[truebluefan]

P-Bruins Fall to Devils 3-2

Lowell, MA - The Providence Bruins fell to the Lowell Devils 3-2 Sunday afternoon at the Tsongas Arena. The P-Bruins got goals from Martins Karsums and Ben Walter.

In the opening period, the Devils scored late at the 17:25 mark to take the 1-0 lead into the first intermission. Chris Minard fired the puck past P-Burins netminder Philippe Sauve after breaking past the Bruins defensemen. Stephen Gionta made the pass that setup the play, while Andy Greene got the second assist.

At the end of the first period the P-Bruins took two minor penalties giving Lowell two minutes of 5 on 3 power play time to begin the second period. Fifty four seconds into the power play Justin Papineau scored his tenth goal of the season with Dan McGillis and Minard earning the assists. The P-Bruins pulled within a goal while on their own power play. At the 3:44 mark Karsums blasted the puck past Devils goaltender Jordan Parise from between the circles. Bobby Allen and Ben Walter had the assists. Lowell added their second power play goal at the 8:07 mark of the second period to head into the second intermission leading 3-1. Minard tallied his second goal of the game, while Papineau and Jim Fahey recorded the assists.

The P-Bruins pulled within a goal early in the third period. Karsums dropped the puck off to Walter who banked it off the post and into the net. Allen got his second assist of the game. Neither team was able to score the rest of the period as the Devils held on for the 3-2 victory.

Sauve stopped 20 of 23 shots for the P-Bruins, while Jordan Parise made 32 saves for the Devils. Providence was 1 for 8 on the power play, while Lowell went 2 for 9 on the man-advantage.

The P-Bruins are back in action next weekend on the road for two games, Friday, December 22 versus the Portland Pirates at the Cumberland County Civic Center at 7:05 p.m. and Saturday, December 23 against the Hartford Wolf Pack at the Hartford Civic Center at 7:00 p.m. The P-Bruins return home to the Dunkin' Donuts Center Friday, January 5 to take on the Worcester Sharks at 4:05 p.m. For tickets call the team ticket office at (401) 273-5000 or log onto the team website at Providence Bruins - Free Give-A-Way Fridays.

 

[truebluefan]

Scintillating Scoring Line Sinks Sound Tigers

BRIDGEPORT, CT - The Norfolk Admirals (19-6-4-1) continued to get timely goals from their top scoring line, as Brandon Bochenski scored twice and Martin St. Pierre netted the third-period game winner in a 3-1 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (12-10-1-3) on Sunday afternoon at The Arena at Harbor Yard.

Bochenski put the Admirals ahead late in the first period. Defenseman Jerramie Domish pinched in from his usual point position to behind the goal line before dropping a pass back toward the right faceoff circle. Bochenski one-timed the puck past Bridgeport goaltender Billy Thompson at 16:16.

The Sound Tigers knotted the score at 1-1 with a shorthanded goal midway through the second stanza. Frans Nielsen stole the puck in the Norfolk zone and passed it to a streaking Allan Rourke in the high slot. Rourke sent a wrist shot past Norfolk netminder Corey Crawford at 14:15.

St. Pierre gave the Admirals the lead midway through the third period. After a turnover in the Bridgeport zone, St. Pierre sent a shot from the right circle through Thompson's legs for a 2-1 lead at 12:02 of the final frame.

Norfolk cemented the victory with 2:30 left in the game as a Sound Tigers power play expired. Danny Richmond collected a loose puck in the neutral zone and sent Bochenski on a partial breakaway. Bochenski misfired on his first shot, but his second attempt - a sharp-angle backhander from the right edge of the crease - found the top-left corner of the net at 17:30.

The Admirals penalty killing unit was a perfect 8-8 on the night - including a crucial kill in the final two minutes of the game - as Norfolk was victorious 3-1.

Crawford stopped 32 of 33 shots to earn his AHL-leading 15th victory of the season. Thompson stopped 43 of the Admirals' season-high 46 shots but picked up the loss.

Norfolk was 0-5 on the power play. Bridgeport was 0-8.

