Parker Stanfield scored the go-ahead goal in the first period, and the Peoria Rivermen held off the challenges of the Knoxville Ice Bears in a tough 2-0 win.

The Rivermen were boosted by Kyle Rank, who turned in a shutout with 32 saves. Rank managed to improve on his goals against average, which stood at 1.89 prior to the game.

Peoria pulled out the victory even though it was hit with 14 penalty minutes.

The Rivermen stifled Knoxville's power play, and did not give up a single goal while down a man. Peoria's defense was surprisingly good. The Rivermen average 2.6 goals allowed per game.

Peoria also got a goal from Adam Hartley as well. In addition, Peoria received assists from Nick Prockow, Dean Yakura, and Aaron McGill, who each chipped in one.

The Ice Bears' penalty kill was spotless, allowing no goals on five Peoria power plays. Knoxville could not produce up to its normal offensive output. The Ice Bears put an average of 2.8 pucks into the net per game. Peoria was unable to stop Knoxville from sending pucks towards the net, and the Ice Bears eventually piled up 32 shots on goal.

Knoxville was led by David Segal, who took six shots.

The Ice Bears' Bryan Hince stopped 22 shots out of the 24 that he faced. Knoxville incurred 12 minutes in penalty time with six minors.