Rivermen Winning Streak Ends in Evansville
March 22, 2024 - 09:40 pm
EVANSVILLE, IN – Winning streaks always end, but that doesn’t make the ending any less painful. The Peoria Rivermen suffered a painful end to their six-game winning streak falling 3-1 to the Evansville Thunderbolts on Friday night at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
The Rivermen wanted to establish a fast pace in the first period and they did just that, finding the first goal of the game just under eight minutes into the game. Cayden Cahill, from the right-wing circle, fed a pass into the slot for rookie Nick Aromatario playing in his first professional game. Aromatario sent a quick back-handed shot toward the net that sailed in the glove side on Evansville goaltender Ty Taylor to put the Rivermen up 1-0.
But the second period was highlighted by Evansville’s opportunistic offensive play. Back-to-back goals by Brendan Harrogate put the Bolts up 2-1 before a hustle play just 15 seconds later resulted in a tap-in goal for Evansville to go up 3-1. Despite some solid chances for Peoria in the second, they could not eat into the Thunderbolt lead and faced a two-goal deficit going into the third period.
The third period was frustrating for the Rivermen as they were assessed four penalties throughout the final frame. But even then, they out-shot the Thunderbolts 8-7 in the third, but could not find the back of the net. Peoria will regroup and be back in Evansville again on Saturday night in the final regular season meeting between the Rivermen and the Thunderbolts this season. Face-off is set for 7:00 pm.
