How the Rivermen celebrated awards, wins and visit by a celebrity comic

PEORIA — The Peoria Rivermen will begin their Southern Professional Hockey League title defense when the postseason starts next month.

Zach Wilkie successfully defended his own title on Tuesday at the team's annual end-of-season spring banquet with the Rivermen Captain's Booster Club. The boosters named Wilkie to the Pete BardezBanian Award for the second straight season.

Named after the late Rivermen Hall of Fame inductee and co-founding father of the game in Peoria, it represents the team's Most Popular Player trophy.

"I am honored that our fans feel this way," said Wilkie, the leading contender for the SPHL's Defenseman of the Year award. "I was taught from a young age to appreciate the support the fans give us. It's a gift, playing this game, we can share it with our fans and build these relationships with them.

"I'm thrilled to win this trophy again this season. Peoria has embraced me, given me a chance to play and show my personality and accepted me."

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Veteran Rivermen defenseman Nick Neville was named to the Marc Olson Trophy, which represents the player who most demonstrates sportsmanship, community service, leadership, attitude, perseverance and ability/performance.

"It's an absolute honor to be part of Peoria Rivermen history like this, to see my name on that trophy," said Neville, kneeling with the trophy next to its namesake. "I never expected to hear my name called. When I heard it, it was really emotional for me. There are a lot of guys on our team who deserve this."

The ceremony wrapped up with presentation of the Bruce Saurs Unsung Hero Award — named after the late longtime team owner — which honors the player who shows leadership on and off the ice and commitment to growing hockey in the community.

Chosen by head coach Jean-Guy Trudel, it went to rookie center Ben Assad, who has proven to be a terrific find for the Rivermen.

"Ben has been a huge part of our team," said Rivermen captain Alec Hagaman, filling in for Trudel, who was out of town at a junior hockey event. "He's the heart of our penalty kill, blocks shots and competes, he's fearless. We are proud to have him."

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The team awards history book

Here is a look at the history of these three franchise awards:

Pete BardezBanian Award

(Named for Rivermen Hall of Fame, builders inductee, Pete BardezBanian, and awarded annually during the franchise’s IHL, ECHL, AHL and SPHL eras by the Captains’ Booster Club to the team’s most popular player.)

1983 — Brad Kempthorne, c1984 — Jerry August, d1985 — Bob “The Hammer” Fleming, w1986 — Bob “The Hammer” Fleming, w1987 — John Vecchiarelli, c1988 — Grant Rezansoff, c1989 — Darrell May, g1990 — Richard Pion, w1991 — Richard Pion, w1992 — Richard Pion, w1993 — Richard Pion, w1994 — Geoff Sarjeant, g1995 — Parris Duffus, g1996 — Ron Hoover, c1997 — Dustin McArthur, w1998 — Jean-Guy Trudel, w and Marcel Kuris, g1999 — Joe Rybar, c2000 — Luke Gruden, d2001 — Tyler Willis, c2002 — Ryan Finnerty, c2003 — Duane Derksen, g2004 — Ken Goetz, w2005 — Alfie Michaud, g2006 — Colin Hemingway, w2007 — Cam Keith, w2008 — Jean-Guy Trudel, w2009 — Eric Neilson, w2010 — Derek Armstrong, c2011 — Jake Allen, g2012 — Kyle Hagel, w2013 — Mike McKenna, g2014 — Taylor Larsen, w2015 — Matt Summers, w2016 — Matt Summer, w2017 — Ben Oskroba, d2018 — Mike Economos, w2019 — Austin Vieth, w2020 — Skyler Smutek, d2021 — no season/pandemic2022 — Zach Wilkie, d2023 — Zach Wilkie, d

Mark Olson Trophy

(Named for Rivermen Hall of Fame, builders inductee, Mark Olson, and awarded annually during the franchise’s IHL, ECHL, AHL and SPHL eras by the Captains’ Booster Club to the player who demonstrates devotion to the team, the sport and the community.)

1986 — Bob “The Hammer” Fleming, w1987 — Mike Posavad, d1988 — Dave Thomlinson, w1989 — Darrell May, g1990 — Richard Pion, w1991 — Dave Thomlinson, w1992 — Richard Pion, w1993 — Ron Hoover, c1994 — Michel Mongeau, c1995 — Rene Chapdelaine, d1996 — Ron Hoover, c1997 — Butch Kaebel, w1998 — Jean-Guy Trudel1999 — Joe Rybar, c2000 — Duane Derksen, g2001 — Blaine Fitzpatrick, w2002 — Phil Osaer, g2003 — Duane Derksen, g and Randy Rowe, w2004 — Marty Johnson, c2005 — Randy Rowe, w2006 — Charles Linglet, w2007 — Charles Linglet, w2008 — Aaron MacKenzie, d2009 — Trent Whitfield, c2010 — Chris Porter, w2011 — David Spina, w2012 — Kyle Hagel, w2013 — Mike McKenna, g2014 — Cole Ruwe, d2015 — Cole Ruwe, d2016 — Mark Corbett, d2017 — Ben Oskroba, d2018 — Alec Hagaman, w2019 — Ben Oskroba, d, and Mike Gurtler, w2020 — Robin Hoglund, w, and Drake Hunter, w2021 — no season/pandemic2022 — Alec Hagaman, w2023 — Nick Neville, d

Bruce Saurs Leadership Award

(Awarded annually, in memorial to late longtime Rivermen owner Bruce Saurs, to honor the player who shows commitment to the game and leadership on and off the ice, and contributing to efforts to grow hockey in central Illinois.)

