River Readings for Nov. 21, 2010

By Brian Weidler, "Game Time" Prospect Department

WEEK IN REVIEW:

In a busy week for the Rivermen on and off the ice, the club dropped two games to start the week before sweeping a two-game set with the Abbotsford Heat on Friday and Saturday. They also sent their scoring leader to St. Louis, while receiving another high-scoring forward and their power-play QB back from the Blues.

Last Sunday, the Houston Aeros lit up Jake "The Snake" Allen for four goals in 33 minutes on their way to a 5-2 win. The loss was Allen's first of his rookie season, and the first time in the 2010-11 season that the Peoria starter was pulled and did not finish the game.

All seven goals from both teams were scored in the second period. The sole offensive highlight from the Rivermen was Ian Cole's first goal of the season, which gave the home team a brief 2-1 lead.

On Wednesday morning, the Rivermen hosted Rockford in the first annual Faceoff Field Trip, hosting thousands of local schoolkids. Ben Bishop surrendered two goals to the Hogs on 21 shots against, and an empty-net goal with four seconds left on the clock provided the final 3-1 margin of victory for Rockford. Rookie Philip McRae scored his fifth goal of the season for Peoria's only tally.

Wednesday, center Nick Drazenovic (at left) was returned to the Rivermen from St. Louis, and on Friday, defenseman Nathan Oystrick (also at left) came back down. Scoring leader TJ Hensick was called up during the week..

The roster shakeup may have brought some benefits to the Rivermen, as they pulled out of their mini-slump by sweeping the Abbotsford Heat on Friday and Saturday. Friday night, Jake Allen posted his league-leading third shutout of the season, turning aside 37 shots in a 2-0 win.

On Saturday night, second-year man Brett Sonne posted his first goal of the 2010-11 campaign, while veteran Graham Mink tallied twice to pace the Rivermen to a 3-1 victory. Ben Bishop took his turn in goal, and stopped 23 of 24 shots for the win.

AFTER THE JUMP...:

After the jump, the skinny on this week's schedule for your Peoria Rivermen, as well as your links to news and notes from the previous week. Stay tuned...

THE WEEK AHEAD:

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Nov. 21, 2010 ... Game Time 3:05 PM at Carver Arena, Peoria, Illinois. NHL Affiliate: Chicago Blackhawks.

Nov. 27, 2010 ... Game Time 7:05 PM at the Metro Centre, Rockford, Illinois. NHL Affiliate: Chicago Blackhawks.

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Nov. 26, 2010 ... Game Time 5:05 PAM at Carver Arena, Peoria, Illinois. NHL Affiliate: Atlanta Thrashers.

RIVERMEN NEWS LINKS:

11/14/10 -- Aeros drive out Rivermen rookie goalie Allen in rematch (Peoria Journal-Star).

11/15/10 -- Eminian: Ex-Blues star visits Rivermen (Peoria Journal-Star.

11/16/10 -- Blues send back Drazenovic to Rivermen, call-up center Hensick (Peoria Journal Star).

11/17/10 -- School's out: Rivermen lose 3-1 to Rampage in morning student game (Peoria Journal-Star).

11/19/10 -- Rivermen get defenseman Oystrick back from Blues (Peoria Journal-Star).

11/19/10 -- Rivermen rookie goalie Allen handles Heat, 2-0 (Peoria Journal-Star).

11/20/10 -- Rivermen heat up Carver Arena (Peoria Journal-Star).

BY THE NUMBERS:

AHL Standings By Division.

Peoria Rivermen 2010-11 Scoring and Penalty Statistics.

Peoria Rivermen 2010-11 Goaltending Statistics.

SCHEDULE AND RESULTS:

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