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PEORIA — This was the goodbye there won't be time for later, the regular-season SPHL champion Peoria Rivermen spending a postgame at Carver Arena with hugs, autographs, pictures, selling game-worn jerseys, sharing one last close time with another big crowd Saturday.
It was a regular-season finale, a 3-2 shootout tiebreaker win over Quad City that lifted 6,462 to a frenzy at the end of a magnificent season-long title defense marked by record performances and record adversity.
"We weren't at our best for sure," Rivermen head coach Jean-Guy Trudel said. "But the crowd was just phenomenal and we felt them. We've gone through so much with this team, six of my nine forwards are gone from last season and one defenseman is back.
"It's incredible. This team knows what it can do, but it needs to do it every night."
The 40-10-6 Rivermen finished with 86 points, the third-highest point total in league history and third-highest win total in league history.
They'll face three rounds of best-of-3 playoff series now, and unless they go the distance and repeat as champions, their season will end with handshakes at center ice and without a goodbye to their fans.
So Saturday, really, was that opportunity. Now they just play, and it's parade or nothing.
The game literally had no bearing on anything on the ice -- all eight playoff teams were locked into their seeds -- but it meant a lot to the fans, who stayed long after to mingle with their team.
It meant a lot to the Peoria front office staff under co-owner Bart Rogers, who saw his franchise set a single-season attendance record in its 11-year long SPHL era, logging 123,173 spectators for 28 games and a 4,399 per game average.
"I'm so proud of our staff, how hard they worked to make this season happen and to see our attendance increasing every year, it's rewarding," Rogers said. "And we are grateful for these fans, they come in here and support this team, support pro hockey and we love to entertain them, give them a good experience."
The Rivermen are the No. 1 seed and have home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. They finished the regular-season with two wins over Quad City this weekend, and now will turn around and face them in the first round of postseason play.
No. 2 seed Huntsville will face No. 7 Evansville; No. 3 Roanoke will play No. 6 Knoxville, and No. 4 Birmingham plays No. 5 Fayetteville.
Here is the first-round schedule for the No. 1 Rivermen vs No. 8 Quad City:
● Game 1, Thursday: Quad City at Peoria, Carver Arena, 7:15 p.m.
● Game 2, Friday: Peoria at Quad City, Vibrant Arena, tba.
● Game 3 (if needed), Sunday: Quad City at Peoria, 3:15 p.m.
Tickets for the games in Peoria are $26 for glass seats; $22 for premium (lower bowl straightaway); $16 for Pilot House, and $15 for upper bowl.
They can be purchased through the team at (309) 676-1040.
Rivermen rookie defenseman Kylar Fenton, the son of former IHL-era Rivermen winger Eric Fenton, notched his first pro goal at 7:11 of the third period.
Peoria defenseman Brenden Rons came out of the penalty box and blasted a Quad City player in the neutral zone, then teammate Mike Gelatt followed seconds later with a huge check.
The Rivermen bottled up Quad City in its zone for the next 46 seconds until Fenton scored his first pro goal from the left circle for a 2-1 lead.
"I settled the puck and thought about making sure I got it on the net," Fenton said. "My heart jumped a little. So exciting."
Quad City tied it at 10:48 on Mike Moran's second goal of the game.
It burned on through sudden-death overtime and headed into penalty shot tiebreaker. Rivermen goaltender -- and likely SPHL Goaltender of the Year -- Colby Muise shut down all four Quad City challengers.
Peoria got goals from its first two challengers, Zach Purcell and Carlos Fornaris, and that put the game in the win column.
The Rivermen retained the Cold War on 74 Trophy, a piece commissioned by a Quad Cities radio station for the 2018-19 season as a traveling trophy possessed by the team that wins the Rivermen-Quad Cities season series each year. It was presented in Peoria in its first year and has never left the Rivermen locker room, as the Rivermen have won the season series every time. … Quad Cities did not play No. 1 goaltender Brent Moran this weekend and did not dress 31-goal scorer Leif Mattson on Saturday. The Rivermen were without captain Alec Baer, defenseman Zach Wilkie and winger Mike McChesney, all on IR. … Rivermen defenseman Chase Spencer, who took a call-up last month to ECHL Bloomington, was released early in the week by Bloomington but did not return to Peoria, nor reach out to contact the team. His whereabouts are unknown. … Rivermen goaltender Colby Muise finished the regular-season with a 1.68 goals-against, .933 saves rate and eight shutouts, all league-bests. He is 23-3-4. … Rivermen winger/defenseman Jordan Ernst closed with 37 goals.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or [email protected]. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Playoff field set: Rivermen notch 40th win, mingle with 6,462 in attendance
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It was a regular-season finale, a 3-2 shootout tiebreaker win over Quad City that lifted 6,462 to a frenzy at the end of a magnificent season-long title defense marked by record performances and record adversity.
"We weren't at our best for sure," Rivermen head coach Jean-Guy Trudel said. "But the crowd was just phenomenal and we felt them. We've gone through so much with this team, six of my nine forwards are gone from last season and one defenseman is back.
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"It's incredible. This team knows what it can do, but it needs to do it every night."
The 40-10-6 Rivermen finished with 86 points, the third-highest point total in league history and third-highest win total in league history.
They'll face three rounds of best-of-3 playoff series now, and unless they go the distance and repeat as champions, their season will end with handshakes at center ice and without a goodbye to their fans.
So Saturday, really, was that opportunity. Now they just play, and it's parade or nothing.
The game literally had no bearing on anything on the ice -- all eight playoff teams were locked into their seeds -- but it meant a lot to the fans, who stayed long after to mingle with their team.
It meant a lot to the Peoria front office staff under co-owner Bart Rogers, who saw his franchise set a single-season attendance record in its 11-year long SPHL era, logging 123,173 spectators for 28 games and a 4,399 per game average.
"I'm so proud of our staff, how hard they worked to make this season happen and to see our attendance increasing every year, it's rewarding," Rogers said. "And we are grateful for these fans, they come in here and support this team, support pro hockey and we love to entertain them, give them a good experience."
Rivermen playoff schedule, tickets
The Rivermen are the No. 1 seed and have home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. They finished the regular-season with two wins over Quad City this weekend, and now will turn around and face them in the first round of postseason play.
No. 2 seed Huntsville will face No. 7 Evansville; No. 3 Roanoke will play No. 6 Knoxville, and No. 4 Birmingham plays No. 5 Fayetteville.
Here is the first-round schedule for the No. 1 Rivermen vs No. 8 Quad City:
● Game 1, Thursday: Quad City at Peoria, Carver Arena, 7:15 p.m.
● Game 2, Friday: Peoria at Quad City, Vibrant Arena, tba.
● Game 3 (if needed), Sunday: Quad City at Peoria, 3:15 p.m.
Tickets for the games in Peoria are $26 for glass seats; $22 for premium (lower bowl straightaway); $16 for Pilot House, and $15 for upper bowl.
They can be purchased through the team at (309) 676-1040.
A first pro goal
Rivermen rookie defenseman Kylar Fenton, the son of former IHL-era Rivermen winger Eric Fenton, notched his first pro goal at 7:11 of the third period.
Peoria defenseman Brenden Rons came out of the penalty box and blasted a Quad City player in the neutral zone, then teammate Mike Gelatt followed seconds later with a huge check.
The Rivermen bottled up Quad City in its zone for the next 46 seconds until Fenton scored his first pro goal from the left circle for a 2-1 lead.
"I settled the puck and thought about making sure I got it on the net," Fenton said. "My heart jumped a little. So exciting."
Quad City tied it at 10:48 on Mike Moran's second goal of the game.
It burned on through sudden-death overtime and headed into penalty shot tiebreaker. Rivermen goaltender -- and likely SPHL Goaltender of the Year -- Colby Muise shut down all four Quad City challengers.
Peoria got goals from its first two challengers, Zach Purcell and Carlos Fornaris, and that put the game in the win column.
River Readings
The Rivermen retained the Cold War on 74 Trophy, a piece commissioned by a Quad Cities radio station for the 2018-19 season as a traveling trophy possessed by the team that wins the Rivermen-Quad Cities season series each year. It was presented in Peoria in its first year and has never left the Rivermen locker room, as the Rivermen have won the season series every time. … Quad Cities did not play No. 1 goaltender Brent Moran this weekend and did not dress 31-goal scorer Leif Mattson on Saturday. The Rivermen were without captain Alec Baer, defenseman Zach Wilkie and winger Mike McChesney, all on IR. … Rivermen defenseman Chase Spencer, who took a call-up last month to ECHL Bloomington, was released early in the week by Bloomington but did not return to Peoria, nor reach out to contact the team. His whereabouts are unknown. … Rivermen goaltender Colby Muise finished the regular-season with a 1.68 goals-against, .933 saves rate and eight shutouts, all league-bests. He is 23-3-4. … Rivermen winger/defenseman Jordan Ernst closed with 37 goals.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or [email protected]. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Playoff field set: Rivermen notch 40th win, mingle with 6,462 in attendance
Continue reading...
