PEORIA, Ill. – Players and fans of the Peoria Rivermen came together to celebrate the team’s second Southern Professional Hockey League title in three years.
The Rivermen won the President’s Cup on Sunday at Carver Arena with a 5-1 victory over the Huntsville Havoc in a winner-take-all Game 3.
On Friday, the team paraded through downtown Peoria on top of a fire truck, then came together at the Peoria Civic Center for a celebration of the season.
“Our players and our staff got to celebrate on the ice on Sunday, but this is for the fans,” said Bart Rogers, Rivermen team owner. “For their turn to celebrate, and touch the Cup and meet the players. So it’s an exciting night to see the Exhibit Hall packed, and great send off for the team.”
Rogers says this year’s championship was different from the one in 2022, because 2024’s Cup was won on home ice. He says it was an “incredible feeling” to have 5900 fans celebrating the victory in person.
Rogers says this year’s team was special, because of the veteran players that were part of the core of the team.
“This team was unique in that it won two championships in three years, and most of the team, the core group, was back for that year. So those guys will be able to come back and people will remember them forever,” Rogers said.
Rogers specifically mentioned captain and Peoria-native Alec Hagaman, who is retiring after this season and was able to go out on top. He is hopeful that Hagaman’s number will be retired alongside some of the other Rivermen greats from the past.
For center Alec Baer, sending Hagaman out a winner made this season special.
“We’ve been together for three years now, we’ve been on the same line for three years,” Baer said. “Just a really important friend in my life, and he was just kind of the leader we needed. And probably one of the best leaders I’ll ever play with.”
Baer says the team was still confident after needing to win two games at home last weekend to win the Cup. He also says support from the fans helped the team throughout the season.
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