ECHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Re-sign Four; Extend Qualifying Offers to Six More

July 1, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


Peoria, Ill. (July 1, 2004) – Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jason Christie of the Peoria Rivermen of the ECHL announced today that left wings Marty Johnston, Ken Goetz and Scott Turner and right wing Joe Pereira have been re-signed for the 2004-2005 season. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Christie also announced that left wings Randy Rowe and Garett Cameron, defensemen Scott Crawford and Dan Boeser, center Adam Edinger and goaltender Mike Valley have received qualifying offers allowing the Rivermen to retain their ECHL rights. Each team was entitled to reserve rights to a maximum of eight qualified players, and of the eight no more than four could be veterans (288 regular season professional hockey games played as of the start of the upcoming 2004-2005 season).

The qualifying offer must remain open for acceptance until August 1 at which time the qualifying offer becomes null and void and the team may sign the qualified player to any salary or may elect to take no further action. Teams that extend a valid qualifying offer to a non-veteran player shall retain the rights to that qualified player for one playing season.

A team that extends a valid qualifying offer to a veteran player will retain the rights to that veteran until August 1. After August 1, if the veteran player is not signed to a contract by the team, the veteran shall be deemed a restricted free agent and shall be entitled to seek and secure offers of employment from other ECHL teams. Restricted free agents may not be traded. When a restricted free agent receives a contract offer from a team other than the team with the player's rights and the restricted free agent wishes to accept the contract offer, the restricted free agent and the offering member must, within 24 hours, notify the ECHL, the team with the player's rights and the Professional Hockey Players' Association. The member with the player's rights shall have seven days after the date it is notified to exercise its right to match the contract offer.

If a restricted free agent is not signed to either an offer sheet or a contract by an ECHL team by August 31, the player shall be deemed an unrestricted free agent.

Johnston – a 5-foot-8, 180-pound native of Gloucester, Ontario, who will be entering his third professional season – ranked second on the team in game-winning goals (T-1) and assists (T-5) and ranked third in points (7) in eight playoff games. Acquired – along with financial considerations – from the Long Beach Ice Dogs in exchange for center Alex Kim and defenseman Trevor Read on December 31, 2003, the 25-year-old Johnston scored the series-clinching goal in a 2-1 overtime victory on April 13 to defeat the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies in four games. Johnston – an alternate captain for the Rivermen, who eclipsed the 20-goal mark for the second straight season – tallied 47 points (24g, 23a) in 60 games during the 2003-2004 regular season, ranking third in goals and fifth in points with the Rivermen.

Johnston tallied four points (1g, 3a) in eight games with Long Beach after his acquisition from the Trenton Titans on December 11, 2003 with defenseman Chris Barr in exchange for defenseman Jay Leach. Johnston registered 12 points (3g, 9a) in 19 games with Trenton to open 2003-2004.

Goetz – a 5-foot-10, 185-pound left wing – completed his third professional season by tallying one assist – his first professional postseason point – in five playoff games. The 26-year-old racked up 201 penalty minutes (PIM) in 39 games between three teams during the 2003-2004 regular season, ranking him first on the Rivermen. He picked up three points (1g, 2a) and 96 PIM (including 10 majors) in 13 games with Peoria.

Goetz, acquired for financial considerations from the Florence Pride on January 13, 2004, collected 35 PIM in 15 games for Florence after his acquisition for cash on December 3 from the Louisiana IceGators, for whom he racked up 70 PIM in 11 games to open 2003-2004.

Turner – a 6-foot, 195-pound native of Anchorage, Alaska – registered 21 points (11g, 10a) in 39 games with the Rivermen during the 2003-2004 regular season before his season ended prior to the playoffs due to a hand injury. Turner, who turns 25 on July 9, ranked second among team rookies in goals and points after signing as a free agent on December 26, 2003. He left NCAA Division I University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO) 17 games into his senior season, registering five points (1g, 4a) before his departure.

Pereira – a 6-foot, 200-pound native of Abbotsford, British Columbia – completed his rookie season by collecting two points (1g, 1a) in eight playoff games. The 23-year-old racked up 144 PIM and 10 points (1g, 9a) during his rookie campaign, ranking fourth in PIM with the Rivermen during the 2003-2004 regular season and ranking fifth among ECHL rookies in majors (18). After completing a four-year career at UNO (three of which came as a teammate of Turner's) in the spring 2003, he opened last season with the expansion Texas Wildcatters, racking up 35 PIM in seven games.

Prior to an elbow injury, Rowe – a 6-foot, 198-pound native of Burford, Ontario – played his last games in 2003-2004 with the American Hockey League's (AHL) St. John's Maple Leafs, for whom the third-year professional collected seven points (3g, 4a) in 17 games over two call-ups (the first of his career). The 24-year-old left wing – who was in his third season with the Rivermen – posted his first 30-goal season with Peoria, tallying 56 points in 49 games.

Edinger, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound center acquired on November 13, 2003 from the archrival Toledo Storm along with defenseman Trevor Read, led the Rivermen in game-winning goals (2), assists (6), points (9) and plus/minus (+8) in eight playoff games. The 26-year-old native of Toledo, Ohio finished second in assists (40) and points (62) and fourth in goals (22) with the Rivermen during the 2003-2004 regular season.

Crawford – a 25-year-old native of Etobicoke, Ontario – completed his second professional season and second with the Rivermen by notching three points (1g, 2a) and a +4 plus/minus in eight playoff games. The 6-foot, 189-pound defenseman ranked first in goals (8) and second in assists (36) and points (44) among Rivermen defensemen during the 2003-2004 regular season. Named the Team's Most Improved Player (as voted on by the players) and the only Rivermen player to compete in all 72 of the team's games last year, he ranked third on the team in plus/minus (+29).

Valley – a 6-foot-1, 185-pound native of Richmond, British Columbia – completed his sixth professional season and first with the Rivermen by posting a 3-3 playoff record with a 2.15 goals against average (GAA) and a .931 save percentage in six playoff starts. The 27-year-old goaltender enjoyed four call-ups to the American Hockey League (AHL) with three different teams – the Worcester IceCats, the Manitoba Moose and the Hartford Wolf Pack during the 2003-2004 regular season. Leading Rivermen goaltenders in games played (37), minutes (2185), GAA (2.28, single-season career best and fifth-best in the ECHL) and save percentage (T-.915, single-season career best) this year, he registered a 20-8-7 record with the Rivermen; it was the first 20-win season of his career.

Cameron – a 5-foot-9, 175-pound left wing from Grandora, Saskatchewan – led the team in goals (4), tied for second in plus/minus (+6) and tied for fourth in points (6) in eight playoff games. The 21-year-old notched five points (2g, 3a) and a +2 plus/minus in 11 games with the Rivermen during the 2003-2004 regular season after signing as a free agent on March 5, 2004.

Boeser – a 6-foot, 200-pound defenseman from Savage, Minnesota – competed in one playoff game for the Rivermen in the Northern Division Semifinals, after making his professional debut in the Rivermen regular season finale in Dayton, Ohio on April 2. The 23-year-old signed as a free agent on April 1 after finishing his senior season at NCAA Division I University of Wisconsin. He served as team captain during his junior and senior seasons, collecting 22 points (8g, 14a) in 43 games last season and setting a new career mark for goals.

The Rivermen open their ninth season in the ECHL – America's Premier AA Hockey League – at home against the archrival Dayton Bombers on Friday, October 22. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Carver Arena. Season tickets for 2004-2005 are on sale now. Ticket packages start at just $299.

Check out the Peoria Rivermen Statistics



ECHL Stories from July 1, 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.

OurSports Central