AHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Weekly

December 5, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


Wednesday, December 7, Omaha @ RIVERMEN: The Peoria Rivermen will begin their second stretch of four games in five nights in as many weeks by hosting the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights on Wednesday evening at Carver Arena. The Rivermen and the Knights have met twice already this season, and each team has captured a victory against the other. The Knights serve as the primary affiliate of the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL), and Omaha now stands fourth in the West Division of the Western Conference with 27 points on a record of 11-9-0-5. Center Carsen Germyn (13 goals, 8 assists) and defenseman Mark Giordano (4 goals, 17 assists) lead the Knights in scoring with 21 points each. The Omaha squad boasts two of the top goaltending prospects in the AHL in Curtis McElhinney (2.23 goals-against average, .916 save percentage) and Brent Krahn (2.64 goals-against average, .915 save percentage). While the Omaha power-play unit ranks 17th in the League with a conversion percentage of 15.5, the team's penalty-killing unit operates much more efficiently, currently standing sixth in the AHL at 86.6 percent.

Friday, December 9; Sunday, December 11, RIVERMEN @ Chicago: The Rivermen look forward to two games with their regional rival Chicago Wolves this week. Both contests will take place in Chicago and will be broadcast in the Peoria and Bloomington-Normal television markets on Insight Cable Systems channel 74. The NHL parent club of the Wolves is the Atlanta Thrashers. With 15 standings points and a record of 6-10-1-2, Chicago now holds down sixth position in the West Division. Left winger Ramzi Abid has paced the Chicago offense so far this season with 19 points (10 goals, 9 assists) in 19 outings. The Wolves have used six different men in net thus far, including Tuomas Tarkki. Tarkki's numbers include a record of 3-2-0, a 2.77 goals-against average, and a .903 save percentage. Entering this week's action, Chicago ranks 19th in the AHL on the power play at 14.1 percent and tied for 15th in the League on the penalty kill at 82.8 percent.

Saturday, December 10, Milwaukee @ RIVERMEN: This coming Saturday, the Rivermen will meet the Milwaukee Admirals for the third time in 11 days. The Admirals beat the Rivermen 4-2 in Milwaukee back on Wednesday, November 30, but the Rivermen avenged that loss this past Sunday with a 5-1 win at Carver Arena. The main affiliate of the NHL's Nashville Predators, Milwaukee opens this week just three points in arrears of the Rivermen in the West Division standings with 28 points and a 13-6-1-1 record. Center Kris Beech, the seventh overall selection in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, leads all Milwaukee skaters in scoring with 21 points (9 goals, 12 assists) in 21 appearances. Admirals goaltenders Brian Finley (1.99 GAA) and Pekka Rinne (2.12 GAA) now rank third and fourth, respectively, in the AHL in goals-against average. On the power play, the Admirals are tied for sixth in the League at 19.4 percent, while the club's penalty-killing unit stands seventh at 86.4 percent.

RIVERMEN ACTION LAST WEEK

Wednesday, November 30, Milwaukee 4 vs. RIVERMEN 2: The Peoria Rivermen got off to a wrong start in their 2005-06 season series with the Milwaukee Admirals, dropping their first meeting with the Admirals by a count of 4-2. Of the six combined goals scored in this contest, not one came at even strength. Peoria and Milwaukee exchanged power-play goals in each of the first two periods, with the Rivermen goals coming courtesy of center Jay McClement in the first and left wing Peter Sejna in the second. The Admirals took control of the game in the third frame, when center Kris Beech scored a short-handed goal and a power-play empty-net marker to complete a hat-trick and to secure a 4-2 Milwaukee win. Jason Bacashihua started between the pipes for Peoria and took the loss after stopping 22 of 25 shots on goal. The Rivermen out-shot the Admirals by a count of 29-26. Peoria ended up two for eight on the power play, while Milwaukee went three for nine.

Friday, December 2, RIVERMEN 7 vs. Grand Rapids 4: Peoria came away with a 7-4 victory in its first of four encounters with Grand Rapids this season. Efficiency on the power play was the difference in this game, as the Rivermen went six for nine with the man-advantage, and the Griffins converted only two of their 13 power-play chances. The current top two Rivermen scorers, wingers Peter Sejna and Mike Glumac, led Peoria's offensive charge in this game with one goal and three assists each. Right wing Jon DiSalvatore (two goals, one assist) and center Jay McClement (one goal, two assists) each contributed three points to Peoria's cause. Jason Bacashihua started between the pipes for the Rivermen and made 29 saves on 33 shots to earn the win. The Rivermen not only out-scored the Griffins on this night, but they also out-shot Grand Rapids by a count of 44-33.

Saturday, December 3, RIVERMEN 4 @ Iowa 3 (SO): The Rivermen played a lot of extra hockey on this Saturday night. They began their evening by completing a game with Iowa that was originally scheduled for Sunday, November 13. That game was halted after two periods due to problems with the refrigeration unit for the ice surface at Wells Fargo Arena, and the game was suspended until Saturday. The game was resumed at the start of the third period, and right wing Jon DiSalvatore clinched a 5-3 Rivermen win with an empty-net goal. The Rivermen then played some more extra hockey in their regularly scheduled December 3rd match-up with Iowa when the game required a shootout to decide a winner. Centers Ryan Ramsay, Troy Riddle, and Trent Whitfield each scored a goal for Peoria in regulation to match the three tallies that Iowa notched. After a scoreless overtime period, wingers Peter Sejna and DiSalvatore struck for shootout goals to propel the Rivermen to their second victory of the evening.

