Oregon, WI – The Peoria Mustangs and Oregon Tradesmen squared off for the third and fourth times within a week, this time up at the Oregon Ice Arena in Oregon, Wisconsin. The Mustangs would collect both wins that extended their winning streak to 12 straight games. The road wins improved the Mustangs to 29-9-3 overall, solidifying them in 2nd place in the NA3HL Central Division standings. The Mustangs are currently 8 standings points ahead of the Tradesmen.
Friday: PEO 5 – ORE 2
The Mustangs kicked off the scoring just 1:09 into the contest when Jake Ratner collected the puck off a Jared Wisely pass and sent the puck off to the net through the legs of Oregon netminder Anthony Adleman for the 1-0 edge.
The Mustangs added a pair of goals just moments later when Hubert Guzy blasted a shot from just inside the blue line that sailed through a screen and into the back of the net at 1:32 of the opening period and the 2-0 Mustangs advantage. Jared Wisely added the eventual game winner at the 3:12 mark for the 3-0 Mustangs lead. Oregon got on the board at the 6:05 mark of the opening period when Zachary Orwig got the puck past Mustangs netminder Joe Ambroffi, cutting the Peoria lead to 3-1.
The Mustangs connected one final time in the opening period while skating on the man advantage. Tristan Trudel snapped a power play shot that zipped past Tradesmen netminder Evan Wittchow at 7:42 of the first period for a 4-1 Mustangs lead.
Over the final 40 minutes, each team found the back of the net one more time as Chris Kondiles lit the lamp in the middle frame with his 12th goal of the season at 12:29. On the other end, Oregon’s Carter Watters collected his 16th goal of the campaign when he lit the lamp at 17:05 in the third period and the eventual 5-2 win for the visiting Mustangs. Joe Ambroffi earned the win between the pipes stopping 23 of 25 shots faced, the win, Ambroffi’s third straight improves the Joliet, IL native to 8-5-1 on the season.
Saturday: PEO 4 – ORE 2
Peoria opened the scoring early in the first period when Jared Wisely promptly sent a SP Merck pass into the back of the net at 7:14 of the first period for the 1-0 Mustang advantage.
The Mustangs doubled their lead just prior to the midway point of the period while skating on the man advantage. With Tradesmen defenseman Noah Clark serving a high sticking minor, Jackson Gram snapped a shot from the hash marks over the Oregon goaltender and into the back of the net at 9:57 for the 2-0 Mustang lead.
The Tradesmen got on the board in the middle frame putting the puck behind Mustangs netminder Nahuel Veyan at 7:53 on Dillon Schmidt’s 15th goal of the season. Oregon evened the score late in the second period when Jason Tenezaca pounced on a rebound and lit the lamp at 15:01 knotting the score at 2 each.
Peoria regained the lead and eventual game winner just seconds into the final frame when a falling Perry Lagatuz put enough on the puck to send it past the outstretched glove of Wittchow and into the back of the net just 47 seconds into the third period for a 3-2 Mustang lead. Jaycob Bland concluded the scoring with a fast break puck interception and sent it past Wittchow at 15:57 of the final period for the eventual 4-2 Mustangs victory. Nahuel Veyan earned the win between the pipes stopping 37 of 39 shots faced, the win, Veyan’s 10th straight improves the Toulouse, France native to 10-1-1 on the season.
By The Numbers:
-Jared Wisely has 7 total points in his last 4 outings head-to-head vs. Oregon, this includes a 5-game point streak.
-Massimo Polistina has collected 4 points against Oregon in the last 4 meetings, including a multi-point outing on 2/11.
-Hubert Guzy earned back-to-back multi-point games over the weekend.
-Jaycob Bland has points in three straight outings.
-Joe Ambroffi has collected three straight wins between the pipes, in that span Ambroffi has allowed 4 goals and has a shutout.
-Nahuel Veyan won his 10th straight game between the pipes and second in a row vs Oregon.
What’s Ahead:
The Mustangs return home and welcome the Rochester Grizzlies to the Owens Center for a weekend set February 18th and 19th. Friday February 18th puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CST, and Saturday’s game puck drop is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CST. All games can be viewed on HockeyTV.
