PEORIA — Will 2018 bring a championship celebration for the Peoria Rivermen? At the very least, there will be plenty of moments to remember.
To that end, my look back at the 10 biggest moments for the Rivermen in calendar 2017, which touched the latter half of the 2016-17 season and the first half of 2017-18.
There were great individual performances, like a hat trick by defenseman Donald Olivieri, and great team performances, like a run to the SPHL Finals that ended in heartbreak at Macon, Ga.
But these are the 10 moments I'll roll with because they were most meaningful either historically, emotionally, or just plain cool:
• Canadian mega-millionaire Bill Yuill buys 80 percent of the Rivermen with his Consolidated Sports Holdings International in late August, and the team signs a new three-year lease with the Civic Center.
• Legendary late Rivermen owner Bruce Saurs is honored with a street named Bruce Saurs Way, outside Carver Arena, in a Nov. 25 ceremony.
• Longtime Rivermen play-by-play voice Norm Ulrich, who worked more than 1,400 games for the franchise before retiring, dies in late October.
• Adam Masso, a longtime Rivermen fan who has Down Syndrome, is signed to a one-game contract as an assistant coach, dresses up in a suit, and joins the coaching staff on the bench to lead a 6-4 win over Roanoke at Carver Arena on March 3.
• The Columbus Cottonmouths team bus crashes in Morton on the way to Carver Arena for a game on Jan. 19. The Rivermen, joined by the local hockey community and players and teams from all over the minors, come together to help the battered Columbus team recover.
• The Rivermen wear terrific military themed uniforms — featuring aircraft from Peoria's local military bases — and players are joined by youth hockey players on the ice as all hold a giant American flag in a Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 11.
• Rivermen winger Alec Hagaman and his girlfriend host a baby gender reveal ceremony at center ice in Carver Arena — in which he strikes a puck filled with pink or blue powder — and then he surprises his girlfriend with a marriage proposal.
• Rivermen goaltender Storm Phaneuf finds himself in a fight at Knoxville with 6-foot-6 enforcer Tyler Howe in a Dec. 16 game, after which both teams tangle at center ice and Howe is suspended eight games by the league.
• Former Rivermen captain Dan Bremner is hired as new head coach at Roanoke, and makes his first return to Carver Arena in what is his second game on the job on Dec. 23.
• Chicago Cubs World Series MVP Ben Zobrist is guest at the Jan. 21 game, meets with players in locker room afterward, and Rivermen win 5-4 in OT before 8,396 — their largest crowd in five years. He meets with players from Columbus team whose bus crashed in Morton two days earlier.
AHL PIPELINE: Another former Rivermen player has risen from the SPHL club to a team in the Triple-A American Hockey League.
Former Peoria center Terrence Wallin has been called-up to AHL Binghamton, the primary farm club of NHL New Jersey.
Wallin notched 12 goals with 11 assists in just 33 games for the Rivermen in 2015-16, and was with Peoria for 10 games last season before leaving for the ECHL.
He had 10 goals and 12 assists in 30 games for ECHL Adirondack this season.
"I'm very proud of Wally," Rivermen coach Jean-Guy Trudel said. "He's a great kid who wanted to learn here every day.
"We are very proud as an organization to have him, and a few other players, reach the AHL from Peoria."
NEW YEAR'S GOAL(TENDERS): Rivermen goaltender Eric Levine says he will have surgery on his right knee for a torn meniscus on Wednesday.
It's a crossroads moment for Levine and the Rivermen. If the meniscus can be repaired, the goaltender will likely be ruled out for the season while recovering.
If it is deemed unrepairable, and removed via surgery, he will be able to play again this season, but at the risk of longterm discomfort to his knee.
"If it's the latter, doctors say I can play but would probably need a knee replacement by age 45," Levine said. "It's such a tough situation. We'll find out Wednesday which way it goes, I guess."
Rivermen goaltender Storm Phaneuf seems headed for surgery on his hamstring, as well. By week's end, it's possible both halves of Peoria's goaltending tandem could be done for the season.
RIVER READINGS: The Rivermen resume action with a Friday game at Mississippi, then come home to host Knoxville on Saturday at Carver Arena. That Knoxville-Peoria game marks the first meeting between the rivals since a post-game clash in mid-December at Knoxville in which Peoria goaltender Storm Phaneuf ended up in a fight with 6-foot-6 Knoxville enforcer Tyler Howe. The latter drew an eight-game suspension. ... The Rivermen will distribute 750 replica youth jerseys to kids 12 and younger at Saturday's game. ... Rivermen defenseman and captain Dave Pszenyczny is tied for second in the SPHL with 18 assists. ... Veteran Peoria goaltender Eric Levine is third in the SPHL with a 2.60 goals-against, 10-2-0 record and .921 saves rate. ... The Rivermen roared out of 2017 on a 13-3-1 run, and open the new year in second place in the SPHL, three points behind leader Pensacola. ... Evansville put enforcer Al Graves on SPHL waivers Monday. ... Former Rivermen captain Dan Bremner, five games into his pro coaching career, is 2-2-1 at Roanoke. He earned his first win, 7-3 at Fayetteville, on Friday, as the Dawgs have surged up into a playoff slot.
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 items on Twitter @icetimecleve.