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 Peoria Rivermen only led when it mattered as their first lead of the game came in the shootout on their way to a 4-3 win over the Abbottsford Heat on Tuesday night at Carver Arena before 3,269 fans. Adam Cracknell tied the score with the net empty and only 47.2 seconds remaining after the Rivermen started the night down 2-0. Ben Walter scored twice in regulation for Abbotsford while goaltender Danny Taylor was peppered with 39 shots in the loss. Two fights occurred within five seconds of the first goal being scored. Chris Bruton and Judd Blackwater dropped the gloves at the 4:54 mark. Three seconds later Anthony Peluso had a lengthy round with Pierre-Luc Letoumeau-Leblond. With 47.2 seconds left the Rivermen, Cracknell’s 14th goal of the season sent the game to overtime. With the puck behind the net, Derek Nesbitt made a pass back to Cracknell at the right post who jammed in the equalizer. Click here for Game Box Score.
-Bob
The Peoria Rivermen set a season high with 47 shots on goal and built a 5-0 lead on their way to a easy 5-2 win over the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday night in front of 7,306 at Carver Arena. A total of 13 different Rivermen recorded at least a point as they defeated the AHL Midwest Division leaders in their first visit to Peoria. The Rivs improved to 25-21-2-1 and regained sole possession of third place in the Midwest Division with the win. Ben Bishop stopped 22 of 24 shots on goal in his league-leading 21st win on the campaign while T.J. Hensick and Danny Syvret turned in multi-point efforts. Charlotte’s Jerome Samson spoiled Bishop’s shutout attempt with a goal at 3:11 in the third period and Zach Boychuk finished the scoring at 16:41 with an assist from A.J. Jenks for the Checkers. Click here for complete game statistics.
-Bob
Veteran right wing Jonathan Cheechoo recorded two assists to help the Peoria Rivermen build an early 2-0 lead, the Lake Erie Monsters rallied to score three unanswered goals to win 3-2 before 5,565 fans at Carver Arena on Friday night. Left winger Patrick Rissmiller scored the game-winning goal with 2:18 remaining in regulation after Brett Sonne was sent to the box for slashing just 47 seconds earlier. The Monsters finished the game 2-for-5 on the power play while Peoria was 1-for-3. Peoria dropped to 24-21-2-1 for 51 points and sit in ninth in the AHL’s Western Conference, two points behind the Rochester Americans for the final playoff spot. Ben Bishop stopped 20 of 23 shots on goal in the loss while Gerald Coleman allowed two goals on 34 shots. Click here for complete game stats.
-Bob
The Peoria Rivermen scored three power-play goals en route to a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals Sunday night at Carver Arena before 4,114 fans. T.J. Hensick, Brett Sterling and Danny Syvret all registered multipoint games to lead the Rivermen to their fourth win in their past five games. The Rivermen scored three times in the first 20 minutes to chase goaltender Atte Engren from the net and then relied on 33 saves from Jake Allen the rest of the way. Allen stopped 33 of the 35 shots he faced to grab his third win of the year while the Rivermen went 3-for-6 on the power play in the game. Click here for the official game stats.
-Bob
