AHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen weekly

Published on October 16, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


SCOUTING THE RIVER RATS

National Hockey League Parent Club: Carolina Hurricanes/Colorado Avalanche

Record Entering This Week: 2-1-0-0

Standings Points: 4

Eastern Conference Standing: T-7th Place

East Division Standing: T-5th Place

Rivermen Record vs. River Rats: N/A (First-ever meeting)

Leading Scorer: C Keith Aucoin (3 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 PTS), C Ben Guite (3 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 PTS) & RW Shane Willis (2 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 PTS)

Number-1 Goaltender: Justin Peters (2 GP, 1-0-0, 1.99 GAA, .917 SV PCT)

AHL Power-play Ranking Entering This Week: 19th (14.3%)

AHL Penalty-kill Ranking Entering This Week: 11th (85.7%)

SCOUTING THE AMERKS

National Hockey League Parent Club: Buffalo Sabres/Florida Panthers

Record Entering This Week: 4-0-0-0

Standings Points (Relative to Rivermen): 8 (+2)

Western Conference Standing: T-1st Place

North Division Standing: 1st Place

Rivermen Record vs. Amerks: 2-0-0-0 (2005-06 Regular Season)

Leading Scorer: LW Clarke McArthur & LW Daniel Paille (4 GP, 1 G, 4 A, 5 PTS)

Number-1 Goaltender: Craig Anderson (3 GP, 3-0-0-0, 1.30 GAA, .944 SV PCT, 1 SO)

AHL Power-play Ranking Entering This Week: 17th (16.0%)

AHL Penalty-kill Ranking Entering This Week: 7th (88.5%)

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

National Hockey League Parent Club: Montreal Canadiens

Record Entering This Week: 1-2-0-0

Standings Points (Relative to Peoria Rivermen): 2 (-4)

Western Conference Standing: 10th Place

North Division Standing: T-5th Place

Rivermen Record vs. Rampage: 1-0-0-1 (2005-06 Regular Season)

Leading Scorer: C Kyle Chipchura (3 GP, 0 G, 4 A, 4 PTS)

Number-1 Goaltender: Yann Danis (3 GP, 1-2-0, 3.02 GAA, .902 SV PCT)

AHL Power-play Ranking Entering This Week: 21st (13.0%)

AHL Penalty-kill Ranking Entering This Week: 12th (85.0%)

SCOUTING THE MARLIES

National Hockey League Parent Club: Toronto Maple Leafs

Record Entering This Week: 1-2-1-0

Standings Points (Relative to Peoria Rivermen): 2 (-4)

Western Conference Standing: 9th Place

West Division Standing: 4th Place

Rivermen Record vs. Rampage: 1-1-0-0 (2005-06 Regular Season)

Leading Scorer: C Erik Westrum (4 GP, 2 G, 4 A, 6 PTS)

Number-1 Goaltender: Jean-Francois Racine (2 GP, 1-1-0, 2.02 GAA, .917 SV PCT, 1 SO)

AHL Power-play Ranking Entering This Week: T-15th (16.1%)

AHL Penalty-kill Ranking Entering This Week: T-20th (76.9%)

WEEK TWO - RIVERMEN ACTION (2-0-0-0)

