Peoria Rivermen win Game 2 of SPHL Finals to reach brink of a title

PEORIA — The Peoria Rivermen left their fans with a two-game President's Cup Finals lead Friday, and hope to return to them as SPHL champions. The Rivermen scored 20 seconds after the opening faceoff, weathered an Evansville pushback for a tie, then broke it open with two goals two minutes and 28 seconds apart early in the second period to race off to a 5-1 victory in Game 2 of the championship series before 3,542 at Carver Arena. Peoria leads the best-of-5 series, 2-0.

It shifts to Evansville for Game 3 on Wednesday and Game 4 (if needed) Thursday. The Rivermen added two empty-net goals in the final two minutes, while the crowd stood throughout chanting, "We want the Cup. " The Rivermen wasted no time getting that big crowd into it, jumping to a 1-0 lead just 20 seconds after the opening faceoff when center Garrett Devine pounced on a rebound at the inside edge of the right circle shifted a stride and ripped it past goaltender Kristian Stead.

Evansville tied it on its first shot of the game at 5:26 when it held the Peoria zone on a failed clearing attempt and Aiden MacIntosh deflected in a shot from above the crease. Evansville went to a power play two minutes later, but Peoria cleared it. The Thunderbolts kept up the attack, though, as the Rivermen looked a step slow clearing their zone.

Peoria went six minutes without a shot. Braydon Barker earned a scoring attempt on Stead's doorstep to snap that drought at 13:21, and the sequence led to a roughing penalty and Peoria power play. Evansville blocked three shots and erased it.