The Peoria Rivermen completed another three-games-in-three-day stretch this weekend, their second of 12 this season and compiled a 2-1-0 record. They are now 4-4-1-1 through their first 10 games of the year.

Oct. 27 – W 5-3 vs. Texas
The Rivermen took an early 3-0 lead with goals by Brett Sonne, Brett Sterling and Derek Nesbitt before Texas countered with three unanswered goals to tie the game heading into the third period. Sterling added his second goal of the game in the third period, which proved to be the game-winner before Anthony Nigro sealed the game with an empty net goal. Ben Bishop stopped 31 of 34 shots on goal in the win.

Oct. 28 – L 4-6 vs. Rockford
Tyler Shattock gave Peoria an early lead but Rockford responded with four goals in a 16:15 span to take a commanding 5-1 lead. Two late surges brought Peoria within one, but Rockford was quick to counter each time en route to a 6-4 win. Goaltender Jake Allen saved just 33 of 39 shots in the outing and remains winless on the year.

Oct. 29 – W 5-2 @ Rockford
Although the IceHogs scored the game’s first goal, the Rivermen stormed back with four straight goals by Nesbitt, Nigro, Cade Fairchild and Adam Cracknell. Fairchild’s goal was the first of his professional career. Sterling scored the fifth Rivermen goal early in the third period to provide Peoria with their fifth five-goal performance in six games. Bishop allowed two goals on 39 shots in his fourth win of the 2011-12 campaign.

Rivermen Notes

• Brett Sterling (4g) led the team with four goals this weekend after both he and Derek Nesbitt (3g, 2a) scored in all three games.
• Center T.J. Hensick (4g, 11a) is tied for the league lead in assists with 11 through 10 games and is tied for second in points with 15. Sterling (7g, 6a) is tied for seventh with 13 points.
• Rookie defenseman Cade Fairchild currently leads all AHL rookies and all AHL defensemen in plus-minus. His plus-9 is only one back of Trevor Smith (Norfolk) for the overall league lead. Drafted in the fourth round by St. Louis in 2007, Fairchild completed his fourth season at the University of Minnesota last year.
• Off-season acquisition Danny Syvret (7a) is tied for third in points among AHL defensemen with seven through 10 games played.
• Sterling and Hensick both extended their point streaks to seven games in Saturday’s win, good for second in the league. The only game in which neither has tallied a point this year was a 4-3 shootout loss in Charlotte on Oct. 15.
• Second year forward Anthony Nigro scored his second and third goals of the year this weekend, benefitting from playing on a line with Adam Cracknell and Jonathan Cheechoo. Nigro didn’t score his third goal of the 2010-11 campaign until Dec. 19 against the Lake Erie Monsters.
• Goaltender Ben Bishop collected his third and fourth wins of the season and continues to lead the team in wins, GAA (2.31) and save percentage (0.928%).
• Following their recent offensive outburst, the Rivermen rank third in the league in goals scored per game at 3.70. They haven’t been as fortunate on defense however, allowing 3.50 goals per game, which positions them at 24th in the league.
• After adding three more power-play goals this weekend, Peoria ranks sixth in the AHL on the man advantage at 23.9%. The penalty kill grades 13th best in the league at 82.8%.
• The Rivermen were forced to kill off 18 power-plays against in three games this week. They have now been shorthanded 58 times, second most in the league behind Manchester (60). Peoria ranks third in minor penalties with 65 and fourth in penalty minutes per game at 22.00.
• Jonathan Cheechoo has taken 40 shots through the first 10 games, which is the third most in the AHL. He had a stretch of 23 shots over three games to start the week.