Bochenski now has points in ten straight games with the Admirals, dating back to November 12 versus Manchester. In that stretch, he has 11 goals and 13 assists. He looks to tie the franchise scoring streak record on Wednesday at Scope when the Admirals and Sound Tigers meet again at 7:15 p.m.

Three Stars:

1. Brandon Bochenski - NOR

2. Billy Thompson - BRI

3. Martin St. Pierre - NOR

 

[truebluefan]

Sound Tigers Fall 3-1

Brandon Bochenski scored his team-leading 20th and 21st goals of the season to propel the Norfolk Admirals to a 3-1 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers before 3,348 fans at the Arena at Harbor Yard on Sunday.

The Admirals improved to 19-6-4-1 and the Sound Tigers fell to 12-10-1-3 in a battle of East Division rivals. Sound Tiger goaltender Billy Thompson was solid in the losing cause, kicking aside 43 shots as the Sound Tigers allowed a season-high 46 shots.

Norfolk's Martin St. Pierre recorded his 10th goal of the year, which proved to be the game winner, when he put the Admirals ahead 2-1 at 12:02 of the third period. Bochenski's second of the night, at 17:30, made it 3-1.

Norfolk goalie Corey Crawford stopped 32 of the 33 shots he faced, allowing only Allan Rourke's second tally of the season. After Bochenski scored for a 1-0 first period lead, Rourke tied the game 1-1 with a shorthanded goal in the second period. Jeff Tambellini forced a turnover in the Admirals' zone and Frans Nielsen spotted Rourke for a shot from the high slot. The lone Sound Tiger goal resulted in thousands of stuffed animals being thrown onto the ice by fans as part of the annual Teddy Bear Toss to benefit children fighting cancer. Sound Tigers' players and staff will be joined by AMR to deliver the teddy bears to children at area hospitals on Monday.

The Sound Tigers visit Norfolk on Wednesday, travel to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday and return to the Arena at Harbor Yard to take on the Manchester Monarchs Saturday, Dec. 23, at 7 p.m. For schedule and ticket information, including group discount opportunities, visit soundtigers.com or call 334-4625.

 

[truebluefan]

Devils Edge Bruins, 3-2

Lowell, MA - Chris Minard had two goals and an assist to lead the Lowell Devils (15-12-2-1) to a 3-2 victory over the Providence Bruins (14-11-1-2) at the Tsongas Arena Sunday evening. The Devils sit alone in third place in ! the Atlantic Division, three points behind Portland for the top spot.

The Devils penalty killers had to work in the first period, as Providence had three power play opportunities. That helped the Bruins to an 11-7 lead in shots in the frame. But it was Lowell that drew first blood. Chris Minard worked himself into scoring position and ripped home his 10th of the season from the left circle to make it 1-0 at 17:25, and the Devils took the lead into the dressing room.

Lowell extended the lead early in the second period. The Devils leading scorer Justin Papineau netted his 10th of the season just 54 seconds into the stanza to make it 2-0. The Bruins got on the board with a power play goal, as Martins Karsums potted his seventh of the year at 3:44. But Minard put the Devils back in front by two at 8:07 with his second of the game and team-leading 11th of the season, taking a feed and blasting it home from the slot. Parise meanwhile held his ground between the pipes, stopping 13 of 14 shots faced in the second to keep it a 3-1 advantage after 40 minutes.

UMass-Lowell alum Ben Walter scored the only goal of the third period, again pulling the Bruins within one at 1:23 of the frame. Not much of the third was played at full strength, with six minor penalties called in the final period. But four of them were against Providence, and the Devils kept them at bay for the remainder of the game, holding on for the win.

The Devils will be home on Wednesday, December 20th to host the Manchester Monarchs at 7:05 p.m. After they travel to Worcester on December 23rd, they host the Monarchs again on Wednesday, December 27th for team action poster night. The first 2,500 fans will get a free poster, courtesy of Trinity Ambulance.

All Devils games, home and away, can be heard on WCAP 980AM with the Voice of the Devils, Ryan Johnston, or online through B2 Networks on The Official Website of the Lowell Devils. For more information or to reserve your seats for this game, call the Devils office at (978) 458-PUCK.

