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April 2, 2007 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


WEEK 26 - RIVERMEN ACTION (0-3-0-1)

Sunday, April 1, RIVERMEN 0 @ San Antonio 1: The Peoria Rivermen were defeated for the fifth straight time, matching their longest winless streak of the season, falling to the San Antonio Rampage 1-0 in front of 3,411 at the AT&T Center. Every tilt in each of the five-game losing streaks has been on the road; the previous streak occurred less than a month ago from March 6 at Grand Rapids to March 14 at Chicago. The Rivermen (34-31-2-6, 76 pts) are now 3-11-0-2 in their last 16 games. The best opportunity Peoria had came in the first period when left wing Charles Linglet rushed down the left-wing boards, firing a shot from the left face-off circle that slipped past Rampage netminder Josh Tordjman, but the puck clanked off of the right post. Tonight's game marked the fifth time that the Rivermen were shutout this year, despite outshooting the Rampage 30-5 in the final two periods. Tordjman stopped all 36 shots that he faced tonight and was also the winning goalie in last night's contest, swatting away 31 of the 34 Rivermen shots. Against Peoria this year, Tordjman is now 3-1-0-0 with a 2.32 goals against average and a 0.934 save-percentage. San Antonio (30-38-2-4, 66 pts) notched the only goal of the contest just after Rivermen defenseman Tomas Mojzis' penalty had expired, 50 seconds into the second session. Defenseman Keith Yandle blasted a shot from the right point that was redirected in the slot by center Chris Ferraro. The puck squirted between the legs of Peoria goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu for Ferraro's 10th marker of the year.

Saturday, March 31, RIVERMEN 3 @ San Antonio 6: For the second night in a row, the Peoria Rivermen lost 6-3, this time at the hands of the San Antonio Rampage in front of 7,426 at the AT&T Center. It was the 12th time Peoria has lost in its last 15 games (3-10-0-2). The Rivermen (34-30-2-6, 76 pts) wasted little time registering the first goal of the game, as they scored at 1:46 of the opening period. Center Ryan Ramsay walked into the Rampage zone and snapped a shot from the high slot that was initially saved by San Antonio netminder Josh Tordjman. The rebound found left wing Charles Linglet's stick in the slot, where he tipped the puck to the right post for Ramsay, who deposited his 13th marker of the year and first goal after returning from injury. Prior to tonight's game, Peoria had a record of 17-3-1-0 when leading after the first period. Just 27 seconds into the second session, San Antonio (30-38-2-4, 66 pts) tied the contest on right wing Randall Gelech's 17th goal of the season. From the top of the right face-off circle, center Jakub Koreis found Gelech, who was all alone in the left circle, where he wristed a shot over the left shoulder of Peoria goaltender Marek Schwarz. Peoria regained the lead with a power play tally at 8:29 of the middle frame. Center Yan Stastny skated into the zone and then dumped the puck back to fellow center Trent Whitfield at center point. Whitfield glided into the high slot, where he wound-up and launched a rocket between the legs of Tordjman for his team-leading 30th goal of the 2006-07 campaign. The Rampage evened the tilt 2-2 at 11:32 of the second stanza while both teams had four skaters aside. Center Pascal Rheaume controlled the puck and waited for the play to develop while in the right-wing corner. Rheaume fired a pass at the doorstep for center Yanick Lehoux, who was streaking through the slot, tipping the puck into the net for his 29th goal of the year. San Antonio grabbed its first lead of the night with a 4-on-3 tally at 2:06 of the last frame. Defenseman Bryan Helmer slid a pass from center point to the left face-off circle for Lehoux, who snapped a shot that beat Schwarz glove side for his second goal of the contest and 30th overall. The Rivermen thought they had tied the game 1:42 later as Ramsay knocked in a rebound along the right post, but the goal was waved off as Ramsay was called for slashing before he had scored. Although the Rampage did not capitalize on the ensuing man advantage, they did make the game 4-2 at 6:20 of the third stanza. Defenseman Logan Stephenson began the play at the left point and slid the puck cross-ice to the right point for Helmer, who blasted a one-timer that was stopped by Schwarz. The rebound fell in the slot, where Schwarz tried to poke it away with his stick, but the puck slid right to center Joel Perrault, who chipped it over the left shoulder of the goalie. San Antonio increased its lead to 5-2 while on the power play for its third unanswered marker of the final frame at 7:45. Center Chris Ferraro whipped a shot from center point that was kicked aside by Schwarz with his right pad. Unfortunately, the puck bounced right to center Alex Leavitt along the left post, where he easily slid the puck across the goal line before Schwarz could dive in front. Peoria cut the deficit to 5-3 at 10:14 of the third stanza on Whitfield's second goal of the game and 31st overall. Left wing Jon DiSalvatore fed Whitfield in the left face-off circle, where he sent a bullet that slipped between the right post and left arm of Tordjman. It was the fourth multi-goal game of the season for Whitfield. The Rampage capped off the scoring as Leavitt threw the puck from his own blue line into the empty net for his second of the contest at 19:08 of the final period.

