AHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Weekly

January 3, 2006 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


Friday, January 6, RIVERMEN @ Hamilton: The Rivermen kick off the 2006 calendar year with a visit to Hamilton, Ontario, to face the Hamilton Bulldogs on Friday. This contest will conclude the short, two-game 2005-06 Rivermen-Bulldogs season series. These two squads last met just this past Saturday, when the Rivermen rang in the new year with a 5-1 defeat of the Bulldogs at Carver Arena on New Year's Eve. The primary affiliate of the storied Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL), the Bulldogs now place seventh in the North Division of the Western Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) with an overall mark of 13-23-0-2 and 28 points. To this point in the season, center Corey Locke has produced the most points for Hamilton, having registered 25 points on 10 goals and 15 assists in 38 games played. Hamilton goaltender Yann Danis ranks as one of the AHL's leading goalies with a 7-7-1 record, a 2.72 goals-against average, and a .903 save percentage in 15 appearances. On the power play, the Bulldogs enter the week in 13th position among all AHL clubs with a power-play conversion rate of 17.6 percent. The squad is struggling on the penalty kill with a 78.0 percent kill ratio that ranks 27th in the League.

Saturday, January 7, RIVERMEN @ Cleveland: Shortly after taking on the Bulldogs on Friday evening in Hamilton, the Rivermen will meet the Cleveland Barons on Saturday afternoon at National City Rink at Quicken Loans Arena. Saturday's match-up will be the first of four engagements between these two Western Conference foes this season, with two games scheduled in each team's home rink. The Barons serve as the top development club of the San Jose Sharks of the NHL. With an overall record of 15-22-1-1 and 32 points, Cleveland presently occupies sixth position in the North Division. Left wing Pat Rissmiller currently stands as the leading Barons point-getter with 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists) in 39 games played. Nolan Schaefer has seen the most action between the pipes for Cleveland so far this season, posting a record of 7-8-0 and two shutouts to go along with a 3.01 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage. The Barons' power-play unit now stands 20th in the League at 14.5 percent efficiency, while the squad's penalty killing unit enters this week's action ranked 26th in the AHL with a success rate of 78.3 percent.

RIVERMEN ACTION LAST WEEK

Friday, December 30, Chicago 11 vs. RIVERMEN 5: Had the Rivermen known what they were in for last Friday night in Chicago, they may never have made their way up Interstate 55 to the "Windy City." The team made the trip, however, and was soundly beaten 11-5 by the Chicago Wolves. Things did not look so bad for the Rivermen after one period of play, as they stood tied with the Wolves at 2-2. Centers Trent Whitfield and Gavin Morgan both scored within the first five minutes of the contest to stake Peoria to an early 2-0 lead, but Chicago came back on goals by wingers Colin Stuart and Ramzi Abid. In the second period, however, things turned decidedly bleak for the Rivermen, as the Wolves erupted for seven goals, including four on the power play. Karl Stewart and Travis Roche put Chicago up 4-2 before Peoria winger Mike Glumac pared the Wolves' lead down to one goal at 4-3 at 7:51 of the second. The Wolves then proceeded to reel off five straight goals by Justin Morrison, Billy Tibbetts, Mark Popovic, Pat Dwyer, and Brian Maloney to take a commanding 9-3 lead at the second intermission. The Rivermen did generate some offense in the third period, but not nearly enough to overcome the deficit that they faced. Peoria wingers Jon DiSalvatore and Glumac scored third-period goals that alternated with markers tallied by Chicago's Abid and Tibbetts to produce the final score of 11-5. Patrick Lalime started this game in net for Peoria, but he ended up with a no-decision after making seven saves on 12 shots in 37:48 of action. Chris Beckford-Tseu absorbed the loss, allowing six goals on 14 shots in 22:12 of action. Both the Rivermen and the Wolves registered 26 shots on goal in the tilt. Both teams also performed well on the power play, as Peoria went three for seven, and Chicago went six for 10.

Saturday, December 31, RIVERMEN 5 vs. Hamilton 1: The Rivermen shook off their 11-5 loss in Chicago last Friday evening and turned around and beat the Hamilton Bulldogs 5-1 last Saturday night in Peoria. Rivermen center Trent Whitfield opened the scoring in the game with a first-period goal that extended his point-scoring streak to 14 games. Then, as Chicago had done against them the previous night, the Rivermen put this game away with a barrage of goals in the second period. Winger Rocky Thompson began Peoria's second-period outburst with his first goal of the season at 3:36. Defenseman Trevor Byrne then dented the twine at 6:43, followed by right wing Mike Glumac at the 7:51 mark of the second. Rookie blueliner Zack Fitzgerald then put the Rivermen up 5-0 with his first career AHL goal at 17:22. Right wing Jonathan Ferland scored for the Bulldogs at 7:24 of the third period, but it was too little, too late for Hamilton, and Peoria prevailed 5-1. Peoria goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu made his first career AHL start in this contest and came through with his first career AHL win, allowing only one goal on 25 shots. Peoria out-shot Hamilton by a wide margin of 43-25. The Rivermen scored twice on eight power plays in this match and also held the Bulldogs scoreless on each of their six man-advantage opportunities.

WHITFIELD'S WHITE-HOT!

