EVANSVILLE, IN – There will not be a repeat for the defending SPHL President’s Cup champion Peoria Rivermen.
The Rivermen were eliminated from this year’s playoffs after a 3-1 loss at Evansville Friday. The Thunderbolts completed a two-game sweep of the Rivermen in the best-of-three semifinals.
It is the team’s first loss in the second round of the playoffs since 2023.
A decisive moment of the game came midway through the third period when Peoria’s Braydon Barker appeared to stuff home a bouncing puck on the far side of the net while Thunderbolts’ goalie Cole Ceci was down on the right side of the net with nothing but his pads covering the goal line.
The call on the ice was inconclusive and after video replay, the officials ruled they found no conclusive evidence that Barker had put the puck over the line, so the call on the ice remained “no goal.”
The loss came the same day Rivermen Head Coach Jean-Guy Trudel was named SPHL Coach of the Year after leading the Rivermen to the best record in the SPHL and the top seed in this year’s playoffs. It’s his fourth such award.
The Rivermen finished the season with 40 wins, tying a record for most wins in a season in the SPHL era. Trudel guided the Rivermen to the record despite using a roster of more than 60 players due to injuries, call-ups and other factors.
Trudel also became the first coach ever in the SPHL to record 400 wins in a career, doing it this season.
Evansville will go on to play for its first-ever President’s Cup title against the winner of the series between the Birmingham Bulls and Knoxville Ice Bears, which is tied at one game each.
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