PEORIA, Ill. — As of Friday, it will have been 593 days since the Peoria Rivermen hockey team has played a game.
The team’s games Friday and Saturday night open the Rivermen’s 40th season in Peoria against the Macon Mayhem.
Rivermen Head Coach Jean-Guy Trudel told WMBD’s “The Greg and Dan Show”, it’s been a challenge for everyone, staff and players, not playing a single game in 2020 due to the pandemic.
“It’s been tough, but we kept pushing. I think Bart (Rogers) and the office staff have it a lot more challenges right now than I do, for me just building a hockey team and being competitive on the ice,” Trudel said.
The 2020 Rivermen season ended before it started last year, when the team traveled 16 hours to Fayetteville, North Carolina to play the Marksmen at Crown Coliseum.
Trudel said he got a call, telling him the game was cancelled as fears over COVID-19 were kicking in. The team turned around the next morning, and reality set in that they wouldn’t be playing a game anytime soon.
Trudel confirms that the team’s got a number of core players back this season.
“Players were short, but we’re lucky we have a great group returning with Alec Hagaman, Eric Levine, Alec Baer in leadership roles. So, we have a lot of familiar faces coming back…some haven’t played a game in 593 days, so we have to get them in shape,” Trudel said.
Tickets for the Rivermen’s opening weekend with the Macon Mayhem are still available.
For details, click HERE.
