PEORIA, ILL – “May you live in interesting times”; so reads the ancient Chinese curse. The Rockford Ice Hogs were the cursed team tonight during an “interesting” game against the Peoria Rivermen. The 5-1 victory for the home team Rivermen in front of 3215 very entertained fans moved Peoria into a tie for first place in the West Division.
You knew it might be an interesting night when the line-up cards came out. Of the ten starting skaters, five were enforcers. Sure enough, on the drop of the first puck Peoria’s Ryan Reaves and Rockford’s Kyle Hagel dropped the gloves and circled. Reaves hit Hagel with several lefts and then Hagel responded with a few overhand rights. The pair traded shots until Reaves rocked Hagel with a right before getting his jersey pulled over his head. Somehow, with his face covered, Reaves was able to land one more solid left before the linesmen stepped in.
The Rivermen got on the board almost as quickly when Anthony Nigro worked way around Rockford Defenseman Nick Leddy at the top of circle and put a soft shot under the glove of goaltender Alec Richards. Tyler Shattock and Daryl Boyle assisted on that goal just over three minutes into the game.
The Rivermen went up two-zip 16 minutes into the first period when Stephan Della Rovere went low-glove side on Richards. Nigro and Shattock snagged the assists.
After hitting the iron twice, Rockford got on the board late in the first period when Hugh Jesslman was able to sneak a rebound through Jake Allens five-hole during a scrum. Ron Klinkhammer got credited with the helper as Rockford cut the Rivermen lead in half.
A few seconds later, Rivermen Brennan Evans took exception to a hard check by Rockford’s Garnet Exelby. The gloves dropped and they two started off in a tight clutch, trading shots. Then, with Evans right and Exelbys left help while they took roundhouse shot with their free hands. Eventually they got tied up again and Evans got in several punches before landing a hard right, causing Ex to call “stop,” ending the fight.
In the second period, Ice Hog Igor Makarov got blasted with an open-ice check by Evans. Makarov retaliated by attempting knee a Rivermen player and Derek Peltier would not let him get away with it. Then both threw down but Peltier fell and both players went to the box for roughing – Peltier for two minutes and Makarov for four.
The Rivermen were able to capitalize on the power play halfway through the second period when a clearing pass by the Ice Hogs met with Rivermen blueliner Mark Cundari along the far boards near the point. His slapshot was untouched as it blew by the glove of Richards for the unassisted goal, putting the home team up 3-1.
Peoria went to the box three times for various infractions during the first half of the third period. Rockford pressured but was unable to solve Allen and the Peoria penalty kill unit. The Rivermen finally got their first power play opportunity of the period when Klinkhammer was nabbed for goaltender interference. Phil McRae dished to Peltier at the top of the slot. His slapshot was blocked by Richards and the puck bounced all the way to the top of the circle where T.J. Hensick put the one-timer – where else – past the outstretched glove of Richards for a 4-1 lead with less than ten minutes left in the game.
With the Rivermen back in the box on an interference call on Adam Cracknell, the Ice Hogs pulled their goalie for the final three minutes of the period. While the six-on-four did provide moments of pressure, Rockford was unable to score.
With 39 seconds left and Richards reinserted, the Rivermen kept up the pressure and Tyler Shattock made it a 5-1 final. Hensick and Reaves assisted on the final goal.
Shattock had two assists to add to his goal, making him the #1 star of the game, as well.
The same two teams meet again Tuesday in Rockford for what promised to be an interesting conclusion to this home-and-home series. Contact the author: Shaun.Bill@ProHockeyNews.com
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