Peoria Rivermen (SPHL)
| Peoria Rivermen | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Peoria, Illinois |
| League | Southern Professional Hockey League |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Home arena | Carver Arena |
| Colors |
Navy, Red, Gold, White |
| Owner(s) | Illinois Pro Sports, LLC |
| General manager | David Holt |
| Media | WCDD (107.9 FM) Peoria Journal Star |
| Franchise history | |
| 2013 – pres. | Peoria Rivermen |
The Peoria Rivermen are a professional ice hockey team in the Southern Professional Hockey League. They play in Peoria, Illinois, USA at the Carver Arena. The team is replacing an AHL franchise of the same name that was purchased by the Vancouver Canucks and moved out of Peoria. [1]
Contents |
History [edit]
The Peoria Rivermen were born in 1982–83 in the old International Hockey League, operating under owner Ken Wilson as the Peoria Prancers. The franchise was taken over by the Peoria Civic Center in 1984, which held a contest with the Peoria Journal Star newspaper to rename the team. Rivermen was the winner. The Peoria Rivermen operated in the 1984–85 season and won the IHL's Turner Cup. They were bought by Bruce Saurs in the summer of 1989, and he owned the club for 18 seasons. The franchise dropped down to the ECHL for the 1996–97 season, playing nine seasons there before moving to the American Hockey League for the 2005–06 season, where it presently operates; the current franchise, however, follows the history of the Worcester IceCats. The Peoria franchise is the ninth oldest continuously operating minor-league pro hockey franchise in history. The 2010–11 season marks Peoria's 29th franchise season in that run. It was announced by Dave Checketts that the St. Louis Blues, Scottrade Center and the Peoria Rivermen are all up for sale.
On May 10, 2012, Tom Stillman purchased the Peoria Rivermen franchise.
On August 30, 2012, the Rivermen signed a one-year affiliation agreement with the Evansville IceMen, an expansion team in the ECHL, cutting ties with the Alaska Aces, who they were affiliated with since the Rivermen joined the AHL.
On March, 29, 2013, The Rivermen were purchased by the Vancouver Canucks [2] who intend to move the franchise to Abbotsford, B.C.. It is expected the St. Louis Blues will affiliate with the AHL's Chicago Wolves for the 2013–14 season, with Calgary Flames moving its AHL affiliate from Abbotsford, B.C. to Utica , NY in time for the 2013–14 season. The deal is subject to approval from the AHL. [3]
On April 18, 2013, The AHL approved the sale of the Peoria Rivermen to the Vancouver Canucks. Although rumours speculate the team will move to Abbotsford, neither the city nor the currently residing team (the Abbotsford Heat) have made any announcements regarding a move.
On May 13, 2013, The Vancouver Canucks confirmed with Peoria Civic Center officials Monday morning that they will not bring back the Rivermen franchise. The Peoria Rivermen will no longer play in Peoria.[4] Within minutes after the Vancouver announcement, Bruce Saurs, the former longtime owner of the Rivermen, threw his support behind former Rivermen execs, a plan to bring pro hockey back to Peoria next fall.
Later in the day of May 13, 2013, it was reported by the Journal Star (Peoria) that after being told the city would no longer have an AHL team, former Rivermen executives John Butler and Bart Rogers and former Rivermen owner Bruce Saurs announced that they had applied for admission into the Southern Professional Hockey League in an attempt to save hockey in Peoria. The SPHL is a Single-A professional hockey league with teams mostly based in the southeastern United States. Butler and Rogers' plan also included for the group to purchase the Bloomington Blaze of the struggling Central Hockey League and also move them to the SPHL. There was an SPHL Board of Governors and franchise general managers emergency conference call scheduled for the morning of May 14, 2013 to decide on the admission of the Rivermen and the Blaze. [5]
On May 15, 2013, it was officially announced that the team had been accepted into the SPHL, along with the Bloomington Blaze, ending the uncertainty of wether Peoria would have a hockey team in the coming year. A press conference was scheduled to announce the expansion franchise at the Peoria Civic Center starting at 10:00 AM. [6]
This market was previously served by:
- Peoria Blades of the CntHL (1972–1982)
- Peoria Prancers / Peoria Rivermen of the IHL (1982–1996)
- Peoria Rivermen of the ECHL (1996–2005)
- Peoria Rivermen of the AHL (2005–2013)
Season-by-season results [edit]
Regular Season
| Season | GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | PIM | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Post Season
| Season | GP | W | L | GF | GA | PIM | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Current roster [edit]
Updated May 15, 2013.[7]
| # | Nat | Player | Pos | S/G | Age | Acquired | Birthplace | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [[| ]] |
References [edit]
- ^ http://www.pjstar.com/news/x1037530003/Blues-notify-Civic-Center-that-Rivermen-are-leaving
- ^ http://thecanuckway.com/2013/03/29/report-vancouver-canucks-purchase-peoria-rivermen-move-to-abbotsford/
- ^ http://blues.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=662810
- ^ http://centralillinoisproud.com/fulltext?nxd_id=323922
- ^ http://www.pjstar.com/news/x811437871/Vancouver-tells-Civic-Center-it-wont-operate-AHL-team-in-Peoria
- ^ http://thesphl.com/view/thesphl/news/news_72402
- ^ "Peoria Rivermen- Team roster". Peoria Rivermen. Retrieved 2013-05-15.
External links [edit]
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