AHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Weekly

Published on December 4, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


WEEK SIX - RIVERMEN ACTION (3-0-0-0)

Sunday, December 3, RIVERMEN 4 vs. Houston 1: The front line of converted center Peter Sejna, right wing Mike Glumac and left wing Charles Linglet accounted for the first three Peoria Rivermen goals and that would be more than enough, as the Rivermen skated past the Houston Aeros 4-1 in front of 3,474 at Carver Arena Sunday afternoon. The Rivermen have won a season-high five games in a row. Sejna had a hand in all four Rivermen tallies with a goal and three assists, while Glumac and Linglet each tallied one goal and two assists in the contest. It was the first four-point game by a Rivermen player this season. Sejna also recorded his second three-assist game of the year; he also accomplished the feat in a 3-1 victory at Grand Rapids on November 17. Linglet is in the midst of a four-game point streak with seven points (4g, 3a) and a +4 plus/minus. Glumac is also in the midst of a four-game point streak with seven points (1g, 6a) and a +3 plus/minus. This was the first time Peoria has ever beaten Houston goaltender Josh Harding. Including last year's regular season and Calder Cup playoff contests, Harding had posted an 8-0-0 record versus Peoria with a 2.06 goals against average prior to tonight's game. Peoria (13-6-1-2, 29 pts) opened the scoring on Linglet's team-high 12th goal of the season at 5:13 of the first frame. Glumac gathered the puck behind the net and dished it off to Linglet, who was stationed at the bottom of the left face-off circle, where he lifted a shot over the right shoulder of Harding, who went down too early leaving the upper part of the net open. The Rivermen notched their second marker of the contest at 9:34 of the middle period. Linglet skated into the left face-off circle, where he dropped a pass back into the slot for Sejna, who wristed a shot between the legs of Harding for his fourth goal of the year. Peoria added another goal a little more than three minutes later at 12:44 of the second stanza. Linglet controlled the puck along the left-wing boards then fired a pass to the deep slot for Glumac, who launched a shot over the right shoulder of Harding, hitting the crossbar and falling into the net. For Glumac, it was his fifth tally of the 2006-07 campaign and first in six Rivermen games. Houston (10-13-0-1, 21 pts) got on the board with a power play goal at 18:55 of the second stanza. Defenseman Peter Ratchuk fed center Bryan Lundbohm, who skated down the left-wing boards and cranked his second goal of the year off the inside of the right post, beating the outstretched left leg of Peoria rookie goaltender Marek Schwarz, who has won five decisions in a row. Prior to tonight's contest, the Aeros were last in the AHL on the power play, converting only 12.3 percent of the time, and in their last five road games, Houston had only tallied one goal in their last 29 attempts. The Rivermen made it 4-1 after registering a power play goal at 2:47 of the third. Sejna fired a shot from the right face-off dot that was stopped by new Aeros netminder Tony Quesada, who started the third period. The rebound fell into the slot, where center Trent Whitfield skated in from the lower part of the right face-off circle. With his back to the net and his stick behind his back, he poked the puck through the legs of a Houston defenseman and then switched to his forehand to slide it around Quesada for his 11th goal of the year and team-leading 21st point.

