Rivermen Weekly
March 2, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
NEWS AND NOTES
Where they stand...With 20 games left to play, the Peoria Rivermen sit in sixth place of the West Division, nine points out of a potential playoff spot. Their 60 points (29-29-1-1) are within one of Iowa and seven of Houston for the fourth and final spot. Milwaukee (82) and Rockford (69) are first and second in the division respectively with Chicago (69) claiming the third spot by virtue of percentage points behind Rockford.
Closing Out February...The busiest month on the Rivermen calendar came to a close with Peoria posting a 5-8-0 record in February. The offense struggled by averaging just 2.00 goals per game while their defense was strong allowing just 2.77 goals-against. On the season they have scored 2.60 goals per game while allowing 2.85.
600 and counting...Trent Whitfield played his 600th career AHL game on Saturday night and is just five games away from his 800th professional contest. In his 600 AHL regular season games, Whitfield has accumulated 192 goals and 282 assists for 474 points.
Working Overtime...The Rivermen beat Rockford 2-1 in a shootout on Wednesday and are now 8-2 when the game requires more than 60 minutes. Peoria is 3-1 in overtime and 5-1 in shootouts. Their .800 winning percentage in those games is best in the AHL.
Second period struggles... On the season the Rivermen are being outscored 60-48 in the middle period; a period in which they have entered tied or trailing 44 times in 57 games.
Turn for the Worse...Since Dec. 28, the Rivermen have posted a 4-10-1 record at home after starting the season 11-3-1 at Carver Arena.
A Little Backwards...The Rivermen actually have a better record when they register fewer shots than their opponents. Peoria is just 11-15-1 when outshooting the other team but an impressive 16-13-1 when allowing more shots. They are 2-1-0 in games with the shots tied.
An early lead... 22 of the Peoria's 29 wins have come following the Rivermen scoring the first goal of the game. Peoria is now 22-6-2 when scoring the first goal of a game and just 7-23-0 when having to play from behind. The last time Peoria scored multiple goals in the first period was Dec. 28.
Power Play...The longest power-play goal drought of the season came to a close in Saturday's first opportunity of the game for the Rivermen. Steve Wagner's goal snapped an 0-for-18 skid on the man-advantage. Peoria is 3 for their last 38 (7.9%) and finished the month of February with just four goals in 58 chances (6.9%).
Penalty Kill...The Rivermen have killed off 23 of the last 25 (92.9%) power plays against them and 42 of the last 48 (87.5%), dating back to Feb. 8. They lead the league in SHG with 14 (three better than Philadelphia, Hamilton, Hartford, Chicago, Worcester, Lake Erie and Iowa).
WEEK 22 PREVIEW
Quad City Flames
National Hockey League Parent Club Calgary Flames
Record 23-25-6-6
Standings Points (Relative to Rivermen) 58 (-2)
West Division Standing 7th
Rivermen Record Against 6-1-0
Leading Scorer Kyle Greentree (28g, 24a, 52pts)
Starting Goaltender Leland Irving (12-13-1, 2.36 GAA, .905 sv%)
AHL Power-Play Rank 19th - 15.8%
AHL Penalty-Kill Rank 10th - 84.4%
Chicago Wolves
National Hockey League Parent Club Atlanta Thrashers
Record 33-27-2-1
Standings Points (Relative to Rivermen) 69 (+9)
West Division Standing 3rd
Rivermen Record Against 3-4-0
Leading Scorer Jeff Hamilton (16g, 37a, 53pts)
Starting Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec (15-12-1, 2.28 GAA, .923 sv%)
AHL Power-Play Rank 23rd - 15.1%
AHL Penalty-Kill Rank 20th - 81.6%
Rockford IceHogs
National Hockey League Parent Club Chicago Blackhawks
Record 32-24-0-5
Standings Points (Relative to Rivermen) 69 (+9)
West Division Standing 2nd
Rivermen Record Against 5-3-0
Leading Scorer Petri Kontiola (15g, 38a, 53pts)
Starting Goaltender Corey Crawford (19-12-2, 2.54 GAA, .917 sv%)
AHL Power-Play Rank 24th - 15.0%
AHL Penalty-Kill Rank 23rd - 81.2%
*All statistics as of 3/2/09
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
02/25/2009 Chris Conner (RW) DEL Recalled from loan by Dallas (NHL)
02/25/2009 Yan Stastny (C) ADD Returned on loan from St. Louis (NHL)
02/23/2009 Tyson Strachan (D) DEL Recalled from loan by St. Louis (NHL)
American Hockey League Stories from March 2, 2009
- Admirals, WSSP Extend Radio Deal - Milwaukee Admirals
- Thrashers Recall Defenseman Lewis - Chicago Wolves
- B-Sens Weekly - Binghamton Senators
- âPic'king it Up - Syracuse Crunch
- Rivermen Weekly - Peoria Rivermen
- Rampage Weekly Update - San Antonio Rampage
- Things to Know for the Week - Portland Pirates
- Bell Joins Pack - Connecticut Whale
- Monarchs Roar Back Into Atlantic Playoff Picture - AHL
- Flames Play Four Games In Five Nights This Week - Abbotsford Heat
- Houston Aeros Weekly - Houston Aeros
- Amerks Enter Final Two Months Of Regular Season - Rochester Americans
- River Rats Win Two Of Four Games In Return To Action - Albany River Rats
- Canadiens Sign Left Wing Andrew Conboy To Contract - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Hamilton Visits Syracuse And Hosts Toronto And Syracuse This Week - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Moller Finishes Conditioning Stint, Returns To LA - Manchester Monarchs
- Stars re-assign Sawada to Moose; Moose re-assign Gendur to Victoria - Manitoba Moose
- Admirals Continue to Battle Through Grueling Stretch - Norfolk Admirals
- Phantoms Weekly - Adirondack Phantoms
- Moose Win Three Straight In Week 21 - Manitoba Moose
- Red Wings Recall Downey and Ericsson, Return Helm and Leino to Grand Rapids - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Wolf Pack Weekly - Connecticut Whale
- Jason Bacashihua Named AHL Player of the Week - Cleveland Monsters
- Wolves Weekly Notes - Chicago Wolves
- Monsters' Bacashihua named Reebok/AHL Player of the Week - AHL
- Hog Talk Returns Tonight At Cousin's Bar And Grill - Rockford IceHogs
- Rockford Takes Five Of Six Points On The Road - Rockford IceHogs
- Moose Trade Matt Stephenson To Providence - Manitoba Moose
- Coyotes Recall Turris From San Antonio - San Antonio Rampage
- Admirals Begin Stretch Drive - Milwaukee Admirals
- Montreal Recalls Ryan O'Byrne from Hamilton - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Monarchs Weekly Report - Manchester Monarchs
- Former Major League Baseball Star, Cancer Survivor Dave Dravecky To Speak On Faith And Family Night - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Bears Head To Toronto And Cleveland This Weekend - Hershey Bears
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