Goal keeper Magnus Hellberg made 20 saves to earn his sixth shutout of the season as the Milwaukee Admirals handed the Peoria Rivermen a 3-0 loss Sunday night at Carver Arena in front of 4,302 fans. The Rivermen ended the season with a AHL record of 33-35-5-3. The Admirals took a 1-0 lead with 7:27 remaining in the first period courtesy of Mattias Ekholm’s 10th goal of the season. Ekholm took a shot that Mike McKenna got a piece of, but the puck trickled across the goal line. Ryan Ellis and Patrick Cehlin assisted on the first goal of the contest that needed to be reviewed. Daniel Bang scored his ninth goal of the year at the 10:34 mark of the middle frame to increase Milwaukee’s lead to two goals. On a breakaway, Bang cut to the forehand and was able to elevate the puck over the outstretched right pad of McKenna for the tally. Joonas Jarvinen earned the lone assists on the play. With 5:03 remaining in the second period, Zach Budish scored his first goal of the season to make it a 3-0 game. Mark Van Guilder took a shot that McKenna originally stopped. The rebound went to Budish, who backhanded the puck into an open net. Mattias Ekholm was credited with the secondary assist.
-Bob
Darren Haydar spoiled Jake Allen’s return to the Peoria Rivermen when he scored a goal and added two assists within a 3:38 span to lead the Chicago Wolves to a 3-0 victory over the Rivermen Saturday night at Carver Arena before 6,881 fans. Matt Climie recorded his third shutout of the season with a 38 saves to help the Wolves to their first win in Peoria this season. The third period featured the Wolves scoring three goals in the first 6 minutes. After forcing a turnover, Andrew Ebbett passed the puck to Haydar, who scored his team-leading 16th goal of the season past Allen to break the tie at 1:50. Next, Ebbett added a goal of his own after rebounding a shot from Haydar. Kevin Connauton also earned an assist on the goal at 3:01. Lastly, Haydar led a 2-on-1 break and pushed a pass to Devin DiDiomete, who scored his second goal of the year on a one-timer at 5:28. Connauton was credited with another assist on the play.
-Bob
The Texas Stars excelled on special teams going 3-for-3 on the power play and also scoring a shorthanded goal in Saturday’s 8-4 win against the Peoria Rivermen in Carver Arena before 6,501 fans. After the Rivermen took an early 2-0 lead, Texas scored seven of the next eight goals. The Rivermen opened up the scoring in the game when Andrew Murray skated up to a deflected puck by the right circle and shot it past Richard Bachman, who was in goal for the first time this season for the Stars. Phil McRae and Evgeny Grachev assisted on Murray’s goal. In a one-goal game heading into the third period, Texas scored three goals in the first five minutes. Justin Dowling scored his first goal of the season when he skated down the right side only 53 seconds in the frame. 1:23 later, Toby Petersen scored his fourth goal of the season. Next, Maxime Fortunus had his shot deflected off of two players and it went past Jake Allen, who replaced Mike McKenna in net. The Stars scored their final goal of the night when Tomas Vincour slapped in a rebound.
-Bob
Captain Brett Sutter’s first career hat trick and Justin Peters’ 19-save shutout propelled the Charlotte Checkers to a 6-0 win over the Peoria Rivermen at Carver Arena, improving their league-best record to 6-1-1. Drayson Bowman set a new team record by scoring a goal for the sixth consecutive game, with Zach Boychuk and Nicolas Blanchard rounding out the scoring for Charlotte. The game also marked the first time the Checkers have posted back-to-back shutouts, with Dan Ellis keeping a clean sheet in Saturday’s 4-0 win against the Rivermen. The Checkers have not allowed a goal since the second period of Friday’s game in Grand Rapids, a span of nearly 159 minutes. Charlotte outshot the Rivermen 35-19 while going 2-for-2 on the power play. Click here for final game stats.
-Bob
The Peoria Rivermen finished the preseason with a 2-1-0 record after a 5-3 loss to the Rockford IceHogs on Saturday at Carver Arena. Peoria goalie Jake Allen made 24 saves in his only action of the preseason while Adam Cracknell, Derek Nesbitt and Phil McRae scored for the Rivs. The IceHogs behind a strong showing from the line combination of Jimmy Hayes, Marcus Kruger and Brandon Saad combined to score four goals and three assists. Rockford goalie Carter Hutton went the distance making 13 saves on the night.
-Bob
