Game #1: Peoria Mustangs 5 vs. St. Louis Jr. Blues 2
It just goes to show anyone that what happens in the regular season often does not translate to success in the playoffs. Case in point, Peoria’s win in the first game of the Silver Cup over the #1 seeded St. Louis Jr. Blues. The Jr. Blues had gone 8-0 against the Mustangs during the regular season, outscoring them 41-8 in the process. However, from the start of the game on Wednesday at the Fox Valley Ice Arena, it would be a different story. That was thanks in large part to Peoria goaltender Michael Parda, who was the overwhelming difference in the game. Parda was perfect through the first two periods of the game as he allowed Peoria a chance to hang around and ultimately take the lead. Connor Millard scored in the 1st period to make it 1-0. In the 2nd period, Peoria added two more goals as Chance Homerin scored to make it 2-0 and then Alexander Turin was the recipient of a nice play by Cory Kettler to one-time a shot past Jr. Blues goaltender Mikhail Broliden for a 3-0 Peoria lead after two periods. St. Louis came out in the 3rd period on fire. After a stong penalty kill, Trey Dodd struck for the first St. Louis goal as he fired a slapshot over Parda. Cody Fedak closed the gap to within 3-2 as he snuck home a loose puck under an outstretched Parda. However, Peoria stayed tough and got a late power play goal in the 3rd period as Lynden Fields poked home a loose puck. Cody Lichtenvoort added an empty-net goal for the 5-2 final score. Boxscore
Game #2: North Iowa Bulls 5 vs. Flint Jr. Generals 0
The North Iowa Bulls used a balanced scoring attack in a physical game with the Flint Jr. Generals to post a 5-0 win in the opening game of the Silver Cup for both teams. North Iowa goaltender Matthew Bartels stopped all 24 shots came his way. Bryan Broders opened the scoring for the Bulls in the 1st period. James Hughes added a goal early in the 2nd period to make it 2-0. That was followed by a power play goal by Patrick Sivets to make it 3-0. Flint had a chance late iun the 2nd period to try and score as Brandon Anderson was given a five-minute major for a hit from behind on Flint’s Alex Compean. However, the Jr. Generals could not take advantage, which led to more goals in the 3rd period from the Bulls. Richie Marenis scored four minutes into the frame to make it 4-0 and Eric Behrend added a late power play goal to make the final scored 5-0. Jake Johnson finished with two assists for the Bulls and Eric Behrend and James Hughes also had multi-point games as the Bulls won their fourth straight playoff game. Boxscore
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