 

[truebluefan]

O'Sullivan Sends Hartford Packing

MANCHESTER, NH - Center Patrick O'Sullivan scored twice and goaltender Jason LaBarbera stopped 29-of-30 shots to lift the Manchester Monarchs over the Hartford Wolf Pack, 2-1, in front of 6,002 fans at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Sunday evening.

Manchester (14-9-5-1) is in second place in the Atlantic Division with 34 points. Hartford (12-13-2-0) is in seventh place in the Atlantic Division with 26 points.

The Wolf Pack struck early with center Brandon Dubinsky's sixth tally of the season at 2:54 of the first period on the power play. Dubinsky carried the puck around the Monarchs net and slipped it between the right post and LaBarbera's left foot for the early lead. Defenseman Thomas Pock and goaltender Stephen Valiquette recorded assists on the first goal of the game.

Manchester returned the gesture with a power play goal at 5:51 of the opening frame to tie the game 1-1. Sharing the puck at the points, defensemen Peter Harrold and T.J. Kemp played catch before sending a pass to O'Sullivan at the right face-off dot. O'Sullivan saw an open lane and blasted a wrist shot five-hole on Valiquette.

O'Sullivan netted his second goal of the game with 41 seconds left in regulation to avoid overtime and send the Monarchs to the locker room with a win. On the power play, right wing Tim Jackman fired a point blank shot on Valiquette sending the rebound over to O'Sullivan skating toward the net from the right face-off circle. With Valiquette sprawling across the ice after saving Jackman's shot, O'Sullivan barely tapped the puck into the open net for his 10th mark of the season. Right wing Konstantin Pushkarev earned an assist on the game winning goal.

LaBarbera earned the win with 29 saves. Valiquette took the loss stopping 23 shots.

Manchester went 2-for-3 on the power play. Hartford was 1-for-5 with the man advantage.

The Monarchs travel to Massachusetts on Wednesday, December 20 to face-off with the Lowell Devils at 7:05 p.m. at the Tsongas Arena. Catch all of the play-by-play action of Monarchs hockey with Ken Cail on the Monarchs Radio Network WGIR-AM 610 and at -= Manchester Monarchs Hockey =- Home Page. Watch the game live on B2 Networks for just $6 per game. Log onto -= Manchester Monarchs Hockey =- Home Page and click on the link to B2 Networks ten minutes prior to each Monarchs game to watch the game live!

 

[truebluefan]

Rivermen Clip Iowa 3-2 at Home

Peoria, IL (December 17, 2006) -The Peoria Rivermen used a power-play goal in each period to nip the Iowa Stars 3-2 Sunday afternoon in front of 3,154 at Carver Arena.

Prior to the game, Peoria was ranked 11th in the AHL in power-play efficiency at a 17.3-percent mark. After converting on three out of their four opportunities, the Rivermen jumped to ninth in the League, scoring on 30 of 160 power play chances.

The game-winner for the Rivermen (15-9-1-2, 33 pts), who have won two in a row, came at 17:58 of the final period. Left wing Jon DiSalvatore took a shot from the right face-off dot that Iowa netminder Tobias Stephan knocked away with his blocker; the puck kicked out to Sejna in the slot, where he found center Trent Whitfield camped at the right side of the net. Whitfield, who tried to center the puck back to Sejna, had the puck deflect in off an Iowa defender's stick. The tally was the 13th of the year and his second in as many games for Whitfield, who leads Peoria with 23 points (13g, 10a).

The Rivermen opened the scoring on defenseman Roman Polak's first career professional goal, a power play goal, at 9:11 of the first frame. From the left face-off circle, left wing Charles Linglet dished the puck off to left wing Michal Birner at the left point, where he quickly sent it to Polak at the right point. Polak pushed the puck to the top of the right face-off circle and blasted a one-timer that flew above the right pad of Iowa goalie Tobias Stephan. The tally was the first goal of the year by a Rivermen defenseman this season; Peoria was the only team out of 117 in all of professional hockey that had not received a goal from its defense.

