SPHL semifinals: Everything to know about the Peoria Rivermen series against Evansville

Apr 15, 2025, 10:01 AM

SPHL semifinals: Everything to know about the Peoria Rivermen series against Evansville

PEORIA — Will the Peoria Rivermen be able to deliver a roster surprise for the SPHL semifinals?

Injured stars Zach Wilkie and Mike McChesney — both of whom missed the first round of the postseason because of injuries suffered in late March — were said to be skating in practice this week. If they are ready, they could be added to the roster and make a return against Evansville in another physical, tight clash between two of the league's northernmost teams.

The No. 1 seed Rivermen will look for any edge they can get against a No. 7 seed Evansville Thunderbolts team that beat them in their last two meetings of the season and upset the No. 2 seeded Huntsville team in the first round.

Evansville is riding a hot goaltender in Cole Ceci, who leads the postseason with a 1.57 goals-against and .963 saves rate. The Rivermen, meanwhile, won their first-round battle with longtime rival Quad City while rostering 12 rookies among their 20 players, including the entire six-man defense unit.

Can that inexperienced defensive group hold up another round? Can Evansville upset the No. 2 and No. 1 seeds in the playoffs and go to the President's Cup Finals? Can the Rivermen get through the semifinals for a berth in the President's Cup for a third time in four years?

The answers start arriving with Game 1 on Wednesday.

SPHL playoffs: Peoria vs Evansville by the numbers

Here's a look at the best-of-3 SPHL playoff semifinals series between No. 1 seed Peoria Rivermen and No. 7 seed Evansville Thunderbolts.

Records: Rivermen 40-10-6, 86 pts, 1st in SPHL. Evansville 24-24-8, 56 pts, 7th in SPHL.
'24-25 season series: Rivermen, 8-3-1
All-time series: Rivermen, 63-19-11
Coaches: Rivermen, Jean-Guy Trudel (10th yr, 435-159-68). Evansville, Jeff Bes, 5th yr (136-123-23)
Won President's Cup: Peoria, 2022, 2024.
Offense: Rivermen 1st (3.86). Evansville 8th (2.66)
Defense: Rivermen 1st (2.18). Evansville 5th (3.07)
Power play: Rivermen 1st (26.3%). Evansville 5th (18.9%).
Penalty kill: Rivermen 1st, (.852). Evansville 5th (.819)

What to know: It's possible top two-way forward Mike McChesney and likely SPHL Defenseman of the Year Zach Wilkie — both of whom missed the first round with injuries — could make a surprise return to the roster and play in the semifinals. They are key power play pieces, although Peoria's power play regrouped in first round without them and logged the top ranking in the SPHL postseason. The Rivermen roster went through 61 players because of injuries and call-ups, and opened the playoffs with 12 rookies on the 20-man roster, including the entire defense unit. Peoria winger/defenseman Jordan Ernst led SPHL with 37 goals and notched an OT GWG in Game 1 vs QC. Likely SPHL Goaltender of Year Colby Muise (league record 8 shutouts) was ill and did not play in the first round, and veteran Nick Latinovich took the net and got Peoria to the semis.

The goaltending: Evansville goaltender Cole Ceci went 17-17-5 with a 2.98 goals-against and a .910 saves rate during the season. He was 3-6-0 with a 4.30 goals-against and .861 saves rate.

Rivermen goaltender Colby Muise was 23-3-4 with a league-best 1.68 and .933 saves rate, plus a league-record 8 shutouts. Muise was 5-1-0 with a 1.87 goals-against and .926 saves rate against Evansville.

Peoria veteran goaltender Nick Latinovich did not play against Evansville. He was 3-1-0 in the regular-season with a 1.51 goals-against and .938 saves rate, with one shutout.

In the playoffs, Latinovich is 2-0 with a 2.40 goals-against and .906 saves rate, ranked fifth. Ceci is No. 1 at 2-1 with a 1.57 goals-against and a .966 saves rate.

Watch these players: Of the top 12 scorers in the SPHL regular-season, only Rivermen captain Alec Baer (3rd, 23g, 44a), winger Jordan Ernst (5th, 37g, 20a) and defenseman Zach Wilkie (6th, 13g, 43a) remain alive in the playoffs. ... Rivermen winger Mike McChesney led the SPHL with 6 game-winning goals. ... Ernst led the league with 37 goals. ... Wilkie led the SPHL with a +34 rating. ... Evansville's Scott Kirton led the Bolts in the regular-season against Peoria with 4 goals and 7 assists in 10 games. ... Baer led the season series against Evansville with 4 goals, 12 assists in 11 games. Wilkie was next with 2 goals, 12 assists in 10 games, and Ernst followed with 8 goals and 2 assists in 11 games.

Consider this: The Rivermen won the season series 8-3-1, but were 4-2-0 at Evansville. The Thunderbolts beat Peoria at Ford Center in the final two games of the season series. Most of the rookie-laden version of the Rivermen faced Evansville only once, a 3-2 overtime loss on the road March 30. ... Evansville closed the regular-season with seven losses in eight games. ... Peoria closed out 7-0-1. ... Evansville's penalty kill has erased 10 of 11 chances in the playoffs. Peoria's is 6 of 7.

Massey computer says: Rivermen in 3.

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: How the Peoria Rivermen match up with Evansville in the SPHL semifinals

Source: SPHL semifinals: Everything to know about the Peoria Rivermen series against Evansville

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SPHL playoffs: Peoria vs Evansville by the numbers

SPHL playoffs: Peoria vs Evansville by the numbers

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