AHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Weekly

April 9, 2007 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


WEEK 26 - RIVERMEN ACTION (2-1-0-0)

Saturday, April 7, RIVERMEN 0 vs. Manitoba 2: Goals were hard to come by for the Peoria Rivermen this season against the Manitoba Moose, as they were shutout for the third straight time in four games against Manitoba, losing 2-0 in front of 3,915 Saturday night at Carver Arena. The Rivermen (36-32-2-6, 80 pts), swept in four games by Manitoba this season, were outscored by the Moose (44-22-7-5, 100 pts) 13-1 in the series, registering just one point, an unassisted goal by Mike Glumac, on December 8 in Manitoba. Each team had numerous scoring opportunities in the first two frames with the shot total favoring Peoria 28-23, but the game remained scoreless at the end of two. Just 32 seconds into the last session, Manitoba notched the first goal of the game while on the power play. Left wing Jason Jaffray began the play at the top of the right circle, where he fed the puck to center point for defenseman Alex Edler, who quickly tapped it to right wing Lee Goren in the left circle. Goren wound-up and launched a rocket that flew over the left shoulder of Rivermen netminder Marek Schwarz, hitting the bottom of the crossbar and falling over the goal line. It was Goren's 25th marker of the year. The Moose tallied their second man-advantage marker of the game at 14:26 of the third stanza. From the top of the left face-off circle, Edler fired a pass cross-ice to the right circle for Jaffray, who wristed a shot just over the glove of Schwarz and into the top-left corner for his team-leading 35th goal of the season. Manitoba goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris stopped all 34 shots that Peoria fired at him earning his second shutout against the Rivermen; in fact, all four wins that Grumet-Morris has recorded this year have been shutouts. Prior to tonight's game, the second-year goaltender played in 15 games registering a 3-6-5 record with a 2.35 goals-against-average and had stopped 92.6-percent of shots faced.

Friday, April 6, RIVERMEN 4 vs. Houston 3 Overtime: With just 1:24 left in the third period, the Peoria Rivermen tied the game and then went on to beat the Houston Aeros 4-3 in overtime in front of 3,655 at Carver Arena. The game-winning tally came just 55 seconds into the overtime period as defenseman Jamie Rivers sent a beautiful pass up the middle of the ice between two Houston defenders in the neutral zone to center Trent Whitfield for a breakaway chance. Whitfield raced through the slot and was able to beat Houston goalie Miroslav Kopriva high on the glove side. The Rivermen (36-31-2-6, 80 pts) opened the scoring at 4:48 of the first frame on right wing Mike Glumac's 26th marker of the year. Left wing Charles Linglet chipped the puck from the left corner, over Kopriva, into the right face-off circle. Ramsay controlled the puck and dropped it off to Glumac, who flipped it over the left shoulder of a stunned Kopriva, who had dropped to a knee and thought he had completely covered the net. Houston (25-40-3-6, 59 pts) defenseman John Scott tallied his first goal of the season at 17:29 of the opening period to tie the game 1-1. Right wing Danny Irmen battled for control of the puck behind the net and then sent a pass by the left post into the slot for Scott, who one-timed a shot past the left arm of Rivermen netminder Marek Schwarz. Peoria regained the lead at 4:44 of the second session when right wing Jon DiSalvatore stole the puck from a Houston defenseman at the blue line and then skated into the right face-off circle, where he whipped a shot that flew over the right shoulder of Kopriva. Over the past 12 games, DiSalvatore has registered 13 points (5g, 8a). The Aeros evened the contest at 1:14 of the final stanza on right wing Mattias Weinhandl's 17th tally of the 2006-07 campaign. Center Jason Morgan dumped the puck off to Weinhandl, who was parked at the left hash marks in the slot, from where he snapped a shot over the blocker of Schwarz. At 15:44 of the last frame, Houston took its first lead of the tilt as Weinhandl scored his second marker of the contest and 18th overall. From the left point, defenseman Ryan Stokes blasted a shot that bounced off some traffic in the slot; Weinhandl snatched the loose puck and slid it past a diving Schwarz from the right side of the slot. Glumac was able to tie the game and ultimately send it into overtime as he deposited his second goal of the contest and 27th overall at 18:36 of the final period. Linglet sent the puck to Ramsay behind the net from left to right; from just to the right of the net and behind the goal line, Ramsay dished the puck to Glumac in the slot, where he flicked a backhanded shot through the legs of Kopriva.

