The Peoria Rivermen relied on the sparkling performance of Eric Levine in net to grab a 2-1 win against the Columbus Cottonmouths.

Peoria's penalty kill excelled, as the Rivermen gave up zero goals despite allowing six power plays.

Peoria was sparked by Charlie Carkin, who registered one goal. Carkin scored 9:22 into the second period to make the score 2-1 Peoria. Garrett Vermeersch picked up the assist.

The Rivermen stifled Columbus' power play, and did not give up a single goal while down a man. The Cottonmouths were unable to stop Peoria from sending pucks towards the net, and the Rivermen eventually piled up 31 shots on goal. Team's forwards weren't the only contributers offensively, and the team's defensemen showcased their scoring touch with two goals.

Peoria also got a goal from Tyler Amburgey as well. In addition, Peoria received assists from Adam Hartley, Matt Viola, and Steve Morra, who contributed one a piece.

Columbus put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow Peoria to score on any of its six power plays. The Cottonmouths were forced to rely heavily on their penalty kill unit throughout the game, as they racked up 24 penalty minutes. Columbus put 39 shots on net during the contest, more than the 28.0 it averages per game.

The Cottonmouths were led by Steve Mele, who scored the team's only goal. Mele scored 9:05 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Columbus. Michael Switzer provided the assist.

Levine recorded 38 saves for the Rivermen. Peoria incurred 14 minutes in penalty time with seven minors. Columbus' Andrew Loewen stopped 29 shots out of the 31 that he faced.