Season-High Offense Pushes Rivermen to Victory
March 1, 2015 - SPHL (SPHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release
PEORIA - The Peoria Rivermen extended their first-place advantage to nine points with their largest winning margin of the season in a 9-2 win over the Fayetteville FireAntz on Sunday afternoon at Carver Arena.
For the second straight game, the Rivermen scored first and quickly as Mike Gurtler put home a second rebound in front of the net on assists by Ben Oskroba and Josh Harris just 1:43 into the contest. The lead increased to 2-0 3:37 into the game on a power play goal from the right circle from Steve Morra with assists given to Ryan Raven and Cole Ruwe. The FireAntz registered a 5-on-3 power play goal with 5:53 left in the opening period on a back-door feed at the left post to Josh McQuade, assisted by Mike Kavanagh and Matt Robertson, but the Rivermen answered only 1:20 later when Rob Vanwynsberghe ran down the right wing and scored a top-shelf wrister from the circle, helped by Richie Zobak and Jason Cohen to put the hosts up 3-1 at the first intermission.
The Rivermen surged ahead 4-1 with 3:07 elapsed in the second period on a slap shot from the high slot by Garrett Vermeersch, aided by Ruwe and Alec Hagaman. Morra scored his second goal of the game with 12:43 remaining in the middle chapter on a slick long back door feed to the right post on connections from Josh Harris and Vermeersch. The lead increased to 6-1 with 5:07 left when Alex Hudson easily measured a pass at the doorstep on deliveries by Cohen and Matt Summers and scored after a quick move.
Peoria's advantage went to 7-1 5:01 into the final chapter when Vermeersch blasted a one-timer from the left circle on feeds from Summers and Morra, but was sliced to 7-2 1:17 later when Robertson hit a drive from the right circle after a turnover. The Rivermen answered with 8:23 remaining when Gurtler scored his second goal of the game immediately off a face-off win by Harris for an 8-2 lead. Vermeersch completed his hat trick with 1:25 remaining with a one-time drive from the left circle fed by Nick Schneider and Summers.
Dustin Carlson turned aside 27 shots for the win while Jordan Tibbett suffered the loss with 38 saves. Peoria was 2-for-4 on power plays while Fayetteville was 1-for-5 with a man advantage.
The seven-goal winning margin is the highest of the season and the nine Peoria goals equals a season high when the Rivermen won at Knoxville 9-3 on November 21. The Rivermen improve to 31-14-3 for 65 points and extend their lead over the Southern Professional Hockey League to nine points over Columbus and Pensacola. Fayetteville drops to 19-19-7 for 45 points and remain four points out of a playoff spot.
The Rivermen play their final two regular season home games this Friday and Saturday against the Mississippi RiverKings. Face-off at Carver Arena both nights is at 7:05. Saturday's home finale is CEFCU Fan Fest with activities and offers for the entire weekend announced the in the coming week on Facebook, Twitter (@Peoria_Rivermen) and www.rivermen.net.
Single game tickets for Peoria's 33rd season of professional hockey are on sale weekdays at the Peoria Civic Center. Season ticket packages and group ticket options for the 2015-16 campaign are on sale now through the Rivermen office, located at 201 S.W. Jefferson Street, or over the phone at (309) 676-1040. For the latest Rivermen news and notes, follow online at www.rivermen.net or through Facebook ( www.facebook.com/PeoriaRivermen) and Twitter ( https://twitter.com/Peoria_Rivermen).
SPHL Stories from March 1, 2015
- Season-High Offense Pushes Rivermen to Victory - Peoria Rivermen
- Cottonmouths Hand IceGators Second Straight Loss - Louisiana IceGators
- Columbus Stifles Louisiana's Comeback, Gains 7-5 Victory - Columbus Cottonmouths
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