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'I'm back': Rivermen goalie decides to stay, while ECHL raids SPHL champs

dave eminian, journal star
·7 min read
Peoria goalie Eric Levine dives onto the puck during the third period Friday, Jan. 21, 2022 at Carver Arena. The Rivermen defeated the Quad City Storm 3-2 in sudden-death overtime.
Peoria goalie Eric Levine dives onto the puck during the third period Friday, Jan. 21, 2022 at Carver Arena. The Rivermen defeated the Quad City Storm 3-2 in sudden-death overtime.

PEORIA — Eric Levine had a message for the Peoria Rivermen and their fans on Sunday.

"I'm back," said the veteran Peoria goaltender.

And with that, one of the most popular players in the Rivermen franchise's 41-year history put off retirement to play another season in the Southern Professional Hockey League at what will be age 34 come Wednesday.

"I told my girlfriend I was going to retire and I had every intention to do that," Levine said. "But time went on, and I love this game too much. I can't think about a better opportunity than to come back to Peoria and try to win it again. It was so incredible to go through that championship.

"I want to do it again. I physically feel great and I have a passion to be the Peoria Rivermen goaltender. I've been in situations where I've been bounced around, stuck as a backup, moved to other teams. It's awesome to be with a coach who wants me and needs me to be a big piece of the team."

More ECHL:Are the Peoria Rivermen the hottest team in pro hockey? The numbers say yes

That coach, Jean-Guy Trudel, reached a deal to bring back Peoria-born captain Alec Hagaman last week, and now Levine, who was the top goalie in the SPHL for most of last season and at one point started an unprecedented 20 consecutive games.

"Levy is another big piece of our leadership group, he's been part of this organization for such a long time," Trudel said. "We know with Levy we will have great, consistent goaltending. He's a big piece of our team."

Levine played a huge role in helping position the Rivermen for their playoff run to the SPHL President's Cup championship. He led the league in victories and was second in goals-against and saves rate with a slash line of 29-8-4, 2.04 and .929 plus five shutouts during the regular season before turning the net over to SPHL Playoff MVP Jack Berry in the playoffs.

It was the fourth trip to the finals for the Rivermen, and their first triumph.

"Winning a championship pulls something out of you that you didn't know you had," Levine said. "To give Jean-Guy a hug on that ice in the moment we won it, knowing how much he's put in, it was amazing. To be so close for so many years, it killed him inside. To see that burden released for him. To finally do it was awesome.

"Now we want to go back-to-back, build a legacy."

Peoria Rivermen head coach Jean-Guy Trudel helps his stepson Jimmy Spratt raise the President's Cup while his daughter Chloe, lower left, waits her turn Wednesday, May 4, 2022 upon the team's return to the Peoria Civic Center from their SPHL championship run in Roanoke, Virginia.
Peoria Rivermen head coach Jean-Guy Trudel helps his stepson Jimmy Spratt raise the President's Cup while his daughter Chloe, lower left, waits her turn Wednesday, May 4, 2022 upon the team's return to the Peoria Civic Center from their SPHL championship run in Roanoke, Virginia.

More ECHL:Peoria Rivermen win SPHL championship for franchise's first title in 22 years

Levine was a charter member of the SPHL Rivermen, playing 23 games for them in the 2013-14 season. He has played 123 games in parts of five seasons for Peoria, working around call-ups to ECHL Toledo, Fort Wayne, Indy, Alaska, Utah, Colorado and Newfoundland, plus CHL Quad City and Allen and AHL Syracuse, Rockford and Cleveland.

But nothing compared to that Rivermen championship clinched in Roanoke last spring when winger JM Piotrowski — wearing No. 40 — won it in sudden-death overtime to give Peoria a championship in its 40th season.

Destiny-level stuff.

"I told JM Piotrowski in a December team meeting that he was going to do something heroic for us to help win a championship, and sure enough he did," Levine said. "No. 40 scored the game-winner in overtime to bring the franchise a championship in its 40th season. Amazing. I think about that stuff and it makes me want to come back."

Levine has 103 career pro victories, and his 20 consecutive starts last season were a franchise record. He won 11 straight games, one short of the SPHL record.

"I have more in the tank," Levine said. "I can't imagine playing anywhere else but the Peoria Rivermen. I feel I have so much more to give."

