The Rivermen continued their season-long nine-game road trip last week with shootout wins in their first two games and one goal losses in the two that followed. Peoria is now 9-8-1-1 through 19 games, good for third in the Midwest Division and seventh in the Western Conference.

Nov. 15 – SOW 3-2 at Hamilton
Phil McRae scored his eighth goal of the season late in the first period before the Bulldogs took a 2-1 lead six minutes into the third. Defenseman Danny Syvret forced overtime with a game-tying goal just 48 seconds later. Derek Nesbitt and T.J. Hensick each scored in the shootout while goaltender Ben Bishop stopped four of five to seal the win. Bishop finished the game with 31 saves on 33 shots on goal.

Nov. 17 – SOW 4-3 at Lake Erie
After the Monsters captured a two goal lead within the first six minutes of play, Brett Sterling, Anthony Nigro and Adam Cracknell each added goals to give the Rivermen a 3-2 lead. After a Lake Erie goal halfway through the third period, the game remained tied and went to a shootout. Nesbitt converted his second opportunity in as many games while Bishop stopped all five Monsters attempts. He finished the game with 33 saves. Each team scored one power play goal in six chances.

Nov. 19 – L 3-2 at Lake Erie
Although the Rivermen put 40 shots on goal, only two of them found the back of the net in a one-goal loss to the Monsters on Saturday night. Sterling scored both of Peoria’s goals, which tied him for the league lead at 12 at the time. Bishop stopped 22 of 25 shots on goal in the loss while the Rivermen failed to convert on each of their four power plays. Brett Ponich, David Shields and Hensick were the only skaters that didn’t have a shot on goal in the loss.

Nov. 20 – L 4-3 at Toronto
The Rivermen returned to Canada for their fifth straight road game which resulted in their second consecutive one-goal loss. Jonathan Cheechoo, Tyler Shattock and Phil McRae each added goals, but it was Syvret who was awarded with the games second star after he recorded two assists and seven shots on goal. Jake Allen allowed four goals on 35 shots in his fourth loss of the campaign.

Rivermen Report

• Ben Bishop is 8-5-0-0 with an impressive 2.14 goals-against average and 0.932 save percentage after he won two of three starts last week. He is currently ranked fourth in the league in save percentage and seventh in GAA.
• After adding four assists last week, T.J. Hensick has maintained the league-lead in points with 25 (6g, 19a). Hensick also leads the league in assists.
• Although he was promoted to St. Louis prior to Sunday’s game, winger Brett Sterling is tied second in the league in points with 22 (12g, 10a). His 12 goals also rank first in the league in a four-way tie.
• Rookie defenseman Cade Fairchild has put up a league-best 13 +/- rating this season.
• Defenseman Danny Syvret has tallied 15 points (2g, 13a) in 19 games played this year which puts him one point behind Norfolk’s Mark Barberio for the league lead among defensemen. Eight of his points have come on the power play, which is tied for second in the league among defensemen as well.
• Although the Rivermen only scored two power-play goals in four games last week, their power play still ranks eighth best in the league at 20.9%. The penalty has also moved into the top ten at 83.0%.

Transactions

• Nov. 14 – David Shields (D) reassigned by St. Louis (NHL) from Alaska (ECHL)
• Nov. 16—Shaun Heshka (D) traded from Binghamton (AHL) for future considerations
• Nov. 16 – Peter MacArthur (LW) signed to PTO
• Nov. 20 – Brett Sterling (LW) recalled from loan by St. Louis (NHL)

The Rivermen return to Peoria for practice this week before traveling north for three Illinois Lottery Cup games this weekend:

• Fri., Nov. 25 @ Rockford – 7:05 p.m.
• Sat., Nov. 26 @ Chicago – 7:00 p.m.
• Sun., Nov. 27 @ Chicago – 3:00 p.m.