 46; SO=3 of 4 TOL – Teskey, Saves=10 of 14

MacIntyre, SOW (6-4-0), Saves=12 of 12; SO=5 of 5

Penalties

PEO – 7/17 TOL – 7/17

The Captain's Log

November To Remember

Despite blowing a 4-1 lead to fall 5-4 in a shootout in Toledo on Saturday night, the Rivermen fared much better over the second month of the season than they did during the first. Peoria won six of its final eight contests in the 11-game month, posting a 7-2-2 record. In October, the Rivermen were 2-3-1.

Nudging Our Way Up In The North

At the conclusion of a three-game, 2-0-1 week for the Rivermen, they have moved up two spots to into a tie fifth place in the tightly-packed, nine-team Northern Division. The Rivermen notched a 3-0 home shutout of the archrival Dayton Bombers on Thanksgiving, a 4-1 home win over the Cincinnati Cyclones on Friday and a 5-4 shootout loss to the archrival Toledo Storm on Saturday. Peoria (9-5-3, 21 points) is currently tied for fifth in the Division with the Trenton Titans (10-8-1). The Rivermen could theoretically be two points back of the first place Johnstown Chiefs with wins in their two games in hand on those ahead of them in the standings.

Never A Break Against The North

The Rivermen are 6-2-2 through 10 games of 26 straight against Northern Division opponents and own an 8-3-3 record against the Northern Division for the season. Peoria does not play outside their division until January 9-10, when they face off against the Las Vegas Wranglers, one of three Pacific Division opponents they take on this season, the Rivermen finished a seven-game stretch against Cincinnati (4) and Dayton (3), registering a 6-1-0 record. Peoria is 0-0-2 against the archrival Toledo Storm this year after Saturday's 5-4 shootout loss in Toledo with 10 meetings remaining between the teams. The Rivermen, who own a 44-22-5 lifetime ECHL mark against Toledo, will not do battle with the Storm until a home-and-home set on Saturday, January 3 (Toledo) and Sunday, January 4 (Peoria). Peoria is 4-1-0 against the Cincinnati Cyclones on the year after a 4-1 home win on Friday. There are eight games left in the season series with Cincinnati, and the Rivermen own a 29-10-2 lifetime ECHL record against the Cyclones. The Rivermen are 3-0-0 against Dayton on the year with eight games remaining in the season series. Peoria owns a 42-22-8 lifetime ECHL record against the Bombers. The Rivermen play 65 of 72 regular season games against Northern Division opponents – half of which come against close geographic rivals Cincinnati (13), Toledo (12) and Dayton (11).

Not Many In Our Net Of Late

In straight seven games against Cincinnati (4) and Dayton (3), the Rivermen posted a 1.29 goals against average (GAA, 9 total goals against), which included two shutouts. Saturday's 5-4 shootout loss in Toledo was the first time in eight games the Rivermen had given up more than three goals to an opponent. Peoria is tied for seventh in the 31-team ECHL with the Reading Royals and the Cincinnati Cyclones, allowing 2.53 goals against per game for the season. After the first seven games this year, the Rivermen had allowed an average of 3.14 goals per game. Last season, Peoria ranked first in the ECHL with a 2.51 goals against average.

Home Health Returning

Peoria collected two straight home wins for the first time this season over Thanksgiving week, shutting out Dayton on Thanksgiving 3-0 and then pushing past Cincinnati 4-1 the following night. The Rivermen are 4-3-2 at Carver Arena – a game over .500 for just the second time this year.

No Review Needed After Recovery

Goaltender Mike Valley, who had not started a game since November 1, stepped in with his second shutout of the season on Thanksgiving in a 2-0 home win over Dayton. He stopped all 29 shots he faced in the effort for the ninth, regular-season shutout of his career. He registered a 23-save shutout on October 24 in a 7-0 home win over Wheeling for his first shutout. On Friday, November 28, Valley nearly collected his second straight shutout but surrendered a fluke goal to Cincinnati defenseman Derrick Byfuglien at 6:27 of the third period in a 4-1 home win. The goal meant Valley's shutout streak ended at 124:48. It is the second shutout streak he has posted this season over 120 minutes. He is 5-1-1 on the year and in the midst of a personal, three-game winning streak. He ranks third in the ECHL in goals against average at 1.71 and sixth in save percentage at .934.

