Mustangs Split Vs. Rochester Before Holiday Break
Story by Connor Kelly
Written 12/24/2020
GAME RECAP: PEORIA MUSTANGS VS. ROCHESTER GRIZZLIES
PEORIA, IL – This past weekend was yet another opportunity for the Mustangs to extend their winning streaks against a quality opponent. As of late the Mustang squad has been on quite the hot streak posting impressive series wins against Oregon and rival Milwaukee taking their win streak to a total of 7 games going into this past weekend vs. Rochester.
Despite playing some of their best hockey of the year, the Mustangs had a tall order with first place Rochester coming into town.
In the 1st game of the battle of the top two teams in the Central Division, expectations were quickly met. Mustang newcomer Tony Campise continued his hot start by scoring an unassisted goal at 10:27 of the 1st. That would be the only scoring in the first half as a defensive battle raged. Into the second, the Grizzlies found the equalizer at the 7:07 mark with Dylan Schneider finding the back of the net. But no more than 20 seconds later, Jackson Gram for the Mustangs scored his first of the night to give the Mustangs a 2-1 lead that would prove to be the game winning goal and final score.
Things quickly shifted in the 2nd game as the Grizzlies came out firing on all cylinders and would not take their foot off the gas pedal all night. Micah Gernander, Peyton Hart, Kyle Brown and Dylan Schneider would all provide goals in the contest that the Mustangs could find no answer for. Rochester escaped Peoria with a split after a 4-0 shutout victory. The Rochester victory snapped the Mustangs winning streak at 8 and closed out the 2020 section of the season for both squads.
SHOULD OLD 2020 BE FORGOT, AND NEVER BROUGHT TO MIND? PROBABLY.
Despite the challenges brought forth by the pandemic, the Mustangs have made the best out of a season that has been one to forget considering that no fans are allowed and the whole gameday experience has been shaken to its core. Guidelines have forced each team to adjust how workouts, practices and other team functions are handled.
Before the 2020 portion of the season comes to a close, we thought it might be a good thing to look on the lighter side to see what good things have happened for the organization this year:
The first highlight of the year was thanks to the Twitter universe and our great fans as the Mustangs took home the prize for the NA3HL’s Best Logo Contest. Our second highlight comes in the form of beautiful new home and road uniforms that the Mustangs are debuting this season along with a revised color scheme to our award winning logo. Another great highlight is the introduction of our new mascot, Maverick who has been causing hijinks throughout the Owens Center even without fans. Our final highlight has been the fact that we have been able to play hockey despite being in a global pandemic. The Mustangs organization is thankful to have the sport back along with the constant support of our fans, player families, billet families and everyone else who supports the team.
So as we wrap up 2020, we want to everyone in the Mustangs universe for supporting the team as we continue a proud tradition of local hockey here in Peoria. We look forward to 2021 and the future!
We will be back in action against St. Louis at home starting on January 2nd, 2021.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