Iowa (14-15-0-0, 28 pts) responded with forward Chris Conner's eighth marker of the season at 14:06 of the opening session. Defenseman Nicklas Grossman fed the puck to Conner along the left-wing boards in the neutral zone, where he skated down to the bottom of the left face-off circle and found a small opening over the right shoulder of Peoria netminder Marek Schwarz, who went down too early.

The Stars grabbed their first lead of the game with a goal late in the first period at 19:23 to make it 2-1. From behind the net, forward Dan Hacker fired a pass to the left point for Grossman, who launched a shot that was redirected in the slot by right wing Vojtech Polak past the outstretched right leg of Schwarz. The marker was Polak's eighth of the season.

Peoria tied the game on their second man-advantage tally at 14:36 of the second stanza. After a Jon DiSalvatore shot from the right face-off circle was stopped by Stephan, the puck kicked out to defenseman Tomas Mojzis at the left point, where he blasted a shot that was stopped by Stephan but the rebound came right to left wing Peter Sejna, who was off balance and whacked a slap shot from the right face-off dot into the open net behind Stephan. The goal was Sejna's seventh of the 2006-07 campaign and fifth point in his last three games, in which he has registered three goals and two assists; he has 11 points (4g, 7a) in his last eight games.

The Rivermen improved to 4-1-0-0 against Iowa this season and will finish their four-game home stand on Friday, December 22 at 7:30 p.m. vs. the Grand Rapids Griffins, a team they defeated 4-2 last night.

 

[truebluefan]

Phantoms Go 3-for-4 On Power Play, Beat Toronto 5-3

PHILADELPHIA - Triston Grant and Boyd Kane led the way with two goals apiece as the Philadelphia Phantoms rode a 3-for-4 performance on the power play to a 5-3 win over the Toronto Marlies on Sunday at the Wachovia Spectrum. Petr Nedved contributed three assists for the Phantoms, who snapped a five-game losing skid.

Philadelphia struck first while on the power play at 8:26 of the first period. Petr Nedved saucered a pass cross-ice to Denis Tolpeko in the left circle. Tolpeko, in turn, sent the puck to the top of the crease where Boyd Kane redirected it past goaltender Justin Pogge to give the Phantoms a 1-0 lead.

The Marlies tied it up at 11:20. They were operating on a 5-on-3 power play when Brett Engelhart worked free and generated a deep two-on-one. Don Morrison cut off the passing lane, but Engelhart snapped a perfectly-placed wrist shot high to the glove side of Scott Munroe to make things 1-1.

But Philadelphia responded with two quick goals. The first one came at 14:12, when Frederik Cabana made a nifty move down low on the right side to get around a defenseman and center to Triston Grant, who was able to convert from the top of the crease for the 2-1 lead.

The lead became 3-1 at the 15:02 mark, with the Phantoms just underway in their second power play attempt. Nolan Baumgartner fired a seeing-eye puck that rose as it sliced through traffic and reached its destination just inside the upper left corner of the net, to Pogge's stick side. The goal chased Pogge from the net in favor of backup Todd Ford. The 3-1 score stood through the first intermission.

Philadelphia continued pouring it on with its third power-play goal just 3:19 into the second period. Kane earned his second of the night

Not to be outdone, Grant picked up his second of the contest at 14:48 of the second period. He took a drop pass from Cabana in the right circle and fired a blistering wrister high to the short side of Ford to make it 5-1.

"The stick was hot tonight," said Grant. "I guess tonight a couple of bounces here and they fell in the back of the net."

Toronto got one back with just 2.2 seconds left in the period while on the power play. Kris Newbury fired a slapshot from the right point that didn't hit anything until it found the padding at the back of the net, first going through a screen and then through Munroe's pads to make it a 5-2 game at intermission.

The Marlies scored the only goal of the third period, coming off the stick of Boothwyn native and Little Flyers alum Jeff Corey.

Toronto outshot the Phantoms 43-21 on the game. Munroe earned the win with 40 saves, notching his second 40-save game of the season after making 41 saves on Nov. 5 at Hershey.

Ford was tagged with the loss after stopping 11 of 13 in relief of Pogge, who turned away five of eight shots.

