The Peoria Rivermen opened up a five-goal lead after the first period and did not look back en route to a 9-3 win over the Knoxville Ice Bears.

Alex Hudson was all over the ice for Peoria, as he tallied one goal and three assists in the win. Hudson scored 15:45 into the first period to make the score 4-0 Peoria. Dennis Sicard picked up the assist.

The Rivermen pulled out the victory even though they were hit with 28 penalty minutes.

Peoria outdid its season average for goals scored. The Rivermen average 3.1 goals per game. Peoria's defensemen played an important role in the offense, chipping in two goals. The Rivermen put 31 shots on net during the contest, more than the 21.3 they average per game.

Peoria also got points from Ben Oskroba, who also registered one goal and one assist, Nick Wheeler, who also had one goal and one assist, Josh Harris, who also racked up two goals and one assist, Jake Trask, who also tallied one goal and one assist, and Sicard, who also registered one goal and one assist. Others who scored for Peoria included Alec Hagaman and Michael McCann, who each put in one. In addition, Peoria received assists from Nick Schneider and Garrett Vermeersch, who contributed one each and Dan Bremner and Tyler Amburgey, who each chipped in two.

Knoxville's penalty box was a popular destination as the team totaled 10 minors and two majors for 40 minutes in penalty time. The Ice Bears had been averaging 19.0 minutes in penalties per game. Knoxville relied on a core group of players for most of its offense, as Berkley Scott, Francis Drolet and Joe Tolles took 14 of the team's 23 shots.

Knoxville additionally got points from Ben Power, who also had one goal and one assist. More assists for Knoxville came via Brad Pawlowski, Travis Janke, and Ryan Salvis, who contributed one each.

Peoria's Kyle Rank stopped 20 shots out of the 23 that he faced. The Rivermen registered one goal on seven power play opportunities. Braely Torris made 22 saves for the Ice Bears on 31 shots. Knoxville registered one goal on six power play opportunities. The Ice Bears ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Pawlowski was ejected from the game.