Report for the Week Ending March 11
Tuesday, 03.13.2012 / 9:34 AM
By Kevin Orris - Peoria Rivermen / The Rivermen Report
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The Rivermen beat the top team in the Western Conference again this week and swept the Abbotsford Heat in a weekend series to dethrone them from fourth place. Peoria is now 34-26-2-1 with 71 points and tied for second in the Midwest Division. They are currently in a two-way tie for fourth in the Western Conference with Chicago.
March 7 – OTW 4-3 vs. Oklahoma City | HIGHLIGHTS
The Oklahoma City Barons held a 3-0 lead, as the second period neared its end, until Danny Syvret tallied a power-play goal to put Peoria on the board at 18:45. Adam Cracknell scored at 5:16 in the third period before Syvret tied the game with 5:54 remaining in regulation on his second power-play goal of the game. Newcomer Patrick O’Sullivan ended the game with his first marker for Peoria just 1:42 into overtime to give the Rivermen a 4-3 win. O’Sullivan finished the game with four points (1g, 3a) while Syvret (2g, 1a) and Derek Nesbitt (3a) each registered three. Jake Allen stopped 23 of 26 shots on goal in 34:52 minutes between the pipes before he was relieved by Alex Stalock, who stopped all 12 shots faced in the final 26:19.
March 9 – W 4-1 at Abbotsford
Patrick O’Sullivan scored two goals for Peoria while Jake Allen made 39 saves as the Rivermen moved past the Abbotsford Heat 4-1 on Friday night in the opening game of the weekend series. O’Sullivan and Anthony Nigro paced the Rivermen to a 2-0 lead in the first period before O’Sullivan notched the only goal of the second. Joe Piskula scored for Abbotsford to open the third but Adam Cracknell sealed the win with an empty-netter with only 0.1 second remaining. Peoria’s power play went 2-for-4 while their penalty kill finished 3-for-3.
March 11 – W 5-0 at Abbotsford
Jake Allen stopped 32 shots on goal en route to his first shutout of the season in a 5-0 win over the Abbotsford Heat on Sunday. Adam Cracknell and Brett Sonne each scored first period markers followed by Stefan Della Rovere’s tally just 56 seconds into the second stanza. Shaun Heskha and Phil McRae potted goals for Peoria in the third period to finish the scoring. McRae produced three points (1g, 2a) while Heshka (1g, 1a) and Jonathan Cheechoo (2a) registered two-point efforts.
Rivermen Report
March 7 – OTW 4-3 vs. Oklahoma City | HIGHLIGHTS
The Oklahoma City Barons held a 3-0 lead, as the second period neared its end, until Danny Syvret tallied a power-play goal to put Peoria on the board at 18:45. Adam Cracknell scored at 5:16 in the third period before Syvret tied the game with 5:54 remaining in regulation on his second power-play goal of the game. Newcomer Patrick O’Sullivan ended the game with his first marker for Peoria just 1:42 into overtime to give the Rivermen a 4-3 win. O’Sullivan finished the game with four points (1g, 3a) while Syvret (2g, 1a) and Derek Nesbitt (3a) each registered three. Jake Allen stopped 23 of 26 shots on goal in 34:52 minutes between the pipes before he was relieved by Alex Stalock, who stopped all 12 shots faced in the final 26:19.
March 9 – W 4-1 at Abbotsford
Patrick O’Sullivan scored two goals for Peoria while Jake Allen made 39 saves as the Rivermen moved past the Abbotsford Heat 4-1 on Friday night in the opening game of the weekend series. O’Sullivan and Anthony Nigro paced the Rivermen to a 2-0 lead in the first period before O’Sullivan notched the only goal of the second. Joe Piskula scored for Abbotsford to open the third but Adam Cracknell sealed the win with an empty-netter with only 0.1 second remaining. Peoria’s power play went 2-for-4 while their penalty kill finished 3-for-3.
March 11 – W 5-0 at Abbotsford
Jake Allen stopped 32 shots on goal en route to his first shutout of the season in a 5-0 win over the Abbotsford Heat on Sunday. Adam Cracknell and Brett Sonne each scored first period markers followed by Stefan Della Rovere’s tally just 56 seconds into the second stanza. Shaun Heskha and Phil McRae potted goals for Peoria in the third period to finish the scoring. McRae produced three points (1g, 2a) while Heshka (1g, 1a) and Jonathan Cheechoo (2a) registered two-point efforts.
Rivermen Report
- The Rivermen are tied for fourth place in the Western Conference with Chicago at 71 points, but sit just three points ahead of Houston, currently in 10th place. Peoria trails Midwest Division leader Charlotte by one point.
- Since joining the Rivermen last week, Patrick O’Sullivan has tallied four goals and four assists including a four-point night on Wednesday in a 4-3 overtime victory over the Oklahoma City Barons.
- Following his relief efforts on Wednesday, Alex Stalock became the first goalie besides Ben Bishop or Jake Allen to play for Peoria since April 9, 2010 – a span of 156 games.
- Peoria ended a 0-for-25 drought on the power play against Oklahoma City on March 2 and has improved to 21.3 percent – the best in the Western Conference. The Rivermen have scored nine power-play goals over the last five games good for a 47.4% conversion rate.
- Defenseman Cade Fairchild’s plus-29 rating is still the best in the AHL.
- Danny Syvret’s 40 points (7g, 33a) rank fourth among AHL defenseman.