Big Time Boisclair

In four starts for the Rivermen, after being loaned to the team from the Florida Everblades by the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, rookie goaltender Daniel Boisclair has been sensational with a 2-1-1 record, a 1.72 goals against average (GAA) and .952 save percentage. On Saturday in Toledo in a 5-4 shootout loss, he turned away 42 of 46 in 65 minutes of play. Before joining the Rivermen three weeks ago, Boisclair opened the year with a 1-1-0 record with Florida. For the 2003-2004 season, he is 3-2-1 with a 2.65 GAA and a .928 save percentage. He missed the majority of last season due to a brutal bout with anemia, posting an 0-2-1 record in four appearances with Florida.

Worcester Welcome

Forward Colin Hemingway and center Greg Black – both property of the St. Louis Blues on reassignment from Peoria's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Worcester IceCats – have not been quiet since joining the team. Hemingway registered his first professional point – an assist – on November 22 in a 2-1 home loss to Cincinnati. This past week, he posted three assists in Friday's 4-1 home win over Cincinnati, leading all scorers, and then notched two assists in a 5-4 shootout loss in Toledo the following night. Black has collected one assist (recorded this past Friday at home) in three games with the team and racked up 14 penalty minutes.

Injury, Call-up & Transaction Report

· Center Greg Black has been reassigned to the Rivermen from the Worcester IceCats (AHL) by the St. Louis Blues (NHL), 11/26/03.

· Defenseman Brian Gaffaney remains on the 30-day injured reserve, 11/22/03.

· Rivermen center Tyler Rennette remains on the 7-day injured reserve, 11/22/03.

· Rivermen left wing Daisuke Obara remains on the 7-day injured reserve, 11/21/03.

· Rivermen goaltender Levente Szuper remains on reassignment to the Worcester IceCats (AHL), 11/17/03.

Steering Our Way Through The Schedule

PRACTICES:

· The Rivermen will practice at the Owens Center at 10:00 a.m. CT on Tuesday, December 2 and Wednesday, December 3. The team will depart at 12:00 a.m. Thursday, December 4 for a two-game set in Johnstown, Pa. on Friday and Saturday. Practice times and locations subject to change.

GAMES:

· On Friday, December 5, the Rivermen make their first trip to Johnstown, Pa. this season for a two-game set against the Chiefs at Cambria County War Memorial. It will be the first two of eight matchups on the season and the first two of four showdowns in Johnstown this season. Johnstown will visit Carver Arena for a two-game set the following weekend on December 12 and 13. The Rivermen, 6-1-1 against the Chiefs last season, own a 29-12-5 lifetime ECHL record against them. Johnstown (13-5-1, 27 points) sits atop the Northern Division with a three-point edge on the defending Kelly Cup Champion Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies. The Chiefs are tied with the Gwinnett Gladiators (12-4-3) for third place overall in the ECHL. Johnstown is led by forward Jason Notermann, who has 20 points (10g, 10a), and former NHL goaltender Arturs Irbe, who has a 8-3-0 record, a 1.91 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. 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 5:50 p.m. from Cambria County War Memorial. Game time is 6:00 p.m. CT.

· On Saturday, December 6, Peoria will face off against the Chiefs in the second of two in a row between the clubs. 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 5:50 p.m. from Cambria County War Memorial. Game time is 6:00 p.m. CT.

· On Sunday, December 7, the Rivermen host the Cincinnati Cyclones in the sixth of 13 matchups on the season. Peoria is 4-1-0 through five meetings of a season-high 13 between the clubs. The Rivermen pushed past the Cyclones last Friday at home, winning 4-1 on the strength of three Colin Hemingway assists, two Randy Rowe goals and 20 saves by goaltender Mike Valley. Peoria is 29-10-2 lifetime in the ECHL against the Cyclones. Cincinnati (9-10-0, 18 points) is in seventh place in the nine-team Northern Division, three points behind the Rivermen and the Trenton Titans. The Cyclones are led by center Garrett Prosofsky and Ryan Brindley, who each have 13 points (6g, 7a). 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 4:50 p.m. from the Carver Arena. Special Game Time is 5:00 p.m. CT.

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ECHL Stories from December 1, 2003


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