AHL Peoria Rivermen

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Published on October 9, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


WEEK ONE - RIVERMEN ACTION (1-1-0-0)

Friday, October 6, Omaha 3 @ RIVERMEN 4 (Overtime): Peoria Rivermen right wing Jon DiSalvatore started and ended his team's scoring on Friday night with the latter goal proving to be the overtime winner, as the Rivermen skated past the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights 4-3. The game-winner came on the power play with less than 10 seconds remaining in the overtime, as DiSalvatore sneaked a wrist shot between Omaha goaltender Brent Krahn's right arm and the left post. DiSalvatore opened Peoria's scoring by tying the game 1-1 just 1:07 after Omaha had taken a 1-0 lead. Mike Glumac snapped the puck back to DiSalvatore, who - while skating to the net - rifled in his first tally of the season from near the low slot just to the left of the net at 10:15 of the first. Omaha (0-0-1-0) has now lost eight in a row to Peoria dating back to December 7, 2005. The Knights opened the scoring on the first of two goals by right wing David Moss at 9:08 of the opening session. Moss took a pass from center Dustin Boyd in front of the Rivermen net, just to the left of the goal, and snapped a low shot that initially looked like Peoria goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu (1-0-0-0), who turned away 28 of 31 in the win, had stopped before it slipped through his legs. After DiSalvatore's game-tying tally, Omaha regained its one-goal lead on the power play with 4:15 left in the opening session. Boyd found Moss again but this time at the bottom of the right face-off circle near the slot for a one-time slap shot goal inside the left post. In a scoreless second period, Rivermen backliner Zack Fitzgerald created some fireworks by instigating a fight with Brandon Prust at 11:50 of the stanza after Prust had checked Fitzgerald from behind, deep in the Rivermen zone. The Rivermen broke out early in the final session of regulation with two goals in just over a minute. Center Ryan Ramsay broke to the net from the bottom of the right face-off circle, skating in behind Krahn (0-0-1-0), who turned away 22 of 26 in the loss, to poke in a Trent Whitfield rebound for his first goal of the season at 3:19. Then at 4:19 of the third, rookie right wing David Backes pumped home a Cam Keith rebound in front of the goal to give the Rivermen their first lead of the game. The lead was short-lived, as the Knights tied it 3-3 at 6:57 of the third. Prust dug the puck out of the right-wing corner and slipped a quick pass to defenseman Brad Ference, who barreled down right wing and squeezed in his first goal of the year from a bad angle.

Saturday, October 6, Chicago 5 @ RIVERMEN 0: The Peoria Rivermen, unable to score in 12 power-play opportunities, were shut-out on Saturday night by the Chicago Wolves 5-0 on the strength of a Jason Krog hat trick in front of crowd of 5,648 at Carver Arena. The power-play struggles were typified when the Rivermen (1-1-0-0) had a golden opportunity in the second stanza when they failed to score in a full, two-minute 5-on-3 advantage, mustering just two shots. Speaking of the power play, the Wolves (1-0-0-0) began the scoring with the night's only man-advantage marker with Peoria down two men at 11:57 of the first. Center Steve Martins fed Cory Larose, who was standing at the left point and then skated up to the top of the left face-off circle, where he blasted a shot at the chest of Peoria goaltender Marek Schwarz. The puck landed at the top of the crease, where center Jason Krog was able to tap it past a helpless Schwarz for his first goal of the season for the first goal of Chicago's 2006-07 campaign. Chicago added to its lead at 12:09 of the second frame. Defenseman Boris Valabik fired a slap shot from the left face-off circle that sailed wide, just past Schwarz's right arm. However, the puck ricocheted off the end boards and directly to Darren Haydar, who chipped it into the net, past the outstretched left leg of Schwarz for his first tally of the year. Haydar notched his second goal of the game, just before the second period ended at 19:46 for a 3-0 lead. The right-wing took a pass from Krog out of the corner and snapped a shot into the upper left corner from the left side slot. At 4:55 of the third, the Wolves increased their lead to 4-0 on a breakaway goal by Krog. Rivermen left-wing Magnus Kahnberg lost control of the puck just inside his zone along the right-wing boards, where Krog took it the length of the Peoria end and flicked a backhand shot through the legs of Schwarz. The goal was Krog's second tally of the night. The Wolves capped off the scoring when Krog, who had just left the penalty box, help start a 3-on-1 opportunity. Center Kevin Doell dished the puck to Krog in the slot, where he chipped it over Schwarz's left shoulder for the hat trick.

