Rivermen advance to President’s Cup for 3rd time in 5 years with 1-0 win over Knoxville

PEORIA, Ill. (Peoria Rivermen/WMBD) – In many ways, it was appropriate. A series so defined by goaltenders, Stephen Mundinger for Knoxville, and Nick Latinovich for Peoria, came down to a duel between those two goaltenders in the decisive Game Five. In the end, Peoria prevailed in a 1-0 contest over Knoxville on Sunday afternoon at Carver Arena. Kullan Daikawa scored the game’s only goal while Latinovich made 28 saves for his third shutout of the postseason.

The Rivermen are now back in the President’s Cup Finals for the third year in the last five. They will face off in a best-of-five series with the rival Evansville Thunderbolts starting on Thursday, April 30 at 7:15 pm at Carver Arena. The series will also be a battle between the last two teams to win the President’s Cup.

FIRST PERIOD

The Rivermen started off hot in the first period, at one point out-shooting the Ice Bears 16-6 in the frame. Michael McChesney and Matt Wiesner were both frustrated by some desperation stops by the Ice Bears netminder, Stephen Mundinger, and his defensemen through the first period of play. Both teams were also scoreless on their one power-play chance in the first period.

SECOND PERIOD

The second period followed a similar pattern to the first. The Rivermen pressured hard, earning several quality scoring chances in the process. This included one from JM Piotrowski that rang off the crossbar early in the period. Knoxville responded with chances of their own on the power play, but Rivermen netminder Nick Latinovich held his line well, aided by his defenseman and forwards blocking shots and making efficient clears of their own zone. Then, late in the second, a Rivermen power play saw Kullan Daikawa corralled a pass at the left-wing dot. Daikawa then spotted a bit of room at the far side of the net and fired a shot that deflected off the post and into the net for his first goal in professional hockey. The goal marked Peoria’s third power-play tally in two games, and it gave the Rivermen a crucial 1-0 lead entering the third.

THIRD PERIOD

Peoria refused to rest on their laurels in the third period; despite playing with a defensive mindset, they counter-attacked aggressively whenever an opportunity presented itself. The Rivermen outshot the Ice Bears 9-7 in the final period. That did not stop Latinovich from being forced to make some big saves late in the game to keep Knoxville off the board. But those saves were made by the veteran netminder, and the Rivermen were able to hold on for a 1-0 victory in Game Five in front of 2443 fans at Carver Arena.