The Peoria Rivermen kicked off their 45th season Saturday, but it wasn’t the start they wanted, dropping their 2026-27 SPHL opener 3-2 to Quad City in front of 4,296 fans at Vibrant Arena at the MARK in Moline. This marks the fifth straight year Peoria has opened its season against these longtime rivals, and the back-and-forth wins continue, with Quad City taking this one after Peoria won the opener last year.
First Period Stingers and a Familiar Face
Things started tight, with both rivals scoreless and tied 9-9 in shots until the final three minutes of the opening period. Then, Quad City snagged the game’s first power play and unleashed a flurry of shots. With just 86 seconds left in the period, and right after the power play expired, the Storm grabbed a 1-0 lead. It was former Rivermen player and now Storm captain Tommy Tsicos who jammed a shot on a backdoor play at the right post past veteran goaltender Nick Latinovich. You gotta hate seeing a former guy come back to haunt you like that.
Second Period Swings and a Rookie’s Debut
Peoria fought back early in the second, tying it up on a power play at 3:29. Rookie right wing Everett Pietila, in his pro debut no less, cleaned up a rebound in traffic at the right post against 31-year-old, 6-foot-6 Russian goaltender Andrei Filonenko. What a way to get your first pro goal! But the momentum didn’t last. Peoria faded late in the period yet again, giving up two goals in the final 4:15. Devin Sanders put away an uncovered puck after an initial shot trickled away from Latinovich, making it 2-1 at 15:45. Then, with a brutal 9.8 seconds left in the period, Finnish winger Eelis Laaksonen skated into the right circle and flipped a shot through Latinovich for the eventual game-winner, pushing the lead to 3-1. That’s a gut punch right before the break.
A Late Push That Fell Short
The Rivermen scratched their way back to a 3-2 deficit at 9:27 of the third period thanks to veteran Braydon Barker. His shot, while skating down the backside of the slot, was set up by a nice pass out of the left corner from Mike Gelatt. Peoria pulled Latinovich for an extra attacker with over two minutes left, pushing hard for the equalizer, but they just couldn’t tie it up. So close, but no cigar.
Next up, the Rivermen finally head home for their home opener at Carver Arena this Saturday, October 24th, where they’ll host the expansion Pee Dee team. After a tough loss to their rivals, you know they’ll be looking to bounce back hard and show their home crowd what they’re truly made of.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply