St. Louis and Peoria were evenly matched throughout their contest, but St. Louis made the most of its opportunities and won, 4-2.
Each team kept the other at bay throughout the game, and Cameron McAtee secured the win for St. Louis with a goal in the second period.
St. Louis was led by McAtee, who grabbed one goal. McAtee scored 5:37 into the second period to make the score 3-2 St. Louis. Sam Maddox picked up the assist.
St. Louis forced Peoria\’s goaltenders to work without much rest, ripping 35 shots and forcing 31 saves. Ross Lipic made 21 stops and Nic Piech made 10. St. Louis put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow Peoria to score on any of its four power plays. The defensemen of St. Louis were also effective in Peoria\’s zone, and came away with two goals.
Others who scored for St. Louis included Chris Brown, Ezekiel Estrada, and Eduard Rumyantsev, who each put in one. In addition, St. Louis received assists from Alex Klaesner, who had two and Jacob Weatherly, CJ Nitchen, Daniel Dunaway, Alex Werdmuller, and Ryker Barber, who contributed one each.
Peoria stifled St. Louis\’ power play, and did not give up a single goal while down a man. Peoria could not produce up to its normal offensive output. Peoria puts an average of 4.6 pucks into the net per game.
Peoria was helped by Thomas Kolaz, who racked up one goal. Kolaz scored 1:47 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Peoria. Braden Stewart assisted on the tally. Jason Hoehn also scored for Peoria. Other players who recorded assists for Peoria were Chance Homerin and Austin Wisely, who each chipped in one.
Jacob Weatherly made 22 saves for St. Louis on 24 shots. St. Louis incurred 20 minutes in penalty time with five minors. Peoria incurred 14 minutes in penalty time with seven minors.