Confetti flies as Alec Hagaman, far right, of the Peoria Rivermen hoists the President's Cup and teammates Eric Levine, foreground, Mike Gurtler, to his right, and Cody Dion exit the bus to the cheers of their fans on their return to the Peoria Civic Center on Wednesday, May 4, 2022 from their SPHL championship run in Roanoke, Virginia. The Rivermen defeated the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 3-1 in the best-of-5 series for the title.

The ECHL Rivermen?

As expected, the SPHL champion Rivermen have been raided hard by Double-A ECHL and European teams in the offseason.

Gone already are playoff MVP goaltender Jack Berry, big defenseman Lordanthony Grissom, SPHL Rookie of the Year Marcel Godbout and defenseman Zach Wilkie.

Lordanthony reigns:How this Peoria Rivermen player delivered a stunning pro debut

SPHL scoring champion center Alec Baer joined that list shortly afterward, signed in early August to an ECHL deal with Iowa.

All of that is OK. In the big picture, it will make Peoria better.

"I'm so proud of these guys and our organization," Trudel said. "I still am working for a few other of our guys I believe deserve and ECHL contract.

"Everything comes from players buying into our Rivermen culture here. I get players that want to get better daily and have the right character to take what is needed to get better.

"I'm so proud of the guys who wear our uniform."

• Berry has signed with Nottingham in Britain's Elite Ice Hockey League. He has a girlfriend who is playing soccer in England, and he decided to join her.

"It's a good opportunity for him," Trudel said. "I think he'll end up being their No. 1."

• Marcel Godbout has been signed to a full ECHL contract by Allen.

The sniper notched 33 goals in 50 games, the most by a Rivermen rookie since Nelson Emerson notched 36 in the IHL in 1990-91.

It was the sixth-most ever by a Rivermen rookie, and the third-most by a rookie in SPHL history.

• Lordanthony Grissom has also been signed to a full ECHL contract with Allen. The massive defenseman joined the Rivermen late out of college and dominated the SPHL down the stretch and through the playoffs.

"Allen has a new head coach (Chad Costello) and we had a conference call with him," Trudel said. "He really liked Grissom and Godbout, took them both."

Peoria Lordanthony Grissom acknowledges the crowd as the player of the game after the Rivermen defeated the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 3-2 in Game One of the SPHL finals Thursday, April 28, 2022 at Carver Arena in Peoria. Grissom scored the game-winner in the third period.
Peoria Lordanthony Grissom acknowledges the crowd as the player of the game after the Rivermen defeated the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 3-2 in Game One of the SPHL finals Thursday, April 28, 2022 at Carver Arena in Peoria. Grissom scored the game-winner in the third period.

• Zach Wilkie has been signed to a full ECHL contract by Wheeling. The big defenseman had 27 points in 50 games and a +27 rating.

"Wilkie had call-ups, decided to stick with us after he came back, and it paid dividends for him," Trudel said. "Marcel could have been called-up six times after Christmas but he stayed with us, put his trust in the process. Everyone in the ECHL wanted Berry. He stayed with us.

"All those guys invested their season in us and they got a championship. So we worked to get them opportunities and they deserve it, and we're happy for them.

"It's up to them now what they build from here. But they represented the Rivermen well."

● Alec Baer has been signed to a full ECHL contract with Iowa. He had a career season and one of the best scoring efforts ever put together in the SPHL.

Baer notched 26 goals and 54 assists in 53 games. His assist total led the league, and he won the SPHL scoring title with 80 points.

Baer added six more goals and five more assists in 10 playoff games, one point off the SPHL postseason lead during Peoria's run to the President's Cup.

Surprises and challenges:Inside the Peoria Rivermen 2022-23 SPHL schedule

River Readings

An update to the Jean-Guy Trudel coaching tree here. Former Rivermen center Terrence Wallin has been hired as head coach at ECHL Maine. He played for Peoria in the 2015-16 season. Former Rivermen captains Dan Bremner and Dave Pszenyczny played for Trudel and now are head coaches at Roanoke and Quad City, respectively. … Rivermen center Mike Laidley and his partner, Charlee, welcomed a son, Rhett Michael-Jean Laidley at 12:45 p.m. on July 31. … Former AHL Rivermen assistant coach Scott Allen has been named assistant coach of the Washington Caps.

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Why Rivermen goalie decides to stay, while ECHL raids SPHL champs