Friday, March 30, RIVERMEN 3 @ Houston 6: The Peoria Rivermen could not overcome the early three-goal deficit, despite outshooting the Houston Aeros 40-13 in the final two frames, losing 6-3 in front of 6,312 at the Toyota Center. The 50 shots that the Rivermen (34-29-2-6, 76 pts) posted in tonight's tilt was the second most that they have tallied in a game this year. Surprisingly, Peoria is only 2-8-0-0 when registering 38 or more shots on net. Houston (25-37-3-6, 59 pts) opened the scoring at 7:30 of the first frame on center Jason Morgan's 10th tally of the year. From the left-wing corner, right wing Mattias Weinhandl sent a pass to the top of the left face-off circle for defenseman John Scott, who ripped a one-timer that was stopped by Rivermen goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu. The rebound kicked out to the slot, where Morgan swatted the puck past Beckford-Tseu on the blocker side. Although the Aeros failed to score on a 1:15 two-man advantage, they did increase the lead to 2-0 at 11:58 of the opening period. After Peoria failed to clear the zone, right wing Danny Irmen skated into the slot with the puck and then snapped a shot on net that was saved by Beckford-Tseu. The rebound dropped to the stick of left wing Peter Olvecky along the right post, where he took a few whacks at the puck and finally, on his third try, poked it into the net for his ninth marker of the season. Just before the first stanza ended, at 19:21, Houston added its third goal of the period. Defenseman Curtis Murphy held the puck in the zone at center point and fired a pass to right wing Matt Foy, who was parked at the left point. Beckford-Tseu had blocked the left side of the net with his right pad, but Foy was able to jam the puck underneath the goalie's leg for his team-leading 25th goal of the year. The Rivermen notched their first goal of the game at 1:39 of the second session while on the power play. Defenseman Steve Wagner controlled the puck at the right point, where he dished a pass to left wing Michal Birner located at the right face-off dot. Birner snapped a shot that beat Houston netminder Dieter Kochan on his stick side. The goal was Birner's 11th of the 2006-07 campaign. The Aeros regained their three-goal lead just 1:16 later on the man advantage, as Foy registered his second marker of the contest. From the right face-off circle, defenseman Erik Reitz wound-up as if to shoot, then found Foy all alone at the bottom of the left face-off circle, where he simply tapped the puck behind new Rivermen netminder Marek Schwarz, who replaced Beckford-Tseu at the beginning of the second period. It was only the seventh power play goal in the last 73 opportunities for Houston. Peoria made the game 4-2 on center Yan Stastny's 11th tally of the year and first point in his last seven games coming at 15:26 of the middle frame. Right wing Ryan MacMurchy walked into the Houston zone and once he reached the high slot, dropped the puck back to Stastny, who launched a rocket into the top right corner of the net. The Rivermen got to within one at 17:38 of the final session while Schwarz was pulled and Peoria was on a 5-on-3 power play. After a face-off win, Glumac blasted a shot on net that was initially saved by Kochan, but the puck bounced to right wing Jon DiSalvatore in the slot, where he poked it in for his 20th goal of the season. Unfortunately, that was as close as Peoria came, as Houston capped off the scoring with two empty net tallies. The first coming at 18:40 of the third period after Morgan stole the puck from the Rivermen defense; Irmen picked it up and skated down the right-wing boards to deposit his 17th goal of the season. The final goal of the game was recorded by Weinhandl at 19:39 of the last stanza.