Saturday, December 2, RIVERMEN 3 @ Iowa 1: With most people in Central Illinois arriving late because of the inclement weather, the Peoria Rivermen arrived with a goal late in each period, en route to a 3-1 win over the Iowa Stars in front of 5,712 on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena. The victory pushed the Rivermen (12-6-1-2, 27 points) winning streak to four games, a season high, and moved Peoria past the Stars (13-11-0-0) for third place in the West Division by a point with three games in hand. The Rivermen have earned at least a point in their last eight games with a 6-0-1-1 mark. Iowa has lost a three in a row and four of its last five contests. The Rivermen started the scoring on center Konstantin Zakharov's third goal of the season at 18:42 of the opening period. Center Ryan Ramsay skated along left-wing boards, dished the puck off to left wing D.J. King in the slot, who dropped it off to Zakharov for a snap shot past Stars netminder Tobias Stephan into the upper-left corner. With an assist, Ramsay extended his point streak to six games with nine points (3g, 6a), which ties a team, season high set by center Trent Whitfield on November 5. King fought twice, taking strong decisions against Stars defenseman Matt Nickerson midway through the second and Iowa left wing Krys Barch early in the third. Despite out-shooting the Stars 10-8 in the middle frame, Peoria had to kill off two separate 5-on-3 power plays in the second period. Peoria increased its lead to 2-0 on the man-advantage at 19:04 of the second stanza. Defenseman Jeff Woywitka ripped a shot from the center point, which was deflected in the slot by right wing Mike Glumac but stopped by Stephan. However, the puck kicked out to the right of Stephan directly to left wing Charles Linglet, who tapped it in for his 10th goal of the year and now has points in his last three games with four (3g, 1a). Iowa got on the board with a power play goal of its own at 7:22 of the third session. Center Marty Sertich gathered the puck behind the net, where he fired a centering feed out to defenseman Marty Wilford in the deep slot. Wilford fired a one-time shot that Peoria rookie netminder Marek Schwarz got a piece of it with his right arm, but the puck still managed to trickle into the net. There was a scary moment at 12:05 of the third period. Ramsay slid into the end boards head first while trying to beat an Iowa player to the puck after it was dumped into the offensive zone. Luckily, after a couple of minutes down on the ice, he was able to skate off under his own power and returned to the game with four minutes left to play. With nine seconds left in regulation, Linglet sealed the win with an empty net goal, as he won a chase to the puck in the left face-off circle after a dump into the zone.

Friday, December 1, RIVERMEN 5 vs. Iowa 3: The Peoria Rivermen grabbed a two-goal lead early in the third period and then held on to defeat the Iowa Stars 5-3 Friday night, establishing their first three-game winning streak of the year, in front of 4,822 at Carver Arena in the front end of a home-and-home set between the clubs. The win expanded Peoria's point streak to seven games. The Rivermen are 5-0-1-1 during the stretch and have earned themselves a total of 12 out of a possible 14 points. The Rivermen (11-6-1-2, 25 pts) were tested late, as it appeared Iowa had tied the game at four with just over two minutes left in the final period. Stars forward Dan Hacker's shot from the right face-off dot, hit the crossbar and went straight to the ice, but it never fully went over the goal line before the Rivermen defense kicked it aside. Peoria iced the game with 18 seconds left in regulation for the final 5-3 score, as rookie left wing Michal Birner finished his second tally of the year after breaking into the Iowa high slot alone. It was Birner's first game since October 18 because of a wrist injury. The Stars (13-10-0-0, 26 pts) got on the board first at 2:50 of the opening period on right wing Marius Holtet's fourth goal of the season. After Peoria failed to clear the puck out of the zone, Holtet, who was at the left point, skated up to the top of the left face-off circle and ripped a shot that flew over the left shoulder of Rivermen goaltender Jason Bacashihua, hit the bottom of the crossbar and went into the net. Peoria responded on a man-advantage at 5:08 of the first frame. Defenseman Jeff Woywitka launched a shot on net from the left face-off circle that was initially saved by Iowa netminder Dan Ellis. The rebound fell just to the right of the goal, where center Ryan Ramsay, who has tallied five points (1g, 4a) in his last five games, poked the puck past Ellis. The goal was Ramsay's fourth marker of the year. The Rivermen took the 2-1 lead at 4:00 of the second stanza on the ninth goal of the season by left wing Charles Linglet. After breaking in on a two-on-one with left wing Peter Sejna, right wing Mike Glumac skated through the right face-off circle, faked a shot that sent Ellis to the ground, and then sent a pass to the slot that tipped off Sejna's skate but directly to Linglet, who flicked it into the vacated goal, as Ellis had no idea where the puck was. Just 46 seconds later, the Stars tied the game as center Mike Green netted his eighth goal of the 2006-07 campaign. On a broken play, Green gathered the puck in the left face-off circle and blasted a shot that went over Bacashihua's left shoulder, just below the crossbar. Peoria regained the lead at 15:53 of the second period. Mojzis wristed a shot from the left point that was deflected in the slot by right wing Jon DiSalvatore, who jumped a foot in the air and knocked the puck through the legs of Ellis. The goal was the first marker for DiSalvatore in ten contests and his fifth of the season. The Rivermen increased their lead to 4-2 at 2:44 of the final period. Birner dumped the puck behind the net, where Ellis misplayed it after a funny bounce off the wall, which allowed Ramsay to skate around the net and slam it into the empty goal. The goal was the second of the contest for Ramsay and his fifth of the season. A little over a minute later, at 3:57 of the third, Iowa answered with a power play goal. Green slapped a shot from the top of the left face-off circle, which was deflected into the net by forward Dan Hacker, who was parked to the right of Bacashihua. It was the third tally of the year for Hacker.

