Rivermen Weekly
January 3, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
WEEK 12 IN REVIEW (2-2-0-0)
vs. Manitoba (12/27) Marco Rosa's third period goal proved to be the difference in a 5-2 win for the Manitoba Moose over the Peoria Rivermen on Monday night at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, MB. Manitoba's power play, which came in ranked 28th in the league, posted a 2-for-5 performance against the Rivermen top-ranked penalty kill in the opening game of the two-game set. READ MORE
vs. Manitoba (12/28) For the first time since Nov. 5, the Peoria Rivermen dropped three straight games after a 4-1 loss to the Manitoba Moose on Tuesday at the MTS Center. In an offensively driven game that saw a total of 79 shots, Manitoba managed to capitalize on several fortuitous bounces in cruising to their third victory over the Rivermen and extend their season-best winning streak to five games. READ MORE
vs. Milwaukee (12/31) The Peoria Rivermen ended 2010 with a bang Friday night, notching a 3-1 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals. On the final night before the New Year, Peoria capitalized on a couple of key power plays to propel themselves past Milwaukee in front of 7,090 fans at Carver Arena. READ MORE
vs. Milwaukee (1/1) Jake Allen celebrated the New Year by pitching his league-best fifth shutout of the season in a 2-0 Peoria Rivermen win over the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday night at Van Andel Arena. Anthony Nigro broke a scoreless tie with only 7:59 remaining as Allen finished with 30 saves to propel the Rivermen to a 5-0-0 record against the Griffins this year. READ MORE
TEAM LEADERS
THIS SEASON
THIS WEEK
POINTS
T.J. Hensick - 28
Spina/Nikitin/Hensick - 3
GOALS
Phil McRae - 11
Nathan Oystrick - 2
ASSISTS
T.J. Hensick - 19
Dave Spina / Nikita Nikitin - 3
POWER PLAY
30-for-147, 20.4% (9)
3-for-12, 25.0%
PENALTY KILL
164-for-187, 87.7% (1)
17-for-20, 85.0%
NEWS AND NOTES
Best of the West.For the first time since Oct. 29, the Rivermen are back in the top spot of the West Division and the Western Conference. With 47 points, Peoria is tied with San Antonio for most in the conference but by virtue of a higher winning percentage (0.671 vs. 0.653) the Rivermen are the top team in the conference and trail only Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (52 points) and Manchester (50 points) in the American Hockey League.
League Leaders.Peoria leads the AHL in a number of statistical categories: Most wins when scoring first (18), Penalty Kill (87.7 percent), First period goal differential (+16), Goals-against average (2.20), Fewest Goals Allowed (77), Most wins when being outshot (15), and Fewest one-goal regulation losses (1).
Consistently Consistent.Through the first three months of the season, the Rivermen compiled 21 wins. They won seven games in each October, November and December while they have already picked up one win in January. January and February will be the team's busiest months, playing 14 games in each of the year's first two months.
Reversal of Fortune.After being the only team in the AHL last season without a shutout, the Rivermen lead the league with seven shutouts this season. In fact, Jake Allen's league-best five shutouts alone are more than 26 of the other 29 teams in the league with the exceptions of Binghamton (6), Hershey (5), Texas (5).
Scoring Just Enough.The Rivermen are one of 11 teams who have yet to score 100 goals (97). Peoria and Milwaukee (96) are the only two teams in the top 15 teams in the overall standings with less than100 goals scored. The trick has been to keep the goals-against down as well. Peoria is a perfect 22-0-0-0 when holding opponents to two goals or less.
Scoring Early.The Rivermen have scored the first goal of the game in 23 of their 35 games this season and are 18-3-1-1 when doing so. Out of those 23 games, 11 of those goals have come in the first five minutes of regulation.
Home Ice Advantage.Out of Peoria's 22 wins they have split them equally at home and on the road. But home games tend to be higher scoring than road games. The Rivermen have scored more goals (53-44), allowed more goals (41-36), taken more shots (479-470) and scored more power-play goals (20-10) at home than they have on the road.