Tuesday, April 4, RIVERMEN 8 @ Houston 2: Left wing Charles Linglet set a new single-game mark for the season with five points (2g, 3a), as he helped pace the Rivermen to a season-high eight goals en route to an 8-2 road win over the Houston Aeros on Tuesday night. The win snapped a season-worst, three-game regulation losing streak and a season-worst, five-game winless streak (0-4-0-1). The victory also moved the Rivermen to within four points of the fourth-place Iowa Stars for the fourth and final place spot in the West Division with a game in hand; the Stars lost at home on Tuesday night 2-1 to the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights. Peoria's previous season high was seven goals in a 7-3 home win on February 18 against Grand Rapids. Linglet had a hand in all three Peoria goals in the first period, setting up right wing Mike Glumac for his 25th tally of the season at 4:22 of the opening session for a 1-0 Peoria lead. After getting denied by Houston goaltender Miroslav Kopriva in the opening minute, Glumac took a pass in the left-wing corner from Charles Linglet and walked in on net, snapping a shot under Kopriva. Things got nasty just over a minute later after a late hit by Houston right wing Matt Foy on Rivermen defenseman Patrick Wellar in the Peoria zone. There was a 10-minute delay because of the ensuing melee, as Glumac and Houston's Ryan Hamilton were assessed five minutes each for fighting and ejected for starting a second altercation. Rivermen right wing Rocky Thompson, who would later score his first tally of the season to complete his team's eight-goal barrage, grabbed Foy after the hit and dropped the gloves. A total of 62 penalty minutes were assessed, and the Rivermen ended up with a two-minute power play. On the resulting man advantage, the Rivermen capitalized on Linglet's first of two markers in the stanza, as he gathered a Trent Whitfield rebound in front of Kopriva popped in his 30th goal of the season and a 2-0 lead at 6:22 of the first. Houston, who is 2-7-0-1 in its last 10 homes games, got on the board shorthanded at 7:35. Houston winger Joel Ward hounded Peoria defenseman Jamie Rivers behind the net, and while trying to clear the puck, Rivers slipped the puck by a stunned Schwarz. The goal was Houston's 16th shorthanded tally of the season, breaking the team record set in 1994-95. Peoria regained its two-goal advantage on the same power play, just 1:10 later. Linglet picked Houston's Chris Ovington's pocket in front of the net and slipped the puck under Kopriva for his 31st of the season, tying Whitfield for the team lead. The goal would be the first of six unanswered for the Rivermen. The Rivermen outshot the Aeros 22-2 in the first period. Peoria made it 4-1 on center Yan Stastny's 12th goal of the year, after he completed a 2-on-1 feed with Whitfield by ripping a shot top shelf at 3:04 of the second. Peoria extended it to a 5-1 lead with a power play goal with 8:34 gone in the middle period after a too-many-men-on-the-ice call to the Aeros. Linglet blistered a shot from the mid slot that Kopriva kicked into the right circle, where center Ryan Ramsay popped the rebound home from a bad angle for his 14th goal of the season. The Rivermen finished the game 3-for-4 on the power play, while Houston was 0-for-4. Ramsay then fed rookie right wing Ryan MacMurchy for his third goal of the year with 8:55 left in the second. Ramsay deked Kopriva, went behind the net and tried a wraparound that floated through the empty crease to a wide open MacMurchy, who tapped the puck into an open net. MacMurchy would add his second of the game on Linglet's fifth point of the contest nearly four minutes into the third session at 3:58, before Thompson's first goal of the season just 12 seconds later. Houston's Peter Olvecky gave his team their second marker of the game with 6:04 left on a shot from the right circle. It was Olvecky's 10th of the season.

PLAYOFFS PERKING UP?

With four games left in the final week of the regular season, Peoria is four points back of Iowa for the fourth and final West Division playoff spot with a game in hand, but the Rivermen lose on the first tiebreaker, which is regular-season wins; so essentially, they need three points to take over fourth place in the West. With regard to the North Division, the Rivermen are three points back of fourth-place Grand Rapids; because the West Division has seven teams (one more than the North), the fifth-place team in the West Division can potentially jump over and compete in the North, if it finishes with more points than the fourth-place team in the North. Peoria's remaining schedule includes (chronologically): Milwaukee (2) and Omaha (2). Iowa's remaining schedule includes: Houston (2) and Chicago. Grand Rapids' remaining schedule includes: Hamilton (3) and Toronto.