Friday, October 13, San Antonio 1 @ RIVERMEN 3: The Peoria Rivermen broke out of their power-play slump on Friday night, scoring all three of their goals with the man advantage en route to a 3-1 win over the San Antonio Rampage in front of 4,388 at Carver Arena. Coming into the game, the Rivermen had just a 5.3 percent conversion rate (1-for-19) on the power play but were 3-for-10 on the night. Peoria (2-1-0-0), who out-shot the Rampage 37-18 in the victory, opened the scoring at 4:48 of the first period with a 5-on-4 power play tally. Right wing Magnus Kahnberg dished the puck from the left circle to left wing Charles Linglet, who was at the bottom of the left face-off circle and quickly fed the puck to Peter Sejna standing at the right post for an easy chip-in past San Antonio netminder Phil Sauve. Peoria set the game's tone by engaging the Rampage in three fights in the first 5:46 of the contest. Just 38 seconds into the contest, Rivermen center Ryan Ramsay scuffled with Rampage left wing Tyson Nash. Then at 2:18, Peoria heavyweight Rocky Thompson battled Ryan Flinn. And finally at 5:46, Rivermen defenseman Doug Lynch scrapped with San Antonio backliner Matthew Spiller. Peoria dominated first-period shots 17 to four. San Antonio (1-2-0-0) tied things up in the second stanza at 8:20 when center Trent Whitfield, skating down the slot, tried to gain control of the puck and accidentally tipped it through the legs of Marek Schwarz. The goal was credited to Daniel Winnik, who last touched the puck, for his second marker of the year. Peoria answered with their second goal on the man advantage exactly four minutes later. Left wing Michael Birner, who was at the right point, shot a pass parallel to the blue line to Mike Stuart, who fired a one-timer on net after joining the play from the bench. Right wing Jon DiSalvatore, planted in front of the Rampage net, redirected the shot past the right leg of Sauve for his third goal of the year. The Rivermen completed the scoring on the power play at 10:22 of the third. DiSalvatore took a shot from the bottom of the left face-off circle that was initially stopped by Sauve. Right wing David Backes, who was in front of the crease, took a couple of whacks at the puck before it trickled through the legs of an irate Sauve, who thought that he had frozen the puck.

Saturday, October 14, San Antonio 2 @ RIVERMEN 4: The Peoria Rivermen used two goals in a 46-second span midway through the third period to complete a two-game weekend sweep of the San Antonio Rampage with a 4-2 victory in front of 4,696 on Saturday night at Carver Arena. Peoria took the lead for good with a goal at the 9:06 mark of the third stanza. At the right point, left wing Charles Linglet dished the puck to a streaking Rocky Thompson, who skated to the right face-off dot and pushed the puck off to rookie left wing Michal Birner, who slapped a shot over the right shoulder of San Antonio goaltender David LeNeveu. The tally was the first of Birner's professional career. The Rivermen tallied the final goal of the game just 46 seconds later on center Ryan Ramsay's second marker of the season. Left wing Cam Keith sent the puck into the left-wing corner, where it was gathered along the goal line by Ramsay, who shot the puck and banked it off the back of LeNeveu's right pad and into the net. The Rivermen (3-1-0-0) got on the board 13 seconds before the first period ended. Defenseman Aaron MacKenzie, who was stationed at the left point, sent the puck cross-ice to backline partner Mike Stuart, who wound up and slapped a shot that was deflected by Trent Whitfield in the right face-off circle. LeNeveu was able to get a piece of the puck with his stick, but while scrambling to gain control, tapped it back inside the left post. San Antonio (1-3-0-0) tied the game at 3:07 of the second frame. Center Jakub Koreis skated down the right wing from the neutral zone, and when he got to the right face-off dot, he snapped a shot that made its way past rookie goaltender Marek Schwarz, who backed too far into the net. The goal was the first of the season for Koreis, with Randall Gelech and Matt Jones receiving credit for the assists. Peoria regained the lead on Mike Glumac's first goal of the 2006-07 campaign at 8:30 of the second period. Glumac took a pass just inside the blue line from Whitfield, glided into the right circle and rifled a shot that was initially stopped and then trickled between the left arm and the body of LeNeveu. The Rampage tied the game 2-2 with a goal at 4:43 of the third. Koreis, in the right-wing corner, handed the puck off to left wing Tyson Nash, who pinched his way to the net and shot the puck off the skate of Stuart, rolling just inside the left post.

THE KILL SHOT

The Rivermen were a perfect 14-for-14 in extinguishing the San Antonio power play this past weekend over two in a row between the clubs. The performance raised Peoria's penalty-kill efficiency rating to 93.8 percent (30/32), good for first overall in the AHL; that leads Grand Rapids by just three-tenths of a percentage point. Last season, the Rivermen killed penalties off with an 84.9 percent efficiency rating, good for fifth in the AHL.