Philadelphia returns to action on Friday, December 22 when they play host to the Binghamton Senators at 7:05 at the Wachovia Spectrum. It's a Toys for Tots donation night, where fans are asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate to the Marine Corps program. Individual tickets for all Phantoms games, including $8 tickets for children 14 and under anywhere in the building, are on sale now at phantomshockey.com or by calling 800-298-4200.

 

[truebluefan]

Admirals Top Griffins, Sweep Weekend

Milwaukee, WI-The Admirals and their fans joined in on the giving mood of the holiday season Sunday night at the Bradley Center. The Admirals gave over $21,000 of their ticket sales to the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee, while fans brought teddy bears for Children's Hospital. But Milwaukee's charity fell short of giving Grand Rapids what they wanted. Instead, the Admirals gave them a lump of coal in the form of an 8-5 loss.

The 10,000-plus strong crowd at the Bradley Center was treated to what Coach Claude Noel comically referred to as, "A shootout at the O.K. Corral."

"I didn't know which way it would go," he told reporters after the game.

Three of the first four shots by the Griffins found their way past the Admirals new net-minder Mike McKenna who was playing in his inaugural game with the team. Noel pulled McKenna after the fourth shot and third goal.

"We didn't give him much of a chance," he said as he explained his decision to pull McKenna. "We needed to get things shaken up."

Noel didn't feel the team's latest acquisition was completely responsible for the Admirals stumble out of the gates.

"We weren't doing a very good job in front of our net. McKenna just happened to be the guy in the net at that time."

Though Milwaukee struggled defensively, the Admirals offense was able to score goals shortly after each of the first two Griffin's goals.

Thanks to pair of tallies by the Griffins' right wing, Daryl Bootland, the second period opened with the Admirals down 4-3. Noel wasn't thrilled about his team's performance as they entered the second session.

"They working harder and skating harder than us [in the first period]." But the Admirals came out with tenacity and a "never say die" attitude to start the second.

Ramzi Abid added the tying mark three minutes into the second as he squared off with Howard from the right face-off circle and beat him over his left shoulder with a wicked slapshot.

Just over three minutes later, an extra effort from Brandon Segal on the penalty kill forced a turnover in the Griffins zone and the go-ahead marker, as Segal sent the puck to a wide open Rich Peverley streaking down the slot. Peverley held the puck long enough to force Howard to commit and then chipped it over the prone goalie in the fourteenth minute of the second. This marked the forth and final lead change of the game and the first advantage for the Admirals.

Ten minutes into the third, the Admirals' Paul Brown gave the club a two goal lead as he deflected the shot of defenseman Nolan Yonkman.

After Grand Rapids' Darryl Bootland was given 27-minutes of penalties resulting in a 5:00 power play for Milwaukee, the Griffins were able to bring the score within one thanks to a shorthanded effort by Derek Meech, with five minutes left in the game.

But once again the Admirals responded.

Less than thirty seconds removed from Meech's shorthanded marker, the Admirals Jason Guerrero slipped the puck past Howard and gave Milwaukee all the insurance they needed. Guerrero finished the night as the first star, with two goals and an assist.

The Admirals have yet to lose a game in regulation throughout the eight games they've played in the month of December. Credited for much of the Admirals recent success is goaltender Karl Goehring. Goehring has played in all four of the Admirals' games in their most recent five-day stretch. After his third win in as many days, Goehring gave a lot of credit to the team in front of him.

"It's a great effort by the guys the way they battled back like they did."

Goehring wasn't always the reliable go-to-guy for the Admirals as the season began. He opened the season with a pair of games that left him with a 9.92 goals-against average and a .579 save percentage. But as the season has progressed, so has his performances. Goehring claims he got through those though times by thinking back to what a former goaltending coach once told him:

"You can build character on adversity."

Goehring and the team he plays for has done just that and, despite an inconsistent start, are back in the playoff hunt.

"We're in a tough division," noted Goehring. "It's going to be a tough race down to the end."

