Now that was impressive.
Three games, three nights, three cities?
No problem.
Just 14 skaters?
No problem.
An Indiana jinx thing?
No problem.
The Peoria Rivermen roared out of 2017 with a 5-2 win Sunday over the Evansville Thunderbolts before 3,346 at Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.
Peoria swept the weekend with a shorthanded roster, closed out the year with four straight wins and 10 in 12 outings and remained in second place in the SPHL.
If the other half of the Rivermen team ever shows up from the ECHL again, there could be something special in the works on the ice in Peoria in 2018.
"It's just a beautiful thing to watch right now," said Rivermen head coach Jean-Guy Trudel, by phone. "We're playing so well, situational hockey. That's the thing that takes the longest to teach, and our guys are picking it up now.
"When you play three-in-threes, that third game is always the same, you can win it in the first period, and that's pretty much what we did."
Alec Hagaman notched two goals, Jacob Barber had three assists and the Rivermen won a New Year's Eve game for the first time ever in the state of Indiana.
The Rivermen played a New Year's Eve road game for just the fourth time in 19 years. They were 0-5 in Indiana in year-ending games until Sunday.
Those losses were epic over the 36-year expanse of the franchise, like a 9-1 demolition at Fort Wayne in 1993-94, and a 12-2 mess at Fort Wayne in 1982-83.
The Rivermen took a 1-0 lead at 10:10 of the first period when Alec Hagaman beat goaltender Jonah Imoo.
Hagaman gave Peoria a 2-0 lead at 3:22 of the second period when he slipped behind the defense and walked in from the left circle.
The Rivermen made it 3-0 at 6:58 when Mike Economos and Barber skated in two-on-one. Economos kept the puck and had an initial shot stopped by Imoo, but put in his own rebound as he continued on toward the net.
The Thunderbolts got on the board with a power play from Tyler Vankleef at 9:42, but the Rivermen restored their three-goal lead 1:47 later when Ryan Siiro blasted a one-timer from above the right hashmarks past Imoo for 4-1.
Evansville picked up a goal in the opening minute of the third period, but again Peoria stretched its lead to three goals when Jordan Carvalho put away a rebound off a two-on-one break at 10:02.
RIVER READINGS: The Rivermen are 17-12-2 on New Year's Eve in their 36-year franchise history. ... Rivermen winger Alec Hagaman's two goals extended his pointscoring streak to 13 games, matching Huntsville's Sy Nutkevitch for longest in the SPHL this season. Hagaman has points in all but three of his games this season. ... Rivermen winger Dakota Klecha (concussion protocol) was a scratch. ... Journal Star 3 Stars: 1 Rivermen, Alec Hagaman (2 goals, +4). 2 Rivermen, Jacob Barber (3 assists, +3). 3 Rivermen, Ryan Siiro (1 goal, 1 assist, +3, 6 SOG). ... The Rivermen resume action with a road game Friday at Mississippi, then host a rematch with Knoxville on Saturday.
Dave Eminian covers the Rivermen for the Journal Star. Reach him at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Check out his videos on Youtube.com/pjstarcom and news blasts on Twitter @icetimecleve.