Rivermen Travel to Birmingham to Take on Bulls in Weekend Road Series
SPHL Peoria Rivermen

Rivermen Travel to Birmingham to Take on Bulls in Weekend Road Series

Published on January 7, 2026 under SPHL (SPHL)
Peoria Rivermen News Release


PEORIA, IL - The Peoria Rivermen (19-8-1) are set to travel to Birmingham, Alabama, for a weekend road series against the Birmingham Bulls (9-13-5) this Friday and Saturday, January 9 and 10 at 7:00 pm Central time. Peoria will be back on home ice on January 17 and 18 against the Quad City Storm.

THE DETAILS

Now in first place in the SPHL, the Peoria Rivermen will hit the road for their first road series since early December. This will be the first and only series between Peoria and Birmingham this regular season. The Rivermen are 12-2-6-6 all-time against the Bulls. Face-off at the Pelham Civic Complex is set for 7:00 pm on both nights. Fans can watch live on FloHockey.com. They can also listen for free on Mixlr. The Rivermen will also be hosting a free watch party on Friday night at Raber Packing Company (300 0 W. Farmington Road, West Peoria, IL), starting at 7:00 pm.

WHY IT MATTERS

Following their three-game weekend sweep of the Knoxville Ice Bears, the Rivermen are in first place in the standings for the first time all season. Their hold on the league is tenuous. The Rivermen are only a single point ahead of the second-place Huntsville Havoc, and two points ahead of the third-place Pensacola Ice Flyers. The Rivermen need a strong weekend to hold on to their lead.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Peoria is coming off a three-game weekend sweep ok the Knoxville Ice Bears at Carver Arena last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The weekend saw Khaden Henry notch two goals in all three games to end the weekend with six goals and one assist (seven points) for which he was named SPHL/Warrior Hockey Player of the Week. Goaltender Jack Bostedt also finished the weekend with a pair of wins, including his third shutout on Saturday, before allowing just one goal on Sunday. On the weekend, Bostedt made 63 saves on 6 4 shots on net. The Rivermen are now 9-0-1 in their last ten games and are one of the hottest teams in the SPHL.

WHO'S HOT

Rivermen forwards Khaden Henry and Garrett Devine have earned special attention as of late. Henry, with his six goals and one assist last weekend, has been named the SPHL's Player of the Week on Tuesday. The rookie forward has accumulated 16 points (12 goals, 4 assists) over 11 games and is quickly being discussed as a potential rookie of the year candidate. Not to be outdone, Henry's linemate Garrett Devine was named SPHL Player of the Month for December on Wednesday, January 7, following a 15-point (7 goa ls, 8 assists) performance in the final month of 2025. Devine added two assists this past weekend against Knoxville.

RIVERMEN IN THE NEWS

Peoria defenseman Ayodele Adeniye was recently the focus of a story from WEEK Channel 25 this week, focusing on Adeniye surprising one of his biggest fans for his birthday party last month and being an inspiration not only to the young man but all children of color in the Peoria community looking to be involved in the game of hockey. The story can be viewed HERE.

SCOUTING THE BULLS

The Birmingham Bulls have had a rough start to 2026, falling 8-0 and 4-1 to the Huntsville Havoc last weekend. This comes after a five-game winning streak to end the 2025 calendar year. The Bulls are led up front by forward Arkhip Ledziankou, who has 26 points (8 goals, 18 assists) on the season, with 11 of those points coming in the last seven games.

Check out the Peoria Rivermen Statistics

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