Behind a great game by Walker Wintoneak, who had two goals and two assists, the Peoria Rivermen defeated the Fayetteville FireAntz, 6-2.

Dalton McGrath spearheaded the defensive effort for Peoria, as he did not allow a puck past him and made 29 saves for the shutout. McGrath certainly lowered his goals against average, which was 2.12 entering the contest.

The Rivermen racked up the penalties in the contest, and ended with 12 minors and one major for 39 minutes in penalty time. Peoria had been averaging 18.0 minutes in penalties per game. The Rivermen surpassed their usual scoring output this season. Peoria averages 3.5 goals per game. The 44 shots that the Rivermen put on net surpassed Peoria's average of 27.6 shots per game this season.

Others who scored for Peoria included Adam Stuart, who had two and Terrence Wallin and Jack Callahan, who each put in one. In addition, Peoria received assists from Ben Power, who had three, Alec Hagaman and Chris Wilson, who contributed one each, and Dave Pszenyczny and Brandon Greenside, who each chipped in two.

Fayetteville was often in penalty trouble, totaling 12 minors and one major for 49 minutes in penalty time. The FireAntz surpassed its season average of 22.0 penalty minutes per game. Fayetteville's normally stingy defense allowed more goals than usual. The FireAntz give up 2.5 goals per game. Fayetteville's offense rang up 33 shots on the Rivermen's net.

The FireAntz were helped by Kyle Gibbons, who tallied one goal. Gibbons scored 6:42 into the first period to make the score 1-1. Nicholas Rivait picked up the assist. Nick Lazorko also scored for Fayetteville. More assists for Fayetteville came via Benjamin Rubin, who had one.

Peoria registered one goal on four power play opportunities. Fayetteville's starting goalie, Parker Van Buskirk, made 26 saves and finished with the loss before he was taken out in favor of Dustin Carlson, who stopped 12 shots. The FireAntz registered one goal on five power play opportunities.