OUR SALVATION

In Friday night's 2006-07 season-and home-opening 4-3 overtime win over the Knights, left wing Jon DiSalvatore picked up right where he left off from last season. The team's leading point-getter and shot-taker in 2005-06 netted a game-tying, first-period tally (Peoria's first goal of the year) to make it 1-1 and then sneaked in the overtime winner from just to the left of the goal that found its way past Omaha goaltender Brent Krahn's arm and the post. Last season, DiSalvatore collected 67 points (22g, 45a) and 235 shots. It was the third consecutive season that he scored 22 goals (a career high), and he posted career highs in assists and points. He is Peoria's Nominee for CCM Vector AHL Player of the Week.

OFF TO A GOOD START

The Rivermen are 11-12-2 all-time in home openers after last Friday night's 4-3 overtime win over the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights. Last season, the Rivermen edged the Manitoba Moose 4-3. Peoria was 25-12-0-3 (.663 point-making percentage) at home in 2005-06.

A LOT OF THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN

Peoria returns 17 players, and four of the team's Top 5 point-getters, from their inaugural AHL season roster. They are: rookie right wing David Backes, third-year goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu, fourth-year left wing Jon DiSalvatore (first on the team in points in 2005-06), second-year defenseman Zack Fitzgerald, fifth-year right wing Mike Glumac (second on the team in points in 2005-06), third-year left wing Cam Keith, fourth-year left wing Charles Linglet, fourth-year defenseman Doug Lynch, fourth-year defenseman and new Rivermen Captain Aaron MacKenzie, fourth-year defenseman Tomas Mojzis, third-year center Ryan Ramsay, fifth-year left wing Peter Sejna (fifth on the team in points in 2005-06), fifth-year defenseman Mike Stuart, 10th-year right wing Rocky Thompson, third-year defenseman Patrick Wellar, ninth-year center Trent Whitfield (fourth on the team in points in 2005-06) and fourth-year defenseman Jeff Woywitka.

REWIND REVIEW

The Rivermen were one of three teams in the vaunted West Division to reach 100 points (46-26-3-5) last season. The Milwaukee Admirals (49-21-6-4, 108 points) and the Houston Aeros (50-24-3-3, 106 points) were the others. The Rivermen posted a 34-19-5 division mark last season in 58 contests. Peoria's postseason run was cut short in a first-round, four-game sweep at the hands of the Aeros.

ALIVE FOR 25

This past weekend commenced the 25th season of professional hockey in Central Illinois. The Peoria Prancers opened professional hockey play in Peoria in October 1982 in the now-defunct International Hockey League (IHL). After two seasons, the Peoria Civic Center assumed control of the franchise and it was renamed the Peoria Rivermen, which continued to compete in the IHL. The club won the IHL Turner Cup in 1985, the first year under the Rivermen moniker. The 1990-91 Rivermen captured the IHL Turner Cup and set a still-world-record, 18-game winning streak on November 22, 1990. In 1996-97, the Rivermen dropped down to the East Coast Hockey League (now, just ECHL) for a nine-year run in the Premier "AA" League. The ECHL Rivermen won the 2000 Kelly Cup. Last season, the Rivermen embarked on their first season in their third league - the American Hockey League. Peoria has an opportunity to become the first city to win championships at minor-league hockey's three highest levels (AHL, IHL & ECHL).

FIRST-MONTH FORECAST

Peoria welcomes the San Antonio Rampage for a two-game set on Friday, October 13 and Saturday, October 14. The Rivermen will finish up the first month of the season with six straight games on the road, broken up into two segments. The first segment will take the club out east to play the Albany River Rats (Wednesday, October 18), the Rochester Americans (Friday, October 20), the Hamilton Bulldogs (Saturday, October 21) and the Toronto Marlies (Sunday, October 22). The second segment will take the team to Texas to take on the San Antonio Rampage (Thursday, October 26) and the Houston Aeros (Saturday, October 28).

CALLING ON A NEW COACH

Dave Baseggio enters his second season as an AHL head coach and his first behind the Rivermen bench. Hired on July 27, the 38-year-old native of Niagara Falls, Ontario, spent the previous five seasons with the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers coaching staff, including last season as the head coach. He posted a 38-33-6 record with Bridgeport last year and led the Sound Tigers to fourth place in the East Division and a playoff spot, while 18 of his players saw NHL action with the parent club New York Islanders. Last season, the Sound Tigers endured 172 player transactions and yet put together a 17-4-3 late-season surge to secure a playoff berth. A fourth-round pick (68th overall) of the Buffalo Sabres in the 1986 NHL draft and a two-time International Hockey League (IHL) All-Star (Houston-1997 & Cleveland-1999), Baseggio spent 10 seasons in the AHL and IHL as a playing professional. The Yale University graduate captured the IHL's Turner Cup Championship as a rookie with the Indianapolis Ice in 1990, made a trip to the AHL's Calder Cup Final with the Rochester Americans a year later, won another championship in Serie A (Italian Elite League) with the H.C. Bolzano Foxes in 1994 and returned to the IHL Final with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2000.

