Rampage double up listless Rivermen, 4-2

PEORIA, IL – The Peoria Rivermen came into Friday’s game with the San Antonio Rampage looking to elevate themelves to fourth place in the AHL West division and instead put themselves behind the eight-ball, as far as the playoffs were concerned. The Rivermen showed a real lack of urgency, dropping a 4-2 decision in front of 5058 disappointed fans.
Alexandre Picard bookended the goal scoring during the game, starting off with a power play goal off a rebound in the first period and ending with a laser shot in the third, earning the number one star of the game for the visiting Rampage. In between those goals, it was a toss-up.
Graham Mink got a power play goal of his own in the first period, although it took 3:53 with a man advantage to get it done. With just seven seconds remaining in a double minor on Nick Ross, Mink finished a long pass from Rivermen goaltender Ben Bishop up to Tyson Strachan, who fed Mink.
The Rivermen got another power pay opportunity early in the second period, but looked awful. The Rampage pressed hard with their man in the box and Bracken Kearns scored a shorthanded goal against the listless Rivermen.
Peoria tied it back up on a terrific play by Stefan Della Rovere. Making a nice move in the slot, Della Rovere’s shot was blocked by San Antonio goalie Matt Climie and Brett Sonne followed up with the rebound goal. This ended an all too rare moment of pressure for the Rivermen, though, and they were flat-footed the rest of the game.
The one bright spot was a fight with eight-and-a-half minutes left in the game. A scrum developed after a Climie save and, when things got sorted out, Delle Rovere and Matt Pope shed their gloves for a short fight. Delle Rovere threw a couple of rights, switched hands, and then landed three solid lefts before Pope called “Stop!”
San Antonio had more shots on goal than Peoria, 24-20. The Rivermen made good on one of their nine power play opportunities while the Rampage were and efficient two for six and added the aforementioned short-handed goal, as well, for an excellent night of special teams.
These two teams square off again in Peoria on Saturday night.
Contact the author: Shaun.Bill@ProHockeyNews.com
Contact the photographer at Chirs.Loudermilk@prohockeynews.com