SAL-VAGING A FEW POINTS OF LATE

Fourth-year left wing Jon DiSalvatore has 13 points (5g, 8a) over his last 13 games. In the middle of the current stretch, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound native of Bangor, Maine, had a seven-game point streak (March 20-31) with nine points (4g, 5a). He is currently second on the team in points (T-60) and assists (39).

THREE IS FOR ME... USUALLY

Peoria is 33-10-0-4 (74.5 percent point-making percentage) when scoring three or more goals in a game. In 19 of the last 27 games, the Rivermen have scored three or more goals. In games in which they score two goals or less, Peoria is 3-22-2-2 for a 17.2 percent point-making percentage.

CLASS IS IN SESSION... UM, NOT ANYMORE!

University of Maine forward Josh Soares has been signed to an amateur try-out with the club, bringing the number of college players to join the Rivermen late season to five, which includes: forward Bryan Esner (Northeastern University), defenseman Steven Birnstill (Northeastern University), defenseman Steve Wagner (Minnesota State-Mankato) and defenseman Chris Murray (University of New Hampshire). Soares, who led the Black Bears in goals (20) and points (T-45) as a senior, led the team to the 2007 NCAA Frozen Four, where they lost in the semifinals to Michigan State 4-2 earlier this week. Just Wagner - a 6-foot-2, 200-pound native of Grand Rapids, Minnesota - has touched the stat sheet with three points (1g, 2a) in nine games.

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 (7-2-0-1) and the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights (7-0-0-1), the Rivermen are a combined 25-10-1-2. Against the Chicago Wolves (2-7-0-1) and the Milwaukee Admirals (2-5-1-0), Peoria is 4-12-1-1 this year.

RECENT RIVERMEN TRANSACTIONS

April 9, 2007 RW Hans Benson released from professional try-out agreement.

April 9, 2007 RW Ryan MacMurchy returned on loan to the Alaska Aces (ECHL).

April 9, 2007 D Stephen Wood returned on loan to the Alaska Aces (ECHL) from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL).

April 9, 2007 D Patrick Wellar reassigned to the Alaska Aces (ECHL) by the St. Louis Blues (NHL).

April 7, 2007 F Josh Soares signed to amateur try-out contract.

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.

RIVERMEN PROMOTIONS THIS WEEK

Saturday, April 14

- Ralph Rashid/Discover UFS/Ashley Furniture Fan Appreciation Night - Thousands of dollars in prizes given away

- Circle K Team Photo Night - First 5,000 Fans

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 ADMIRALS

National Hockey League Parent Club: Nashville Predators

Record Entering This Week: 38-25-4-9

Standings Points (Relative to Rivermen): 89 (+9)

Western Conference Standing: 6th Place

West Division Standing: 3rd Place

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

Leading Scorer: C Rich Peverley (62 GP, 29 G, 36 A, 65 PTS)

Number-1 Goaltender: Karl Goehring (43 GP, 21-15-4, 2.73 GAA, .906 SV PCT., 1 SO)

AHL Power-play Ranking Entering This Week: 13th (17.4%)

AHL Penalty-kill Ranking Entering This Week: T-3rd (86.0%)

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS

National Hockey League Parent Club: Calgary Flames

Record Entering This Week: 46-24-5-1

Standings Points (Relative to Rivermen): 98 (+18)

Western Conference Standing: 2nd Place

West Division Standing: 1st Place

Rivermen Record vs. Knights: 7-0-0-1

Leading Scorer: C Andrei Taratukhin (76 GP, 17 G, 43 A, 60 PTS)

Number-1 Goaltender: Curtis McElhinney (54 GP, 32-17-1, 2.16 GAA, .917 SV PCT., 7 SO)

AHL Power-play Ranking Entering This Week: 22nd (15.1%)

AHL Penalty-kill Ranking Entering This Week: 2nd (86.6%)

Check out the Peoria Rivermen Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from April 9, 2007


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