The Ice Flyers didn’t want Peoria jumping to a quick lead, or the Rivermen making the game chippy enough to bring constant retaliation.
Both happened Saturday night as the Rivermen scored three goals on their first five shots, then forced the Ice Flyers into third period full of penalty kills to skate away with a 4-2 win Saturday, before the largest crowd (7,325) for a game without a $5 ticket night in franchise history.
On a Military Appreciation Night, presented by Navy Federal Credit Union, which allowed retired and active military to purchase seats for half-price, plus their family and guests, the massive turnout nearly filled the entire Pensacola Bay Center from floor to ceiling, just under its 8,000 capacity.
The crowd Saturday surpassed a crowd of 7,000-plus last season for a game that did not included the $5 ticket promotion – both of those nights the past several seasons have filled the arena.
They saw Peoria (15-4, 4 OT losses), second place in the current SPHL standings, create just the kind of game the Rivermen wanted.
Playing with only 14 skaters and two goaltenders, the Rivermen didn’t arrive to the Bay Center until nearly 90 minutes before opening faceoff, but their physical, extra-curricular style as the most penalized team in the league, quickly got them into a scrum-fest type of game.
The teams were whistled for a combined 25 penalties for 72 minutes, which included several situations with multiple players from each team in the penalty box.
But the Rivermen jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first 13 minutes, causing Ice Flyers starting goaltender Brody Claeys to be lifted, then answered the Ice Flyers second-period momentum swing with a late goal to cushion their lead at intermission. The third period was when Rivermen goaltender Colby Mulse shined, making 10 saves to seal the win.
Both teams were playing their third game in three nights. The Rivermen had back-to-back games in Birmingham, where they won Friday and lost in overtime Thursday. Three of Ice Flyers past four games had gone into OT, including a shootout loss Friday at Macon.
The Ice Flyers were seeking to flip a script, after Peoria dominated with back-to-back wins (5-0 and 4-1) on Nov. 22-23 in Peoria.
This time, a 3-0 lead became 3-2 less than eight minutes into the second period when the Ice Flyers carried a solid end to the rough first period into Adam Pilotte’s goal at 7:48 into the second period.
But from that point, Peoria shut the door. The Rivermen got a goal from Jordan Ernst, who played for the Ice Flyers during the 2020-21 season and that proved the end of the game’s scoring.
