Peoria, IL – Peoria Rivermen goaltender Tyler Parks pitched a shutout against the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs Saturday night and Jeff Jones had two goals as Peoria hunts down an SPHL playoff spot. 
Peoria dominated both ends of the ice Saturday night as 4,692 enthusiastic fans cheered on during Chicago Blackhawks night.
The Rivermen kicked off the scoring at 11:25 of the first period when Garrett Vermeersch surprised Roanoke goaltender James Kruger with a wrister from the top of the slot that streaked over the goalie’s glove. Patrick Harrison notched an assist on the only goal of he opening period.
Vermeersch’s shot had a lot of mustard on it – good enough for a highlight reel.
Jones had what might be the most UN-spectacular shot of the season in the second period.
Jones picked up a loose puck in front of the net and spun, backhanding a weak shot in the general direction of the goal. He didn’t get much of it but Kruger got none of it and it slowly trickled across the line behind Kruger for a 2-0 Rivermen lead at 14:09 of the second period.
Jones sealed the game with a very nice unassisted goal at 14:32 of the third period. Bringing the puck down on his right side he forced Kruger against the post before taking he puck to his left and guiding it in for a nice, easy 3-0 lead.
Neither team scored on the power play as Peoria had two opportunities and Roanoke had three.
Parks, of course had the shutout, stopping 24 shots. The Rail Yard Dawgs were unable to muster much offense- exactly eight shots each period. Kruger stopped 35 of 38 shots he faced.
The team conclude their weekend with a 5pm game in Peoria Sunday.
Contact the author at Shaun.Bill@ProHockeyNews.com or follow him on Twitter @SLBatPHN
You must be logged in to post a comment.