On A Positive Note. Rookie defenseman Mark Cundari leads the Rivermen and all other rookies in the league in the plus-minus category with a positive 14 rating. He only trails the league leader (Sean Collins-Hershey) by +4.
Rock Solid Rookie. Rookie goaltender Jake Allen has gotten off to a great start and leads the league in numerous categories. His goals against average (1.60) is tied with Martin Jones of Manchester, while his save percentage (0.950), and shutout total (5), are the best amongst all goalies in the league. He is second in goals against with 25, second in losses with 3, and tied for third in wins with 13.
Young Gun Producing. Phil McRae finds himself nestled into the 10th spot in points amongst all the rookies in the league with a total of 22. He trails the rookie lead by 9 entering the New Year.
Offensive Defenseman. Nathan Oystrick is tied for first amongst all defenseman in the league with five power-play goals. He is also tied for second in the league amongst defenseman with eight goals. Overall this season, the Rivermen defensemen have contributed 16 goals and 42 assists for 58 points or roughly 22 percent of the team's total 262 points.
Grounding the Griffins. Peoria's win on Saturday over Grand Rapids was their 10th consecutive victory against the Griffins dating back to Dec. 5, 2009. The Rivermen are 5-0-0 against Grand Rapids this year.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
12/21/2010
Derek Nesbitt (RW)
Peoria
DEL Released from PTO
12/21/2010
Derek Nesbitt (RW)
Peoria
ADD Signed to SPC
American Hockey League Stories from January 3, 2011
- Admirals to Send Two Fans to Philly for Big Game - Milwaukee Admirals
- Skate with the Aeros at Discovery Green this Wednesday - Houston Aeros
- Devils Weekly - Albany Devils
- Liam Reddox and Linus Omark Recalled by Edmonton - Oklahoma City Barons
- Rangers Assign Michael Del Zotto to Whale, Recall Ryan McDonagh - Connecticut Whale
- Week Thirteen: Smith Shines - Syracuse Crunch
- New Year's Resolutions - Manitoba Moose
- Jones Named Reebok/AHL Rookie of the Month - Manchester Monarchs
- Wolves Weekly Notes - Chicago Wolves
- Quintin Laing Named Heat Team Captain. - Abbotsford Heat
- Anaheim Ducks Assign Center Nick Bonino - Syracuse Crunch
- David Desharnais Named Reebok/AHL Player of the Month - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Rampage Weekly Update - San Antonio Rampage
- Lack Named Reebok/AHL Goalie of Month - Manitoba Moose
- Trinity-Wesleyan Men's Matchup - Connecticut Whale
- Desharnais, Jones, Lack Named AHL Monthly Award Winners for December - AHL
- Adirondack Finishes 4-1 Week and on a 3-Game Winning Streak - Adirondack Phantoms
- Hamilton Bulldogs Weekly - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Rivermen Weekly - Peoria Rivermen
- Worcester Sharks Ring in the New Year in Dramatic Fashion - Worcester Sharks
- Defenseman Erik Gustafsson Returned to Adirondack - Adirondack Phantoms
- Stewart Wins AHL Player of Week Honor - Adirondack Phantoms
- Barons Weekly Report - Oklahoma City Barons
- Adirondack's Brian Stewart Named Reebok/AHL Player of the Week - AHL
- Crunch Players to Sign Autographs at Nestle Candy Display at Fayetteville Tops Friendly Markets - Syracuse Crunch
- Coyotes Assign Mikkel Boedker to San Antonio - San Antonio Rampage
- Whale Weekly - Connecticut Whale
- Gordie Roberts Added to Player Roster for Whalers Vs. Bruins Legends Game - Connecticut Whale
- Heat Reassign Nyren and Carpentier - Abbotsford Heat
- Lightning Reassign Janus to Everblades - Norfolk Admirals
- Three Game Road Trip Starts Friday In Winnipeg - Hershey Bears
- Bulldogs Announce Time Change For Sunday's Game - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Admirals Change Sunday Game Time to 1 Pm - Milwaukee Admirals
- Monarchs Weekly Report - Manchester Monarchs
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