AWARDING PLAY FOR LINGLET

Left wing Charles Linglet earned CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week honors for his four-goal, six-point weekend in three straight Rivermen victories. The 6-foot-2, 212-pound native of Montreal, Quebec, was also a +4 plus/minus with 11 shots, two power-play goals and one game-winning goal for the weekend. He is in the midst of a four-game point streak with seven points (4g, 3a) and +4 plus/minus. This past Saturday night in Iowa (3-1 W), he registered his second two-goal contest in five games; it was his third two-goal game of the season. No Rivermen has recorded a hat trick this year. In his last eight games, he has 11 points (7g, 4a) and +6 plus/minus. He leads the team with 12 goals and ranks second in points with 18 in 19 contests.

FIVE-WIN BINGE; NINE-GAME POINT CLAIM

The Peoria Rivermen have strung together five straight victories for the first time this season after beating the Houston Aeros 4-1 this past Sunday. The Rivermen have secured points in their last nine games with 16 out of a possible 18 for a 7-0-1-1 mark. Peoria is now in third place in the West Division, three points ahead of the Iowa Stars with two games in hand. Peoria is one point back of the second-place Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights with a game in hand.

NET THREE AND WE'RE FREE

The Rivermen are 12-2-0-0 when scoring three or more goals in a contest this year. Conversely, Peoria is 1-4-1-2 when scoring two or fewer in a game. When the Rivermen give up two or less goals, they are 9-0-1-0.

DA'CRAZY DECEMBER

After a nine-game month of November, the Rivermen barrel into a 14-game month in December to close out the 2006 calendar year. Eight of Peoria's 14 December games are against West Division foes. The other six are against North-Division foes. Seventy-five percent of their 2006-07 AHL Schedule (60 of 80) is against the West.

SLAMA-RAMA-DING-DONG

Despite being held off the score sheet this past Sunday in a 4-1 home win over the Houston Aeros, left wing Ryan Ramsay established the second six-game point streak of the season on Saturday, tying him with center Trent Whitfield for the team, season high; Whitfield established the mark on November 5. For the stretch, the 5-foot-11, 200-pound native of Ajax, Ontario, had nine points (3g, 6a) and a +6 plus/minus. Ramsay leads the team with a +6 plus/minus for the year. On the season, the 5-foot-11, 200-pound native of Ajax, Ontario, has 11 points (5g, 6a) in 18 games.

SCHWOW!!

Rookie goaltender Marek Schwarz has put together a five-game winning streak (team, season best) after two straight one-goal games over the Iowa Stars (25 saves, 3-1 road win) and Houston Aeros (26 saves, 4-1 home win). The 20-year-old native of Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic, has five one-goal games to his credit. In fact, Schwarz is unbeaten in regulation in his last nine starts (8-0-1-0) since his North American professional debut - a 5-0 loss to the Chicago Wolves on October 7 at home. For the 5-0-0-0 stretch, he owns a 1.78 goals against average (GAA) and a .929 save percentage (118/127). In his four-game winning streak earlier this season, he owned a 1.50 GAA and a .944 save percentage (102/108). The 6-foot, 180-pound netminder is 9-2-0 this season with a 2.28 GAA and a .912 save percentage.

