Hockey: Ice Flyers Face Steep Challenge Against Top Seed Peoria In Playoffs
The Ice Flyers’ difficult, post-season path, begins this week with a turnaround matchup against the league’s top team.
After dropping a pair of road games during Easter weekend -- both by 4-1 scores -- against the Peoria Rivermen, the teams will meet again Thursday in the first game of the Southern Professional Hockey League quarterfinal round playoffs at the Pensacola Bay Center.
The Rivermen, who won their first SPHL President’s Cup title last year, clinched the top-seed in postseason with Saturday’s win against the Ice Flyers. It was the sixth time Peoria has won the Coffey Trophy as regular-season SPHL champions in the past nine seasons the Rivermen have played.
The 2020-21 SPHL season was reduced to the five teams in the South Division due to coronavirus restrictions. The Ice Flyers won their fourth SPHL President’s Cup title that year.
The eighth-seeded Ice Flyers (26-25, 6 OT losses), who finished the season with their lowest placement in the standings, played well against Peoria (39-14, 4 OT losses) in February at the Bay Center.
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They lost 3-2 in overtime one night, then followed with a 3-1 win the next night on the $5 ticket weekend that attracted record, back-to-back, capacity crowds of 8,049.
Following Thursday’s game at the Bay Center, both teams will then travel to Peoria, Illinois for Game 2 on Saturday. A deciding Game 3, if necessary, will be Sunday in Peoria.
The Ice Flyers are welcoming their fans Tuesday night, beginning at 6:30 p.m. to a pre-playoff party at Buffalo Wild Wings featuring all the team members.
There is some past history and special connections between Peoria and Pensacola in postseason. The Ice Flyers biggest playoff upset occurred in 2016 when they were a No. 7 seed and knocked off the No. 2-seed Huntsville Havoc in a two-game sweep. The Ice Flyers then followed by stunning top-seed Peoria in the finals to win their third SPHL title.
In 2021 when the Ice Flyers won their fourth title, two current Peoria stars, Alec Hagaman and Nick Neville, played for the Ice Flyers during the shortened season and reduced league format.
Hagaman, 33, a Peoria native, will play his 400th career game Thursday with the Riverman, after announcing his retirement following the playoffs.
In 11 SPHL seasons, including eight in Peoria, Hagaman has played 465 games and 438 points. He is the only player in SPHL history with 400 or more games played, 400 or more points scored.
He scored nine goals and had eight assists for the Ice Flyers in 24 games during that shortened season in 2021.
The Rivermen will be without top defenseman Zach Wilkie, who sustained a knee injury two weeks ago in a game against Roanoke. Led all SPHL defenseman in scoring and all league players with the best plus-minus rating at plus-42.
The Ice Flyers added two players, wingers Weiland Parrish, who played in 23 games earlier this season before being called up to the higher-level ECHL, along with Steven Leonard, who also played 23 games before spending the rest of the season with the Iowa Heartlanders in the ECHL.
Bill Vilona is a retired Pensacola News Journal sports columnist and now senior writer for Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He can be reached at bvilona@bluewahoos.com.
WANT TO GO?
WHAT: Game 1 SPHL Quarterfinal Playoffs
WHO: Peoria Rivermen vs. Pensacola Ice Flyers
WHEN: Thursday, 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Pensacola Bay Center
RADIO: Fox Sports Pensacola (101.1 FM, 1450 AM)
TICKETS: www.icefly.co/tickets or at Bay Center box office
PROMOTION: Fans encouraged to wear white. And first 400 children ages 12-under receive commemorative 2023 Wingman jersey.
PLAYOFF PARTY: Tuesday night (6:30 to 8 p.m.) at Buffalo Wild Wings. The players and coach Rod Aldoff, along with owner Greg Harris will be in attendance to meet fans.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Ice Flyers begin postseason against top-seeded Peoria Thursday
