The Peoria Rivermen were an
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
team that played in the
International Hockey League. They played in
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...
at the
Carver Arena
Peoria Civic Center is an entertainment complex located in downtown Peoria, Illinois. Designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Philip Johnson and John Burgee, it has an arena, theater, exhibit hall and meeting rooms. It opened in 1982 and ...
. A new team with the
Peoria Rivermen name currently competes in the
Southern Professional Hockey League
The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league based in Huntersville, North Carolina, with teams located primarily in the southeastern United States as well as Illinois and Indiana in the mid ...
.
History
The Peoria Rivermen were founded in 1982–83 in the 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 with Rivermen as the winner. The IHL's Peoria Rivermen began operations for the
1984–85 season and won the
Turner Cup
The Turner Cup was the championship trophy of the International Hockey League from 1945 to 2001 and the renamed United Hockey League from 2007 to 2010. The Cup was named for Joe Turner, a goaltender from Windsor, Ontario. Turner became professi ...
in their first season. They were bought by Bruce Saurs in the summer of 1989, and he owned the club for 19 seasons. Following several season of financial losses, Saurs sold 50% of the ownership in the IHL franchise in 1996 and relocated it as the
San Antonio Dragons
The San Antonio Dragons were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the International Hockey League (IHL) for two seasons in 1996–97 and 1997–98. The Dragons were based in San Antonio, Texas, and played at the Freeman Coliseum and oc ...
. Saurs then launched the
Rivermen in the
East Coast Hockey League
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL).
The E ...
(ECHL) beginning with the 1996–97 season.
They held professional hockey's longest
winning streak
A winning streak, also known as a win streak or hot streak, is an uninterrupted sequence of success in games or competitions, commonly measured by at least 4 wins that are uninterrupted by losses or ties/draws. Although sometimes claimed as a ...
at 18 games in 1991 until the
Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises:
* Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015
*Norfolk Admirals (ECHL)
The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hock ...
of the
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
broke the record by winning 28 consecutive games in 2012.
Former owner Bruce Saurs died in July 2014.
References
External links
The Internet Hockey Database - Peoria Rivermen
Defunct ice hockey teams in Illinois
Peoria Rivermen
St. Louis Blues minor league affiliates
New York Islanders minor league affiliates
1982 establishments in Illinois
Ice hockey clubs established in 1982
1996 disestablishments in Illinois
Ice hockey teams in Illinois
Sports clubs disestablished in 1996
Calgary Flames minor league affiliates
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