A POWERFUL PERFORMANCE

The Rivermen were 3-for-14 on the power play this weekend, converting on three of their 10 man advantage opportunities in Friday's 3-1 win over the visiting San Antonio Rampage. The performance followed up a 1-for-19 on the power play after two games, including an 0-for-12 performance in a 5-0 shutout loss to the Chicago Wolves on October 14. Peoria's early-season rank has more than doubled to 12.1 percent after this weekend. The Rivermen owned a 5.3 percent conversion rate after the opening weekend. Last season, the Rivermen ranked 2nd overall in the AHL with a 20 percent conversion rate (100 for 499). Peoria's 100 power-play goals accounted for 40 percent (100/253) of its scoring last season.

USING THE SCHWARZ

Rookie goaltender Marek Schwarz recorded both victories this past weekend, as the Rivermen swept San Antonio 3-1 and 4-2, respectively, on Friday and Saturday. Schwarz, a 6-foot, 180-pound netminder, turned away 40 of 43 total shots for a 1.50 goals against average (GAA) and a .930 save percentage in the two games. For the season, the 20-year-old native of Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic, owns a 2-1-0 record with a 2.67 GAA and a .889 save percentage.

CASH-ING IN

Goaltender Jason Bacashihua has been assigned to the Rivermen from their NHL parent club, the St. Louis Blues. In 15 games with Peoria last season, the 5-foot-11, 175-pound native of Garden City, Michigan, posted a 9-4-0-0 record with a 2.63 goals against average (GAA) and a .903 save percentage. The 24-year-old netminder also played 19 games for the Blues last season after a mid-December call-up that kept him in St. Louis the rest of the year; a shoulder injury sidelined him from January 22 to April 6, 2006. The first round (26th overall) draft pick of the Dallas Stars in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft registered a 4-10-0-1 mark in St. Louis last year with a 3.23 GAA and a .899 save percentage.

WELCOME BACK, BOYS

Peoria returns 17 players, including 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.

TWENTY-FIVE DRIVE

The Rivermen have 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).

A LOT OF AWAY PLAY

To finish the month of October, the Rivermen will play six straight games, which are broken up into two segments. The first segment will take the club out east to play the Albany River Rats for the first time ever (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 Rampage (Thursday, October 26) and the Houston Aeros (Saturday, October 28). The stretch of six in a row on the road is the first of two instances of this nature in the schedule; the team will finish the last week of March and the first week of April with six straight contests away from Carver Arena.

WE'RE NOT FROM AROUND HERE... SERIOUSLY

There are 12 Canadians from five different provinces (Ontario-4, British Columbia-3, Saskatchewan-2, 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 European players from four different countries (Czech Republic-3, Sweden-1, Slovakia-1 and Belarus-1).

THE YOUNG AND THE OLD, er RESTLESS

The average age of Peoria's 2006-07 AHL Opening Day roster is 23 years and 11 months. Center Trent Whitfield (6/17/1977) and right wing Rocky Thompson (8/8/1977) are the team's elder statesmen. Whitfield is a veteran of 174 NHL games with Washington, the New York Rangers and the Blues. Thompson has played 25 games in the NHL with Calgary and Florida and nearing 2,000 regular-season, career penalty minutes (PIM). 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.

RECENT RIVERMEN TRANSACTIONS

October 14, 2006 G Jason Bacashihua loaned by the St. Louis Blues (NHL) to the Peoria Rivermen (AHL)

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

Wednesday October 18, 2006 7:00 PM @ Albany River Rats

Friday October 20, 2006 7:35 PM @ Rochester Americans

Saturday October 21, 2006 7:00 PM @ Hamilton Bulldogs

Sunday October 22, 2006 4:00 PM @ Toronto Marlies

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

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American Hockey League Stories from October 16, 2006


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