"WHERE ARE YOUS GUYS FROM?"

There are 13 Canadians from five different provinces (Ontario-4, Saskatchewan-3, British Columbia-3, Alberta-2 and Quebec-1) on the Rivermen roster. There are five Americans from three different states (Minnesota-3, Massachusetts-1 and Maine-1). And there are six Europeans players from four different countries (Czech Republic-3, Sweden-1, Slovakia-1 and Belarus-1).

AGELESS WONDERS

The average age of Peoria's 2006-07 AHL Opening Day roster is 24 years and two and a half months. Veteran center Denis Pederson is the team's most-senior member at age 31. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound native of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, has skated in 435 National Hockey League (NHL) games for New Jersey (271, 1995-2000), the Vancouver Canucks (102, 1999-2002), the Phoenix Coyotes (19, 2001-02) and the Nashville Predators (43, 2002-03). Rookie left wing Michal Birner (03/02/1986) and rookie goaltender Marek Schwarz (04/01/1986) are the team's most-junior members at age 20.

ROOKIE REPORT

Right wing David Backes, who netted his first tally of the year Friday night to give Peoria a 3-2 lead at the time, leads a class of four rookies on the Rivermen roster heading into 2006-07. The others are: goaltender Marek Schwarz, left wing Michal Birner and right wing Ryan MacMurchy. Following his junior season at NCAA Division I Minnesota State-Mankato (Mankato), Backes, 22, joined the Rivermen for the final 12 games of the regular season, collecting 10 points (5g, 5a) and a +6 plus/minus rating; he also tallied two points (1g, 1a) in three playoff contests. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound native of Blaine, Minnesota, served as captain at Mankato last season, while leading the team in points (T-42, career high) and assists (29). Schwarz, 20, posted a 7-8-0 record with 2.57 goals against average (GAA) and .920 save percentage for HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Republic Elite League (Extraliga) last season. MacMurchy, 23, completed a four-year, NCAA Division I career at the University of Wisconsin this past spring, collecting 110 career points (44g, 66a) and 342 penalty minutes (PIM) in 162 games. Birner, 20, racked up 85 points (31g, 54a) for the Saginaw Spirit of the Major Junior "A" Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

RECENT RIVERMEN TRANSACTIONS

October 2, 2006 C Trevor Baker, LW Greg Mauldin, LW Gino Guyer released from Professional Try-out (PTO).

October 1, 2006 C Denis Pederson, C Trent Whitfield, LW Magnus Kahnberg, RW Mike Glumac, D Mike Stuart loaned by the St. Louis Blues (NHL) to the Peoria Rivermen (AHL).

September 29, 2006 RW Ryan MacMurchy signed to Standard Player Contract (SPC) by the Peoria Rivermen (AHL).

September 26, 2006 RW Kevin Croxton, D Steven Later loaned to the Alaska Aces (ECHL).

September 26, 2006 C Julian Talbot, G Isaac Reichmuth, D Gerry Burke, D Jeff Mushaluk, LW Brock Becker, D Aaron Dawson released from Professional Try-out (PTO).

September 24, 2006 RW David Backes, D Tomas Mojzis, LW Jon DiSalvatore, LW Peter Sejna, C Cam Keith and C Carl Soderberg loaned by the St. Louis Blues (NHL) to the Peoria Rivermen (AHL).

RIVERMEN ACTION THIS WEEK

DAY DATE TIME OPPONENT

Friday October 13, 2006 7:30 PM San Antonio Rampage

Saturday October 14, 2006 7:00 PM San Antonio Rampage

Radio: All Rivermen games are broadcast on Classic Country 1290 AM (WIRL-AM), the flagship radio station of the Peoria Rivermen.

Friday, October 13 will be broadcast LIVE; Saturday, October 14 will be broadcast TAPE DELAY, due to University of Illinois Football

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.

SCOUTING THE RAMPAGE

National Hockey League Parent Club: Phoenix Coyotes

Record Entering This Week: 1-1-0-0

Standings Points (Relative to Peoria Rivermen): 2 (-)

Western Conference Standing: T-6th Place

West Division Standing: T-3rd Place

Rivermen Record vs. Rampage: 0-0-0-0

Leading Scorer: C Yanick Lehoux & RW Bill Thomas (2 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 PTS)

Number-1 Goaltender: David Leneveu (2 GP, 1-1-0, 4.44 GAA, .870 SV PCT)

AHL Power-play Ranking Entering This Week: 16th (18.2%)

AHL Penalty-kill Ranking Entering This Week: 26th (54.5%)

Check out the Peoria Rivermen Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from October 9, 2006


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