Tuesday, March 27, RIVERMEN 3 @ Iowa 4 Shootout: Despite being up by one goal late in the third, the Peoria Rivermen allowed a power play tally to send the contest into extra time before falling to the Iowa Stars 4-3 in a shootout in front of 3,289 at the Wells Fargo Arena. The Stars (37-30-3-1, 78 pts) notched the tying goal at 18:53 of the last session while on the power play and with their goalie Dan Ellis pulled. From the deep slot, defenseman Mark Ardelan flipped a backhander to right wing Konstantin Pushkarev, who was at the right face-off dot and chipped a shot over the glove hand of Rivermen netminder Chris Beckford-Tseu for his sixth marker of the year. Despite being outshot 9-4 in the overtime period and enduring a two-minute penalty, the Rivermen (34-28-2-6, 76 pts) held Iowa off of the scoreboard to send the game into a shootout. Both teams registered one goal each after the first five rounds of the shootout; finally in the eighth round, right wing Vojtech Polak scored the game-winner with a backhanded flip over the left leg of Beckford-Tseu. The loss held the Rivermen in fifth place, two points behind the Stars with one game in hand. Iowa had the best opportunity to tally a goal in the first frame with an uninterrupted minute with a two-man advantage, but the penalty-killing unit of the Rivermen was up to the challenge, keeping the Stars off the board. The pace of the game picked up in the second stanza, as the Stars registered the first goal of the tilt just 36 seconds into the period. From the right face-off dot, Polak dished the puck into the right corner for left wing Francis Wathier, who hurried toward the net and jammed the puck between the legs of Beckford-Tseu for his 10th tally of the year. Peoria evened the contest three minutes later on right wing Ryan MacMurchy's second goal of the season. Center Ryan Ramsay slid a pass from the right point to MacMurchy stationed deep in the slot, where he whipped a shot on net just before being leveled to the ice that flew over the right shoulder of Ellis. Iowa regained the lead at 2:50 of the final session on right wing Scott May's fourth marker of the 2006-07 campaign. Following a blocked shot, the Rivermen were unable to clear the puck from the zone, as it slid to center point May had already wound-up and blasted a shot through traffic in the slot and over the right shoulder of Beckford-Tseu. Just 13 seconds later, the Rivermen tied the game 2-2 with a goal mirroring the Stars' previous tally. An Iowa defenseman attempted to swat the puck out of the zone from the slot, but Rivermen defenseman Steve Wagner intercepted it in the high slot, where he sent a laser through a screen by center Trent Whitfield past Ellis. It was the first professional goal by Wagner, who had signed an amateur try-out contract with the Rivermen on March 23. Peoria grabbed its first lead of the contest with a power play goal at 9:53 of the third period. Defenseman Jamie Rivers fired a beautiful pass that split two Iowa defenders at the blue line to Whitfield, who was one-on-one with Ellis. Streaking through the slot, Whitfield deked a couple of times then slid a backhanded shot between the legs of Ellis, tying left wing Charles Linglet for first on the team in goals with 29.

PLAYOFF PROBLEMS

The Rivermen are in the midst of a season-worst, five-game winless stretch (0-4-0-1) after Sunday's 1-0 shutout loss (the fifth of the season for Peoria) in San Antonio. Peoria also was winless in five straight from March 6-14. Both winless streaks have come exclusively on the road. With Sunday's defeat, Peoria has lost a season-worst, three in a row in regulation for fourth time. Currently, the Rivermen are six points back of the Iowa Stars for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West Division with a game in hand. Peoria's remaining schedule includes (chronologically): Houston (2), Manitoba, Milwaukee (2) and Omaha (2). Iowa remaining schedule includes: Omaha, Manitoba, San Antonio, Houston (2) and Chicago. The Rivermen are 3-11-0-2 in their last 16 games.

