'Purge Monday'? Peoria Rivermen hockey didn't need one after a promising weekend

PEORIA — There was no "Purge Monday" for the Peoria Rivermen.

Not after two games. Not after one weekend. Not after an 0-2 start to their Southern Professional Hockey League championship defense.

"That was the scariest time of my life, when we had 'Purge Mondays' (in the 2016-17 season)," now-retired Rivermen veteran Cody Dion said Saturday as he sat in the locker room. "I turned my phone off on Sunday night every week."

The so-called Purge Monday was born in the 2016-17 season after the Rivermen tore up their roster on the first five Mondays of the season, furiously trying to get out of a tough start.

Coach Jean-Guy Trudel made 29 player transactions on those five Mondays, including six trades.

Trying to get my head around the frenzied changes, I thought of the mayhem-filled movie "The Purge" and dubbed transaction day as Purge Monday in a Journal Star story.

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Trudel, who did indeed get the team turned around, later had "Purge Monday" T-shirts made for his coaching staff.

There are no signs of a sequel, although the Rivermen made another trade this week and signed a free agent as Trudel continued to dial in his roster.

"I saw a lot of things I liked," Trudel said. "Those last two periods Saturday, we were physical and played Rivermen hockey."

Said retired Rivermen winger Mike Gurtler, who was among the players who received championship rings from the team Saturday: "We trust Jean-Guy Trudel. He'll have us at the top of the standings again."

A trade and a free agent

The Rivermen traded defenseman Eliott St.-Pierre to Macon as the future considerations to complete a preseason deal in which Peoria acquired Macon captain Joe Drapluk.

Macon then immediately traded St-Pierre to Knoxville for goaltender Tom Aubrun, who spent parts of the last two seasons in the AHL with Rockford and in the ECHL with Indy.

With a roster spot cleared, the Rivermen signed defenseman Hank Sorensen.

He's a 6-foot-1, 200-pounder from Wayzata, Minn. He played 151 games in four years in the USHL for Waterloo, where he earned USHL third-team all-star honors in his final season. He moved on to Northern Michigan University in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, notching 16 points in 52 career games.

Sorensen turned pro last season and played seven games for ECHL South Carolina. He was in ECHL Florida's camp this fall.

A wheeling Barrow

Rivermen left wing Tyler Barrow was exciting to watch over the weekend, all over the ice and showing a top-six forward skill set.

Barrow played four seasons for NCAA Division-III Wilkes University, piling up 52 goals and 80 assists in 88 career games. He turned pro last spring with Fayetteville and scored his first pro goal in three outings. He heads into the 2022-23 season with the Rivermen as a rookie.

"I think Barrow is going to be a stud," Rivermen veteran goaltender Eric Levine said. "You could see him involved in a lot of scoring chances."

Where no team has gone before

The Rivermen have never opened a season 0-3 in their SPHL era. They take an 0-2 mark into a pair of games against Evansville on Friday and Saturday at Carver Arena.

In fact, the last time a Rivermen team opened a season with three losses was in the AHL, when Peoria found itself 0-2-1 to start the 2012-13 campaign, all on the road.

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The Rivermen lost their first two games of the season to Huntsville in a home opening weekend at Carver Arena in 2016-17. They moved on to win their road opener at Macon.

"That third period (Saturday's home opener), you could see how we dominated and started putting things together," Rivermen goaltender Eric Levine said. "This wasn't the outcome we wanted in the standings.

"But I've played for a long time, and I've learned that going through a little adversity early in the season can be very good for the team."

The Rivermen started slow while they figured out their roster last season, too. Then on Nov. 26 they launched a stretch in which they won 29 times in 37 games, lost only three times in regulation and earned points in 34 of 37 games.

Turned the page

Brandon Rumble was among the retired Rivermen players who made the trip to Peoria on Saturday to take part in the team's championship ring presentation.

Rumble played 132 games, including playoffs, in parts of four seasons with the Rivermen, and scored three goals with 45 assists.

He's on a different path now in his life, living in Canada and launching a career with Royal Bank of Canada.

"I haven't skated since the night we won the President's Cup," Rumble said, holding his ring box outside the locker room after the opener Saturday. "It was so exciting to get this ring and be here, to see everyone again."

Talk net

• Rivermen center and reigning SPHL MVP Alec Baer, after Saturday's home opener loss: "We out-played Quad City, to be honest. But we're still learning the system, bringing the new guys into it, and it's a great goalscoring system. These guys will play faster as they learn it."

• Rivermen captain Alec Hagaman, after the ring ceremony, the banner raising and an opening night loss at Carver Arena: "Time to turn the page. We have work to do."

• Rivermen coach Jean-Guy Trudel, on Peoria seeing Quad City at the outset of the season: "No offense to Roanoke or anyone else we played last season, but I think that Rivermen-Quad City playoff series in the semifinals was the true SPHL championship. I think we were the best two teams in the playoffs. And Quad City is good again this year."

River Readings

The Rivermen have the league's largest crowd of the season so far, at 5,089 for their home opener Saturday. Huntsville and Birmingham are the remaining teams yet to stage their home openers. … Downtrodden Vermilion County drew a combined 908 spectators to its first two home games of the season. The worst team in pro hockey last season as an expansion entry, Vermilion County has opened its second season 0-2-1, allowed 14 goals, and is in a legal dispute with its venue, David S. Palmer Arena. … The Rivermen host Evansville on Friday and Saturday, both 7:15 p.m. games in Carver Arena. The front game includes magnetic schedules to the first 1,000 spectators in attendance. The rematch will again feature the magnetic schedules, courtesy The O'Brien Team with Jim Maloof Realty. The Rivermen will wear military/camo themed jerseys Saturday, courtesy SMART Local #1, and auction them after the game. … Rivermen center Alec Baer had 10 shots on goal in Saturday's home opener loss to Quad City.

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: Peoria Rivermen hockey show promise, skip 'Purge Monday'