2015 — Cole Ruwe, d2016 — Ben Oskroba, d2017 — Dan Bremner, lw, and Ben Oskroba, d2018 — Mike Economos, w, and Will Smith, c2019 — Ben Oskroba, d2020 — Eric Levine, g2021 — no season/pandemic2022 — Eric Levine, g2023 — Ben Assad, c

Source: Dave Eminian, Journal Star archives, Peoria Rivermen archives.

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A real stand-up guy in Peoria Rivermen locker room

Bert Kreischer, the stand-up comedian, podcaster, actor and reality TV host, turned up in the Peoria Rivermen locker room over the weekend.

The often-shirtless celeb was in town to do a stand-up gig at the Peoria Civic Center on Saturday night.

He made a visit to the Southern Professional Hockey League team in its workout area inside the locker room and ad-libbed a bit reading the inspirational messages painted on the team's walls.

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Time to flip that switch

The Rivermen were struggling after they opened the weekend with a 1-0 loss at home to Quad City.

At that point, they had lost six of nine games and their 10-point first-place lead had shrunk to one.

It was an aggravating game, as they attempted 104 shots, put 58 on net, saw 22 blocked and never scored.

Offensive zone time in that game? Rivermen 30, Quad City 6.

How did they lose?

"The goaltenders are better in our league this year," Trudel said. "There are guys down here now who were No. 1 goaltenders in the ECHL last season. So we can't sit on the outside and expect to beat them.

"We have to get in there, fight for that inside area. We've got some guys who are going to have to find a little bit of courage."

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Trudel allowed for the fact the team was scheduled off for 12 straight days before Friday's tilt. But he also knows this is not the time, with the playoffs looming in less than two weeks, he should have to be pushing guys to play.

"The hockey gods don't care," Trudel said. "They aren't going to do it for you. We've been, I think, a little bit in that 'Hey we already clinched a playoff spot' mode.

"We're just not hungry enough, and that's always a risk with a defending championship team, that they've been there, done that, and their bellies are a little full. We have to be in a mindset where we're funneling play to the net and getting inside. We have too many outside players right now."

They took some big strides the next two nights, blowing out Quad City on the road Saturday, 6-1, then scratching along in a 2-2 tie Sunday for 43 minutes before absolutely torturing the Storm with six unanswered goals in an 8-2 win.

Trudel felt much better about things after that, and so did his players. They clinched the Cold War on I-74 Trophy with Quad City on Saturday and huddled around it for a team photo Sunday.

"It took us a little longer to get back on track, but I think we played extremely well overall on the weekend," he said. "Winners find ways to win games."

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Coach of the Year

Trudel won a prestigious award — the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame's Tri-County Male Coach of the Year — and it was presented at a banquet on Saturday.

He wasn't there, though, as the folding of the SPHL's Vermilion County team turned what was originally a Saturday off for Peoria into a re-worked visit to Quad City.

His wife, Angie, delivered a statement from Trudel to a ballroom of about 500 guests.

"I would like to thank the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame board members for this incredible selection," Trudel wrote. "It's incredible to receive this with so many deserving coaches in the area.

"To my family, thank you for allowing me to live out my dream of being the coach of the Peoria Rivermen.

"To (Rivermen co-owner) Bart Rogers, thank you for trusting a little French Canadian a few years back, and sorry it took you so long to bring you and the city of Peoria a championship.

"To my co-workers and staff, thank you for trusting in me to lead your team. I can't say enough about the players we had last year.

"As coaches, we all have the common goal of winning and developing young athletes, but for me coaching is a lot more than that. It's about teaching and molding young minds for the years of life after sports.

"I was so fortunate to have a group of players that brought us to a championship, and for that reason, we will be forever linked."

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A fantastic finish?

The Rivermen are back on the road this weekend with a pair of games at Roanoke.

That will mark the first time the teams have met since Peoria clinched the SPHL President's Cup championship at Berglund Center last May.

So it is certain to be a contentious weekend for Peoria, which returns to Virginia with most of its championship roster.

Peoria has five games left, and closes with: at Roanoke (Fri), at Roanoke (Sat), at Quad City (Tuesday), vs Pensacola (April 7), vs Pensacola (April 7).

Right behind the Rivermen are second-place Birmingham and third-place Huntsville.

Birmingham finishes with: vs Evansville, at Macon, at Macon, at Evansville, vs Evansville.

Huntsville closes with: vs Pensacola, vs Pensacola, at Peoria, at Quad City, at Quad City.

The deadline to finalize rosters for the playoffs will be April 9.

Players have to appear in five regular-season games to be eligible for the playoffs. So in the Rivermen's case, any player they want to add to the roster for postseason play who has not been in the league yet this year will need to get here in time for Friday's game.

River Readings

Rivermen defenseman Zach Wilkie leads the SPHL with a +42 rating (no one else better than +27). It's presently the second-highest in league history. The SPHL record is +46, set by Knoxville's Jason Price in 2021-22. … Rivermen captain Alec Hagaman was a healthy scratch for Saturday's 6-1 win at Quad City. … Former Rivermen center Bailey Conger, who did not produce a point in four games with Peoria before he was released earlier this season, has 10 goals and 8 assists in his last 10 games with Knoxville. His shooting, 27.7%, leads the league. … Wilkie is trying to become the fourth Rivermen player in eight years to win SPHL Defenseman of the Year honors. He leads all SPHL defenseman with 43 points, has a career-high and league second-best 13 goals and 30 assists (second only to teammate Nick Neville)… The Rivermen have scored more goals in the third period (75) than any team in the league, but are fourth-worst in first-period goals (46). … Check the Rivermen website for information on playoff tickets.

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 celebrate team awards, and get visit from Bert Kreischer