THREE IS FOR ME... USUALLY

Peoria is 31-10-0-4 (73.3 percent point-making percentage) when scoring three or more goals in a game. In 17 of the last 25 games, the Rivermen have scored three or more goals; although, prior to Sunday's 1-0 shutout loss in San Antonio, Peoria's last three games, all losses, were three-goal contests. In games in which they score two goals or less, Peoria is 3-21-2-2 for a 17.9 percent point-making percentage.

BEST AND WORST AGAINST THE WEST

It is feast or famine for the Peoria Rivermen when it comes to taking on their fellow West Division opponents. Against the San Antonio Rampage (5-4-1-0), the Iowa Stars (6-4-0-0), the Houston Aeros (5-2-0-1) and the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights (7-0-0-1), the Rivermen are a combined 23-10-1-2. Against the Chicago Wolves (2-7-0-1) and the Milwaukee Admirals (2-5-1-0), Peoria is 4-12-1-1 this year.

APRIL SHOWERS

Peoria has just finished a season-high, er season-worst, 18 games in the month of March, and yesterday begin the final month of the season, April, with eight games over 15 days. Thirteen (13) of Peoria's March games were on the road, including a season-long, seven-game road swing, which concluded March 17 in Omaha with a 5-4 win and a 2-4-0-1 mark. The Rivermen opened a six-game road trip against the Wolves last Sunday; four of those six contests completed the 13-game road schedule in March.

RECENT RIVERMEN TRANSACTIONS

March 31, 2007 D Tomas Mojzis returned on loan from the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

March 28, 2007 RW Kevin Croxton returned on loan to the Alaska Aces (ECHL).

March 28, 2007 D Zack FitzGerald reassigned to the Alaska Aces (ECHL) by the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

March 28, 2007 G Jeff Reynaert released from professional try-out agreement.

March 27, 2007 G Marek Schwarz returned on loan from the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

March 27, 2007 D Chris Murray signed to amateur try-out contract.

March 23, 2007 G Jeff Reynaert signed to professional try-out agreement.

March 23, 2007 G Marek Schwarz recalled from loan under emergency conditions by the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

March 23, 2007 D Steve Wagner signed to amateur try-out contract.

RIVERMEN PROMOTIONS THIS WEEK

Friday, April 6

- Coca-Cola/Insight Date Night - two (2) tickets, two (2) Cokes and a tub of popcorn for JUST $25

- Coyote Creek Golf Night - First 500 Golfers receive a Rivermen golf ball and certificate

- Claude Scott - The Happy Trumpeter - Appears

Saturday, April 7

- U.S. Cellular 25 Greatest Rivermen of All-Time - Uncut Printers Sheet Giveaway - First 2,000 Fans

- Claude Scott - The Happy Trumpeter - Appears

Radio: The Rivermen will be broadcast LIVE on this week 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 AEROS

National Hockey League Parent Club: Minnesota Wild

Record Entering This Week: 25-38-3-6

Standings Points (Relative to Rivermen): 59 (-17)

Western Conference Standing: 13th Place

West Division Standing: 7th Place

Rivermen Record vs. Aeros: 5-2-0-1

Leading Scorer: RW Matt Foy (61 GP, 27 G, 23 A, 50 PTS)

Number-1 Goaltender: Dieter Kochan (23 GP, 6-14-1, 3.28 GAA, .903 SV PCT., 1 SO)

AHL Power-play Ranking Entering This Week: T-24th (14.1%)

AHL Penalty-kill Ranking Entering This Week: 10th (83.8%)

SCOUTING THE MOOSE

National Hockey League Parent Club: Vancouver Canucks

Record Entering This Week: 42-21-7-5

Standings Points (Relative to Rivermen): 96 (+20)

Western Conference Standing: 1st Place

North Division Standing: 1st Place

Rivermen Record vs. Moose: 0-3-0-0

Leading Scorer: LW Jason Jaffray (72 GP, 34 G, 43 A, 77 PTS)

Number-1 Goaltender: Drew MacIntyre (38 GP, 22-11-2, 2.22 GAA, .922 SV PCT., 2 SO)

AHL Power-play Ranking Entering This Week: 17th (16.2%)

AHL Penalty-kill Ranking Entering This Week: 1st (89.4%)

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