PEORIA — The Peoria Rivermen were crowned SPHL champions Sunday night as Peoria fell in love with its hockey team.
The Rivermen defeated the Huntsville Havoc 5-1, and a once-in-a-generation moment as Peoria clinched its second SPHL title in three years took place as the crowd of 5,902 at Carver Arena roared. I watched it unfold above me.
They watched Peoria-born captain and 10-year veteran Alec Hagaman play his final game and lead his team to a championship on home ice.
This was the first title the 42-year-old Rivermen franchise has celebrated at Carver Arena since winning the ECHL's Kelly Cup here 25 years ago.
“Peoria filled the stands and helped us win,” Rivermen head coach Jean-Guy Trudel said while smoking a victory cigar. “We wanted to win a championship here in front of them and give them that experience and they deserve it.
“Peoria fell in love with us, and our team fell in love with them.”
Peoria-born captain Alec Hagaman electrified the crowd with two goals, including the game's first goal and a dagger into an empty net at 17:54 of the third period.
Peoria native Mitch McPherson scored the winning goal in the first period. The Rivermen ended the period with a 3-1 lead and stayed that way for the rest of the game.
In the end, the Rivermen became the first team in SPHL history to lose the first game of a best-of-three championship series and then come back to win the title.
The Rivermen are also believed to be the first team in professional hockey history to win a championship on home ice at all three levels of the minors. They won once at Carver Arena in the former International Hockey League (Class AAA), once in the ECHL (Class AA), and now he won once in the SPHL (Class A+).
“Alec Hagaman scored five goals in the second and third games,” Trudel said. “Five goals. He carried us on his back. You can't write a script like that. It's really like a story. It's a legend now.”
Huntsville pressured Peoria hard in the second period, and Hagaman said in the Rivermen's locker room just before the start of the third period, “One last time.”
It's been a season-long theme for the Rivermen, who dedicated this campaign to 34-year-old Hagaman, the only Peoria-born captain in team history.
“Now I can say those words,” Hagaman said on the ice in the emotional aftermath. “I'm retired. I'm retired. It's okay to say that now, because I'm a champion.”
When the game was over, he threw his glove and helmet high into the air and slipped into the celebration behind the net.
“After scoring that empty-net goal in the last few minutes, I thought, 'This is it, this is it, we're done here,'” Hagaman said. “I got to the bench and tried not to cry, but tears came out. I was really moved.”
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SPHL Game 3 Presidents Cup Title: Rivermen 5, Huntsville 1
Two and a half hours after the game ended, Hagaman appeared in the darkened stands of Carver Arena.
“I wanted to see this place one last time,” he said, looking up at the Rivermen banner on the wall of Carver Arena, where the team's retirement list is posted.
And then he was gone.
How did Riverman end?
The Rivermen took a 1-0 lead just 65 seconds after the first faceoff when Hagaman burst through the center of the goal and past goaltender Mike Robinson with a shot from the left hash mark.
The crowd shook Carver Arena, but a few minutes later, at 3:49, Huntsville tied the game when Alex Kierczewski sent a rebound past goaltender Nick Latinovich, who lost his stick. .
The Rivermen were up 2-1 at 7:31. That's when Hagaman worked at the top of the frame, collected his own blocked shot and slotted a soft shot into the box, but Mitch McPherson deflected it into the right post for the goal. game winner.
The Rivermen cut the lead to 3-1 at 12:42 when defenseman Meyers Moore went up from the left point to the inside edge of the left circle, fired a shot past Robinson, skated to the far corner and slammed the glass in celebration. spread out. Together with the fans.
Huntsville picked it up even more in the second period, forcing Peoria in the zone for most of the period. However, the Rivermen held on and held a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes.
A desperate Huntsville pulled Robinson as an extra attacker with nearly three minutes left in the third period, and Hagaman scooped the puck off the boards and buried it in an empty net at 17:54 to make it 4-1.
Meyers Moore added an empty-netter with 15 seconds left, and the celebration began.
“I was just looking around. It was so beautiful,” Hagaman said. “I feel lucky to play in front of crowds like this the last two nights. They were great. Without them, we can't play like this. With them, we're champions.” is.”
the last horn
The crowd stood, the final horn blared, the Rivermen kneaded each other on the ice, and Hagaman and Trudel at first stood back, taking it all in.
“You helped us win the Cup,” Hagaman told the crowd after taking the arena microphone. “Alright, let's go!”
He excitedly pointed to his family in the stands, then went up to the table to be presented with the SPHL Playoff MVP trophy by commissioner Doug Price and finally hoisted the Presidents Cup.
Hagaman skated around the ice, handed the ball to goaltender Nick Latinovic, and the crowd watched as center Alec Baer, center JM Piotrowski, and the rest of the team got a chance to skate with it. There were cheers and the queen's voice of “wee wee” and camera flashes flashed. “Are the Champions” played overhead.
“My teammates, coaches, family, friends and fans are all a part of this journey for me and how we got to this night,” Hagaman said. “I'll never forget this night. It will stay with me forever.”
river reading
The Rivermen plan to hold a celebration with the public at Carver Arena sometime next week. Details are under consideration. … Captain of the Rivermen Alec Hagaman He set SPHL postseason career records for most goals (26) and games played (53). … Rivermen Center alec bear He had four assists in Game 2 on Saturday, setting the SPHL's single playoff season assist record (14 assists).
Dave Eminian is a sports columnist for the Journal Star, covering Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes his sports column “Cleve In The Eve” for pjstar.com. Contact him at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him at X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared in the Journal Star: SPHL Finals: Peoria Rivermen defeat Huntsville Havoc in Presidents Cup Game 3
