PHN’s Best Shots of the Game; Rivermen lose late lead, calm Mayhem in shootout

Adam Stuart’s shootout tally leads Peoria to victory on home ice

Peoria, IL – The Peoria Rivermen saw a two-goal third-period lead slip away before toppling the Macon Mayhem, 4-3 in a shootout Friday at Carver Arena. The win, Peoria’s first in three shootouts, lifts the Rivermen to 13-5-7 before tomorrow night’s rematch with the Mayhem.

The Rivermen got on the board first before doubling their early lead in the opening frame. At the 4:22 mark of the period, Rivermen defenseman Dave Pszenyczny unleashed a shot from the blueline that was stopped by Mayhem netminder Troy Passingham. The rebound popped out to Rivermen center Justin Hoomaian, who stuffed the puck past Passingham for a 1-0 lead. Then at the 16:52 mark of the first with Mayhem winger Dennis Sicard in the sin bin for hooking, Pszenyczny found Rivermen winger Alec Hagaman atop the right circle of the Macon zone. Hagaman walked through to the dot and snapped a shot just below the crossbar and past Passingham for a 2-0 Rivermen advantage.

The Mayhem cut the Rivermen lead in half just 28 seconds after Hagaman’s power play goal. Macon entered the Peoria zone 3-on-1, and Mayhem center Stephen Pierog passed across the goal mouth to veteran winger Matt Summers, and the former Rivermen forward chipped the puck into an open net past Peoria goaltender Tyler Green for a 2-1 score in favor of the Rivermen that would hold until the second period.

The Rivermen added to their lead midway through the second period when Rivermen defenseman Bo Driscoll collected the puck along the right-wing boards and slid a pass through the slot to rookie winger Connor Gorman, who slipped the puck past Passingham at 10:20 of the period. The Rivermen took the ensuing 3-1 lead into the locker room for the second intermission.

The Mayhem cut into the Rivermen lead early in the third period. Winger Stathis Soumelidis took the puck and drove across the goal mouth, and with Green sprawled out, Soumelidis slid the puck just past the Peoria netminder’s outstretched stick to cut the Rivermen lead to 3-2 at 5:54 of the third.

Macon tie the score with under six minutes remaining in regulation. With the puck bouncing through the neutral zone, former Peoria winger Jake Trask sent a pass to Mayhem teammate Dennis Sicard, and Sicard’s slap shot from above the left circle snuck over Green’s shoulder to tie the game at 14:16 of the third.

Neither team scored in the overtime period, forcing the contest into a shootout. Rivermen forward Adam Stuart led off the shooting, and beat Passingham for what would wind up as the shootout’s only goal, sealing a 4-3 Rivermen victory.

Green turned away 21 of 24 shots and all five Macon shootout attempts to earn the win in net and improve to 8-1-3 on the season. The win is Green’s first career victory in a game decided after regulation.