Rivermen want it all

The Peoria Rivermen trainers already have the added  job of polishing the William B. Coffey Trophy, presented to the SPHL’s Regular Season champion, but the team has also cleared space in its trophy cabinet for the President’s Cup as playoff champions.

After a brief bump in its opening game of the post season against the Macon Mayhem, the Rivermen have pushed its way through four straight wins, sending both the Mayhem and Fayetteville FireAntz to the sidelines.

Now, the SPHL’s lone Midwest based team (Evansville Thunderbolts will join the fray next season) has only the Pensacola Ice Flyers standing between it and a perfect season.

The first two rounds both involved Best-of-Three type series and the Rivermen put its own back to the wall instantly in the post season, opening with a 3-2 loss in Georgia despite a 43-24 edge in shots, April 13 at Macon Centreplex. The Rivermen though, charged back, evening the series with a 2-0 win at the Owens Center two nights later, thanks to a 20-save shutout from veteran puck stopper Kyle Rank.

The Rivermen have not lost since, wrapping up its Quarter-Final series win with a 4-1 margin on April 16 and then making quick work of the FireAntz with a 1-0 win at Crown Coliseum, April 20 as Rank racked up another goose egg with a 19-save effort and Adam Stuart, 27, scored the lone marker late in the opening period.

Two nights later, the Rivermen punched its ticket to the championship with yet another shutout, this time Rank stopping all 26 of the FireAntz shots he faced while Ben Power, 26 paced the offense with a pair of goals and Brandon Green, also 26, collected three helpers in the game.

It’s fitting the Rivermen are squaring off with the Florida squad in the end as the Flyers finished second behind the the Rivermen in the regular season final standings — albeit a somewhat distant 17 points back.

The Ice Flyers have earned series sweeps against both the Huntsville Havoc and Mississippi RiverKings, allowing just a single goal in each of its first three games (3-1 and 5-1 vs. the Havoc and 4-1 vs. the Riverkings) before getting out of the first round with a 6-5 edge in double overtime at the Landers Center in Southaven, MS, April 23.

Listed below are dates, venue and start times for the Best of Five President’s Cup Championship series.

Game 1  — Saturday, April 30 at Peoria Civic Center 7:15 p.m. CST

Game 2 — Sunday, May 1 at Peoria Civic Center 5:05 p.m. CST

Game 3 — Thursday, May 5 at Pensacola Civic Center — 7:05 CST

Game 4 — Friday, May 6 at Pensacola Civic Center — 7:05 CST (If Necessary)

Game 5 — Monday, May 9 at Peoria Civic Center — 7:05 CST (If Necessary).