Rivermen center Trent Whitfield has been one of the hottest scorers in the AHL lately. On Saturday against Hamilton, Whitfield scored the first of Peoria's five goals in the contest to get the team started toward a 5-1 triumph. The goal extended his current point-scoring streak to 14 games. During this scoring binge, Whitfield has registered a total of 21 points (9 goals, 12 assists). Whitfield now ranks fourth on the Rivermen in total points with 25 (9 goals, 16 assists) in only 23 games played.

TWO FIRSTS FOR BECKFORD-TSEU

On Saturday, December 31, 2005, versus Hamilton, Rivermen netminder Chris Beckford-Tseu made his first career AHL start in goal. When that game ended, Beckford-Tseu received credit for his first career AHL victory after allowing only one goal on 25 shots.

THREE FIRSTS FOR FITZGERALD

Rookie Rivermen defenseman Zack Fitzgerald experienced several firsts last week. On Monday at Iowa, Fitzgerald made his AHL debut with Peoria after opening his first season as a professional with the ECHL Alaska Aces. In his third AHL game on Friday in Chicago, he picked up an assist to record the first point of his AHL career. Then on Saturday against Hamilton, in his fourth AHL appearance, Fitzgerald scored his first career AHL goal.

AMAZING, BUT TRUE!

In an amazing coincidence, Rivermen right wing Mike Glumac scored at the exact same point in two consecutive games last week. Last Friday night in Chicago, Glumac scored his 17th goal of the season at the 7:51 mark of the second period to pull Peoria to within one goal of the Chicago Wolves at 4-3. The next evening versus Hamilton, Glumac lit the lamp at 7:51 of the second once again, this time scoring his 19th goal of 2005-06 to give the Rivermen a 4-0 lead on the Bulldogs.

AMAZING, BUT TRUE, II!

In another amazing coincidence concerning those two goals scored by Mike Glumac at the exact same point in Peoria's two games last Friday and Saturday, right wing Jon DiSalvatore picked up the primary assist on both goals!

PEORIA POWER TRIP

Last Saturday versus the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Rivermen went two for eight on the power play. The Rivermen have now registered at least one goal on the power play in each of the last seven games. Going back further than that, they have scored at least one power-play goal in 14 of their previous 15 outings. Entering this week's action, the Rivermen and the Rochester Americans share the top spot in the AHL's power-play rankings with a power-play conversion rate of 22.0 percent.

A CHANGE AT THE TOP

By scoring one goal against the Hamilton Bulldogs last Saturday at Carver Arena, Rivermen right wing Mike Glumac claimed sole possession of the team scoring lead with 40 points on 19 goals and 21 assists in 33 games played. He moved ahead of left wing Peter Sejna, who had led the team in scoring throughout this season. Before being recalled to the NHL on December 28, 2005, by the Rivermen parent club St. Louis Blues, Sejna posted 39 points (15 goals, 24 assists) in 29 outings. In addition to leading the Rivermen in scoring, Glumac also claims the highest plus-minus rating on the club at plus-11.

RAGING RIVERMEN

C Trent Whitfield is riding a 14-game point-scoring streak during which he has put up 21 points (9 goals, 12 assists)...RW Jon DiSalvatore has collected 15 points (4 goals, 11 assists) over the previous 12 games...RW Mike Glumac has notched 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in the last 14 tilts...C Troy Riddle has produced 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) in his previous nine contests...D Mike Mottau has dished out at least one assist in nine of his last 12 outings (1 goal, 11 assists)...C Blake Evans has scored one goal in four of the last seven games...RW Brendan Brooks has picked up one point in two of the last four games (1 goal, 1 assist)...RW Lee Stempniak collected two assists on 12-31 vs. HAM.

RECENT RIVERMEN TRANSACTIONS

January 3, 2006 G Chris Beckford-Tseu reassigned by NHL St. Louis from AHL Peoria to ECHL Alaska.

January 3, 2006 D Doug Lynch reassigned by the St. Louis Blues (NHL) from Team Canada (IIHF) to the Peoria Rivermen (AHL).

December 29, 2005 G Reinhard Divis returned to AHL Peoria on loan from NHL St. Louis.

December 29, 2005 C Cam Keith recalled from the Alaska Aces of the ECHL.

December 28, 2005 C Ryan Ramsay reassigned by NHL St. Louis from AHL Peoria to ECHL Alaska.

December 28, 2005 LW Charles Linglet recalled by the Peoria Rivermen (AHL) from the Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL).

December 28, 2005 LW Peter Sejna recalled by the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

December 28, 2005 RW Lee Stempniak returned on loan to AHL Peoria by NHL St. Louis.

December 21, 2005 D Doug Lynch reassigned by the St. Louis Blues (NHL) from the Peoria Rivermen (AHL) to Team Canada (IIHF).

December 20, 2005 D Zack Fitzgerald reassigned by NHL St. Louis from ECHL Alaska to AHL Peoria.

RIVERMEN ACTION THIS WEEK

FRIDAY, JANUARY 6

PEORIA RIVERMEN @ Hamilton Bulldogs

6:30 p.m., Copps Coliseum

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7

PEORIA RIVERMEN @ Cleveland Barons

12:00 p.m., National City Rink at Quicken Loans 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 January 3, 2006


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