The Admirals' next five games will find them matched up against division rivals, starting with a three-game road trip that starts and ends in Omaha. The Admirals return home the day after Christmas to play their arch-rival and division leader, the Chicago Wolves, at 7:00 pm. The first 4,000 kids 14 and under will receive a Root Beer Mug, courtesy of Culver's. For tickets fans can call Ticketmaster at (414) 276-4545 or log on to Official Ticketmaster site. Tickets for Concerts, Sports, Arts, Theater, Family, Events, more.

 

[truebluefan]

MacLean Notches Milestone in Rampage's OT Win

SAN ANTONIO - Don MacLean avenged the Rampage's loss on Friday to Manitoba by scoring 42 seconds into overtime to send the Moose limping home with a 4-3 loss at the AT&T Center Sunday evening. MacLean's 199th career AHL goal extended his scoring streak to six games and maintained San Antonio's perfect record when playing past regulation.

While playing four-on-four, 10-year veteran MacLean positioned himself at the lower-right circle and took a feeding Keith Yandle with a one-timer shot past Manitoba goaltender Wade Flaherty's right shoulder before he was able to defend sending the Rampage to their 10th victory of the season.

The Rampage got off to a great start when Yanick Lehoux tallied the first goal just 1:21 after the opening face-off. Bryan Helmer took a shot on Flaherty but was deflected in front of the crease and Lehoux was there to swat it in. Roughly 10 minutes later, Randall Gelech attempted a shot at Flaherty but was blocked, Ryan Garlock came in to take a shot but missed leaving the puck sitting front and center for Ryan Flinn to come in and push the puck over a flattened Flaherty for a 2-0 advantage.

Manitoba would push their way back.

Eight minutes after Flinn's first goal of the season, Brandon Reid took a hard shot at David LeNeveu which bounced off the left post for a lucky turn into the net to get Manitoba on the boards. The Rampage outshot the Moose 15 to eight during the first period alone and ended the game with 30 shots to Manitoba's 27.

After an aggressive first period from the Rampage, Manitoba pumped up their energy scoring at the 16:29 mark in the second stanza by Jannik Hansen to tie the game 2-2.

Manitoba took the lead for the first time 6:14 into the final period when Lee Goren passed the puck to Alex Edler behind the net and Edler brought the puck out for a wrap-around goal at the right post past LeNeveu's right skate. The Rampage fought back when Lehoux magically put the puck through the number five hole with 1:13 left to send the game into overtime.

The Rampage, now 10-18-0-0, host the West Division leader, Chicago Wolves, this Thursday at the AT&T Center at 7 p.m.

 

[truebluefan]

Kings Assign Fukufuji To Long Beach

MANCHESTER, NH - - The Los Angeles Kings, the parent club of the Manchester Monarchs, have assigned goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji to the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the ECHL, Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi announced today.

Fukufuji, 24, was recalled (emergency basis) by the Kings from the Monarchs on Friday. He dressed during Saturday's Kings-Dallas game at STAPLES Center and did not play.

With the Monarchs this season, he has not appeared in a game. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound native of Tokyo, Japan, was recalled by Manchester from the Reading Royals, the Kings/Monarchs ECHL affiliate, on November 30. He has a 3-3-0 record, a 3.19 goals-against-average and a .898 save-percentage in 10 appearances with the Royals this season.

Originally selected by the Kings in the eighth-round (238th overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Fukufuji is just the second player born in Japan to ever be drafted (defenseman Hiroyuki Miura was drafted by Montreal in the 11th-round, 260th overall, in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft). Fukufuji has not appeared in an NHL game (no player born in Japan has played a game in the NHL).

The Monarchs travel to Massachusetts on Wednesday, December 20 to face-off with the Lowell Devils at 7:05 p.m. at the Tsongas Arena. Catch all of the play-by-play action of Monarchs hockey with Ken Cail on the Monarchs Radio Network WGIR-AM 610 and at -= Manchester Monarchs Hockey =- Home Page. Watch the game live on B2 Networks for just $6 per game. Log onto -= Manchester Monarchs Hockey =- Home Page and click on the link to B2 Networks ten minutes prior to each Monarchs game to watch the game live!

 

[truebluefan]

Late goal does in Stars

PEORIA, IL - The Iowa Stars and the Peoria Rivermen met for the second time in the last three days on Sunday afternoon at Peoria's Carver Arena. Behind a late power-play goal, the Rivermen defeated the Iowa Stars 3-2.

