8 must-see games for the Peoria Rivermen in 2024-25: New mascot, Olympians and more
PEORIA — The Peoria Rivermen have settled on their promotions, giveaways and appearances for the 2024-25 season.
The defending SPHL champions will wear 20 different themed jerseys in their 28 home games at Carver Arena.
All Sunday games are called Family Fun Day, in which kids get in for an $8 upper bowl ticket. There will be inflatables and face-painting and balloon art for kids at those games, which include an early 3:15 p.m. start. And fans are invited to skate with the players after the game and gather pictures and autographs. The entire promotions schedule is available on the team site.
But there are eight games that stand out as must-see nights because of their opponent, the entertainment, giveaways and jerseys the Rivermen will be presenting. The can't-miss games include:
More: How the Peoria Rivermen hockey defense just got bigger and better ahead of title defense
1. Peoria Rivermen opening night
Oct. 25: Opening night of the season, and the Rivermen will wear special SPHL championship jerseys. The President's Cup will be on hand, and the players and coaches will receive their championship rings in a pre-game ceremony. On the ice, former Rivermen captain Dan Bremner, now a veteran coach for Roanoke, will be at the opponents' helm in a game between two teams that represent the league's last three championships.
2. Olympian visits the Rivermen
Oct. 26: Rivermen will wear special Olympic silver medal jerseys to honor Germantown Hills native and U.S. Olympic swim silver medalist Anna Peplowski. She will be guest of honor and sign autographs for the fans during the rematch with Roanoke.
More: 'Amazed': Metamora gives Olympic swimmer Anna Peplowski her moment at the podium
3. Rivermen turn back the clock
Dec. 6: Rivermen will wear special jerseys commemorating the semi-pro Peoria Blades of the 1970s on Turn Back The Clock Night. The Rivermen host Huntsville, the team they clinched the championship against on the Carver Arena ice last spring. The first 1,000 spectators will get a … Rivermen plunger … courtesy Roto-Rooter.
4. Rivermen ring in the new year
Dec. 31: New Year's Eve. A 6:30 p.m. start with family ticket packages 4 for $44. Team will wear special cartoon character Scooby Doo jerseys. Big rival Quad City is the opponent.
5. A few stocking cap and special jerseys
Jan. 25: Rivermen play Birmingham on Yellowstone Night. The team will wear special jerseys themed from the hit TV series, Yellowstone, and the first 1,000 spectators get a Rivermen stocking cap.
6. Super heroes invade Peoria
Feb. 8: Rivermen host Evansville on DC Comics Night. The team will wear a different superhero jersey in each period of the game. The first 1,000 spectators will get a Rivermen 3-D LED Light Hand.
7. Rivermen get a one-night re-brand
Feb. 28: Rivermen play Knoxville on re-brand night. The team will take on a new name, with special themed jerseys to represent it. That name and concept will be released later. Last season the Rivermen re-branded as the Penicillin. Two years ago, in their inaugural re-brand, they became the Carp. First 500 kids in attendance get a Rivermen youth T-shirt.
8. Special price and jerseys for rivalry game
March 28: Rivermen host longtime rival Pensacola, whom they've eliminated from the playoffs the last two seasons. All upper bowl seats and select lower bowl for that game will be $5. The team will play in special jerseys themed from Nickelodeon character SpongeBob.
The Captain has returned … no, not that one
The Rivermen are bringing back a former mainstay mascot named "The Captain."
He is a human character dressed in a team uniform that includes a large captain's caricature head. He has been lost at sea, so to speak, since the then-Rivermen owner St. Louis Blues replaced him with a blue bear named "Barry" at the start of the 2011-12 AHL season.
The Captain served as the Rivermen mascot under late owner Bruce Saurs in the late 1990s during Peoria's ECHL era and into its AHL era before the Blues dispatched him.
He'll have a sidekick in longtime mascot Rocky, the beloved beaver who presided over the latter part of the team's old IHL era and early ECHL era from 1991-97 before yielding the stage to The Captain. The two have never been on the same team together, so to speak, at any time in the franchise's 43-year history.
"Bringing back The Captain gives us additional entertainment value at our games," said Rivermen co-owner Bart Rogers, who said the mascot's return is sponsored by Cusack Orthodontics. "Captain and Rocky have never been active with us in the same season. So for the first time, we're going to have two mascots working, something a lot of teams are starting to do.
"We look at it as double the fun. The Captain, as our main mascot and team logo, supports our team identity. Rocky remains with us and he'll always be part of our team and tradition."
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: Peoria Rivermen promotions schedule for 2024-25 SPHL hockey at Carver Arena
