Sports stats



ECHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Purchase AHL Franchise from the NHL's St. Louis Blues

November 9, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


Peoria, Ill. (November 9, 2004) – Co-owners Bruce Saurs and Anne Griffith of the Peoria Rivermen announced today that they have entered into an agreement to purchase the NHL's St. Louis Blues' American Hockey League (AHL) franchise, currently operating as the Worcester IceCats, and will compete as the Peoria Rivermen in the AHL in the 2005-2006 season as St. Louis' primary affiliate. It will mark the return of AAA professional hockey to Central Illinois after a nine-year absence.

The sale and relocation of the franchise are pending approval by the AHL's Board of Governors.

The Rivermen, who will enter a 24th season of professional hockey and a 15th at the AAA level in 2005-2006, expect to sign a long-term affiliation with St. Louis. Over its professional hockey history, the Rivermen have been officially affiliated with the Blues for 12 seasons, five at the AAA level (International Hockey League-IHL, 1989-1994) and seven at the AA level (ECHL, 1998-Present), and have captured a 1991 IHL Turner Cup Championship (including a still-world-record 18-game winning streak under Head Coach Bob Plager) and a 2000 ECHL Kelly Cup Championship. As an independent, the Rivermen captured their first IHL Turner Cup in 1985.

The organization, which has graduated 91 players/coaches to the NHL after their time in Peoria, will retain the Rivermen name, logo and colors.

Saurs said the agreement is one of the greatest achievements in Peoria professional hockey history.

"We are absolutely elated to be moving back to the AAA level, and we feel this is a great day for our faithful and supportive season ticket holders and fans and our strong and loyal corporate partners," Saurs remarked. "We have continually tried to improve the hockey product we put on the ice each and every season, and obviously, this accomplishes that in a big way. Now, if a call-up occurs, fans will have an opportunity to see a player compete in Peoria one night and see them play in the NHL the next night."

Griffith, who is one of the few female owners in professional hockey, echoed Saurs' sentiments.

"This brings a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication to a successful conclusion," Griffith said. "We can't thank our season ticket holders and corporate partners enough because without their fantastic support this would not be possible. We are delighted to have a first class partner in the Blues.

"We also want to thank Debbie Ritschel and the hard-working Peoria Civic Center staff," Griffith continued. "With expansion and renovation just around the corner, our new AHL affiliation announcement couldn't have come at a better time for both parties. We look forward to continuing our strong partnership with the Civic Center for years to come."

President and CEO of the Blues and Savvis Center Mark Sauer shares Saurs' and Griffith's excitement.

"Bruce and Anne approached us and made a substantial offer to purchase the IceCats, and as a result the St. Louis Blues will be in a stronger position financially regarding player development," Sauer said. "And it's a plus for hockey fans in St. Louis and Peoria. The Blues-Peoria partnership was key in driving interest in our sport at all levels during the late 1980s and early 1990s. We look forward to rekindling that enthusiasm starting in 2005."

The Rivermen, who will play a 40-game home schedule as opposed to a 36-game ECHL slate, are expected to compete in what is now the AHL's West Division in 2005-2006, battling such close geographic rivals as the Chicago Wolves, the Milwaukee Admirals, the Grand Rapids Griffins, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks and the Iowa Stars (who will operate out of Des Moines and the Wells Fargo Arena, beginning play in the 2005-2006 AHL season as well). The Houston Aeros, San Antonio Rampage and the Utah Grizzlies also reside in the West Division.

As part of the affiliation agreement, the St. Louis Blues will provide up to 22 players to the Rivermen. St. Louis will also be responsible for all hockey operation decisions, including the hiring of a head coach, assistant coach, equipment manager and athletic trainer.

"This move also controls our expenses on the hockey operations side of the business," said Team President/General Manager Bart Rogers. "The Blues will hire all hockey personnel and support every aspect of hockey operations, which will place the team in a more sound financial position. We are presently self-insured in the ECHL, and with our affiliation agreement, we won't have to contend with that issue and with the complex, complicated workers compensation laws in the State of Illinois."

Rogers said the geographic proximity to St. Louis will also pave the way for marketing partnerships.

"Our affiliation will also create a tremendous opportunity to develop cross-market promotions with St. Louis," Rogers said. "We'll have an opportunity to not only draw fans from St. Louis but encourage our fan base to attend Blues games through an array of unique marketing initiatives. We look forward to developing a strong alliance on this front and making it happen."

The Rivermen will join 28 other clubs in the AHL, which serves as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. Having just commenced its 69th season of operation in October, the AHL had more than 6.6 million fans attend games across North America in 2003-2004. More than 80 percent of all players that competed in the NHL last year were AHL graduates, and more than 400 players took the ice in both leagues.

Check out the Peoria Rivermen Statistics

• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...

ECHL Stories from November 9, 2004


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Peoria Rivermen Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central