WELCOME BACK, BECKS

With Jason Bacashihua's call-up to the St. Louis Blues due to emergency conditions (Curtis Sanford hurt), third-year goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu returns to the Rivermen, for whom he went 1-0-1 in two consecutive starts on November 19 (3-2 SOL @ Chicago) and November 24 (2-1 W vs. Omaha), posting a .947 save percentage and a 1.44 goals against average (GAA) for the two games. In three starts for Peoria this year, the 6-foot-2, 201-pound native of Toronto, Ontario, owns a 2-0-1 mark with a 1.90 GAA and a .932 save percentage. With the Aces, he is 5-0-0, including a 25-save shutout of Utah on November 10 and a 24-save shutout of Victoria on December 1, and has a 0.79 GAA and a .969 save percentage; he has given up just four goals on 129 shots in 305 minutes of play.

RECENT RIVERMEN TRANSACTIONS

December 3, 2006 G Chris Beckford-Tseu reassigned to the Peoria Rivermen (AHL) from the Alaska Aces (ECHL) by the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

December 2, 2006 G Jason Bacashihua recalled from loan by the St. Louis Blues (NHL) under emergency conditions.

November 29, 2006 D Jeff Woywitka loaned by the St. Louis Blues (NHL) to the Peoria Rivermen (AHL).

November 27, 2006 G Chris Beckford-Tseu reassigned from the Alaska Aces (ECHL) to the Peoria Rivermen (AHL) by the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

November 24, 2006 G Jason Bacashihua loaned by the St. Louis Blues (NHL) to the Peoria Rivermen (AHL).

November 20, 2006 D Jeff Woywitka recalled from loan by the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

November 20, 2006 RW Kevin Croxton returned on loan to the Alaska Aces (ECHL).

November 18, 2006 RW Mike Glumac, D Jeff Woywitka loaned by the St. Louis Blues (NHL) to the Peoria Rivermen (AHL).

November 15, 2006 G Chris Beckford-Tseu reassigned to the Peoria Rivermen (AHL) from the Alaska Aces (ECHL) by the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

November 15, 2006 G Jason Bacashihua recalled from loan by the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

November 15, 2006 D Stephen Wood, RW Kevin Croxton recalled from loan to the Alaska Aces (ECHL).

November 12, 2006 RW Mike Glumac, D Jeff Woywitka recalled from loan by the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

November 11, 2006 RW Mike Glumac returned on loan by the St. Louis Blues (NHL) to the Peoria Rivermen (AHL).

November 10, 2006 RW Mike Glumac recalled from loan by the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

RIVERMEN ACTION THIS WEEK

all times are local

DAY DATE TIME OPPONENT

Friday December 8, 2006 7:30 PM @ Manitoba Moose

Sunday December 10, 2006 2:00 PM @ Manitoba Moose

Radio: The Rivermen will be broadcast LIVE on Friday, December 8 and Sunday, December 10 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 Web cast of each game is available for a pay-per-view fee of $6.

SCOUTING THE MOOSE

National Hockey League Parent Club: Vancouver Canucks

Record Entering This Week: 10-10-3-2

Standings Points (Relative to Rivermen): 25 (-4)

Western Conference Standing: T-6th Place

North Division Standing: T-2nd Place

Rivermen Record vs. Moose: 3-1-0-0 (2005-06 Season)

Leading Scorer: LW Jason Jaffray (25 GP, 14 G, 11 A, 25 PTS) & C Brad Moran (20 GP, 11 G, 14 A, 25 PTS)

Number-1 Goaltender: Wade Flaherty (13 GP, 6-5-0, 2.91 GAA, .886 SV PCT.)

AHL Power-play Ranking Entering This Week: T-17th (15.3%)

AHL Penalty-kill Ranking Entering This Week: T-4th (86.9%)

Check out the Peoria Rivermen Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from December 4, 2006


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central