Sunday, December 4, RIVERMEN 5 vs. Milwaukee 1: The Rivermen capped off a week during which they earned eight points in the standings with a 5-1 decision over the Milwaukee Admirals, the second match-up of these two teams in five days. Right wing Jon DiSalvatore gave Peoria a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 13:10 of the first period, but Milwaukee got a power-play goal of its own just 15 seconds before the first intermission. From that point, the Rivermen took over. In the second frame, right wing Mike Glumac notched another power-play goal for Peoria, and center Trent Whitfield struck Milwaukee for a shorthanded goal to stake the Rivermen to a 3-1 lead after two periods. Centers Troy Riddle and Jay McClement then clinched the win for Peoria with third-period goals. Reinhard Divis backstopped the Rivermen to the win with 34 saves on 35 shots on goal. Milwaukee squeezed off quite a few more shots than Peoria did in this game, out-shooting the Rivermen 35-20. The Rivermen went two for seven on the power play, while the Admirals ended up one for 12.

RAGING RIVERMEN

LW Peter Sejna has scored 22 points (9 goals, 13 assists) in his previous 14 tilts...RW Colin Hemingway has scored at least one point in 10 of his 12 appearances with Peoria this season (6 goals, 6 assists)...G Jason Bacashihua has a record of 9-3-0 in 12 starts this season...D Mike Mottau has recorded 1 goal and 12 assists in the last 16 games...D Trevor Byrne has scored 1 goal and 11 assists in the last 15 contests...RW Mike Glumac has tallied 11 points (5 goals, 6 assists) in the last eight games...RW Jon DiSalvatore has produced 9 points (4 goals, 5 assists) in his last eight outings...C Jay McClement has notched 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists) in the last four games...C Trent Whitfield has collected 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists) in the last three tilts...C Troy Riddle has tallied one goal in each of the last two games.

SPECIAL SPECIAL-TEAMS UNITS

The Rivermen are doing quite well on both the power play and the penalty kill. Entering this week, in fact, the team ranks fifth in the AHL in both categories. Peoria is now converting power plays at a 21.0 percent clip, and the squad is stymieing its opponents' power plays at a rate of 86.9 percent.

PETER, PETER, STATISTICAL LEADER

Left wing Peter Sejna enters this week's action as the third-leading scorer in the AHL with 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists) in only 20 games played. He also leads the League with 11 power-play goals, ranks second in shots on goal with 99, and is tied for the top spot in power-play points with 19.

GAME-WINNING GLUMAC

As of this Monday, Peoria right winger Mike Glumac is tied for first place in the AHL with four game-winning goals.

FROM GERMANY, WITH POINTS

RW Jon DiSalvatore has scored at least one point in six of his last eight games since returning to the Rivermen after playing with Team USA in the 2005 TUI Nations Cup in Germany. Formerly known as the "Deutschland Cup," the TUI Nations Cup is a round-robin men's ice hockey tournament that is staged each year in Germany. The 2005 tournament ran from November 9-13 and featured teams from the United States, Germany, Canada, Slovakia, and Switzerland. After winning the tournament in 2004, Team USA this year finished tied for third position with Slovakia in the competition with a 2-2-0 record. DiSalvatore scored a goal in Team USA's 4-1 win over Switzerland during the tournament.

RECENT RIVERMEN TRANSACTIONS

Rivermen transactions from the past week:

December 2, 2005 RW Mike Stuart reassigned from ECHL Alaska to AHL Peoria by NHL St. Louis.

December 2, 2005 LW Charles Linglet signed to an AHL contract and loaned to the ECHL Las Vegas Wranglers.

November 29, 2005 D Jeff Woywitka reassigned to the Peoria Rivermen (AHL) by the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

November 28, 2005 RW Mike Stuart reassigned by St. Louis Blues (NHL) from Peoria Rivermen (AHL) to Alaska Aces (ECHL).

November 26, 2005 C Jay McClement assigned to AHL Peoria by NHL St. Louis.

November 26, 2005 D Jeff Woywitka recalled by the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

RIVERMEN ACTION THIS WEEK

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7

Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights @ PEORIA RIVERMEN

7:00 p.m., Carver Arena

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9

PEORIA RIVERMEN @ Chicago Wolves

7:30 p.m., Allstate Arena

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10

Milwaukee Admirals @ PEORIA RIVERMEN

7:00 p.m., Carver Arena

US Cellular Cap Night (First 3,000 Fans)

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11

PEORIA RIVERMEN @ Chicago Wolves

5:00 p.m., Allstate Arena

Radio: All Rivermen games are broadcast LIVE on HOPE 98.5 (WPIA-FM), the flagship radio station of the Peoria Rivermen.

Internet Audio: LIVE streaming audio of all Rivermen games is available for no charge at www.rivermen.net.

Internet Video: LIVE streaming video with the accompanying audio feed is available at www.rivermen.net through the facilities of the b2 networks. The video Webcast of each game is available for a pay-per-view fee of $6.

Check out the Peoria Rivermen Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from December 5, 2005


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