The Rivermen grabbed a 1-0 lead midway through the first period when Defenseman Romen Polak potted a power-play goal at 9:11 of the opening period. Iowa's Chris Conner evened the score at one with his eighth goal of the season. Nicklas Grossman and Marty Sertich picked-up the assists at 14:06. Thirty-seven seconds before the close of the period, Vojtech Polak gave the Stars a 2-1 lead after one period of play. Grossman garnered his second assist on Vojtech Polak's eighth tally of the season.

Peoria's Peter Sejna evened the scored at two with five minutes left in the middle period. The goal, Sejna's third goal in his last two games against Iowa, came on the power-play.

Awarded a power-play with just over three minutes left in the third period, Peoria's Trent Whitfield gave the Rivermen a 3-2 lead with 2:02 left in regulation. The power-play goal was Whitfield's 13th goal of the season and was the third power-play goal that Iowa allowed in four man-down situations.

Iowa's Tobias Stephan faced 22 shots in the loss.

Shots: IOWA: 22; PEORIA: 22; Attendance: 3,154

Game Sheet - theahl.com: Home

IOWA STARS INFO: The Stars wrap-up their four-game road trip with a Wednesday evening game in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Iowa returns to Wells Fargo Arena on Friday, December 22nd. The Dec. 22nd game is a 4 for $40 night. Get four $21 tickets for only $40! In addition, the first 1,500 fans will receive a FREE Iowa Stars Santa hat. Doors open for all home games one hour before face-off. Bring a group or hold your child's birthday at a Stars game! All ticketing information can be obtained by calling 515-23-STARS or by visiting IowaStarsHockey.com.

 

[truebluefan]

Griffins Suffer Milwaukee Rally, 8-5

MILWAUKEE - The Grand Rapids Griffins witnessed their 4-2 first-period-lead disappear Sunday evening at the Bradley Center as they were outscored 6-1 through the final 41:50 by the Milwaukee Admirals resulting in an 8-5 loss.

The Griffins concluded their four-games-in-five-nights stretch with a 1-3-0-0 record and will host the Iowa Stars next Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Both teams started with an offensive flurry combining for seven goals in the opening frame while converting on each power play opportunity. Ryan Keller notched a man-advantage tally at 3:52 after Kip Miller sent the puck to the goal mouth from behind the net, causing a game of pinball before Keller tapped it in.

The Admirals quickly answered at 4:26 when John Vigilante scored from the left side on a tough angle, bouncing the puck off an unsuspecting Jimmy Howard. Ryan Oulahen provided the Griffins' second goal at 6:47 on a wrister from between the circles off a corner pass from Brendan Brooks.

Once again Milwaukee responded at 10:57 on the power play. Sheldon Brookbank found Jason Guerriero breaking for the far goal post and sent a quick pass from the point for a one-timer.

Darryl Bootland then took over the scoring, notching two goals of his own less than three minutes apart. At 11:27 he slid one by Mike McKenna after receiving a backhand pass from Brooks on the left side, ultimately chasing McKenna from the crease allowing Karl Goehring to take over.

Bootland found the mesh again at 14:14 during a power play when he found a rebound off a shot by Kyle Quincey. The Admirals claimed a questionable lamp-lighter at 18:10 as the final goal of the period on a power play. Kevin Klein sent a wrist shot over Howard's glove, that to all the Griffins appeared to hit the crossbar, but referee Joe Ernst whistled a goal as the red light lit up.

The scoring calmed in Milwaukee's favor for the remainder of the game. Ramzi Abid and Rich Peverley both tallied during the second period while Grand Rapids was held scoreless. Paul Brown extended the Admirals' lead at 10:18 of the final frame before the Griffins narrowed the margin at 14:57. Derek Meech netted his first of the season by batting an air-born puck into the goal for shorthanded mark after Goehring could not handle the initial shot from Matt Hussey.

Guerriero and Kelsey Wilson crushed any hopes of a Griffins comeback tallying two more power play goals just 17 seconds apart to close out an 8-5 final.