8/3/2019 Rivermen Hockey Page

1/1

SUNDAYEIN TOUCH EXECUTIVE SPORTS EDITOR KIRK WESSLER 686-3216 E-MAIL kwessler@pjstar.com SPORTS DESK686-3214

JournalStar

Rivermen

UNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2012 PAGE D10

SECOND

ANNUAL

FACEOFF FIELDTRIPP E O R I A R I V E R M E N V S . M I L W A U K E E A D M I R A L S1 0 : 0 5 A . M . , T U E S D A Y , J A N U A R Y 2 4 , C A R V E R A R E N A , P E O R I A

W o r d s b y D A V E E M I N I A N P l a y e r p h o t o g r a p h s b y R O N J O H N S O N o f t h e J o u r n a l S t a r

f you are going to Tuesdays Peoria Rivermen game against the Milwaukee Admirals, you will not be in a typical classroom, but that

doesnt mean you cant learn something. Here are some facts to brush up on before the puck drops at Carver Arena:DETENTION

The referee wears an orange

arm band and is the only one

who calls penalties. The other

ofcials are linesmen, respon-

sible for monitoring offsides,

conducting faceoffs and han-

dling other procedural parts of

the game. Here are some of the

more common hockey penalty

signals, as demonstrated by

NHL referees:

INTERFERENCE

SLASHING

CROSS-

CHECKING

BOARDING

TRIPPING

HOOKING

HIGHSTICKING

HOLDING

I

The Rivermen have three AHL

All-Stars, including defenseman

Cade Fairchild (No. 27), center

T.J. Hensick (No. 7, above left)

and goaltenderBen Bishop (No.

30, above center).

Milwaukees All-Stars are

defenseman Ryan Ellis (No. 6)

and centerChris Mueller(No.

18).Milwaukee has 13 players on

its roster this season who have

reached the major-league level,

the NHL. Eleven of them have

played in the NHL this season.

The Rivermen have 12 players

who have played in the NHL. Five

of their players have been in the

NHL this season.

Rivermen winger Jonathan

Cheechoo (No. 14, above right)

won the Rocket Richa rd Trophy

as the NHLs goalscoring cham-pion with 56 goals for the San

Jose Sharks in 2005-06.

Milwaukee centerBlake

Geoffrion (No. 5) is the grand-

son of NHL Hall of Fame Legend

Boom-Boom Geoffrion.

MAJOR-LEAGUE

MOVESHOW TO GET THERE

Its not too late yet to bring

your school to the game. The

tickets are free, underwritten by

central Illinois businesses like

the Journal Star, Ameren, Busey

Bank, Shoppes at Grand Prairie,

Applebees, Olive Garden and

many others. ContactJim Foxwith

the Rivermen at (309) 680-3812.

The Rivermen travel to

many of their road games on a

custom luxury bus that sleeps

anywhere from 21-27, depend-

ing on how it is congured.

Each player has his own bunk.

There are satellite TVs inside, a

small kitchen with microwave,

a couch and bathroom. The

teams bus is a hybrid of an

RV in the back and a truck

powered with a Cat engine

up front. It has more than

285,000 miles on it.

DONT MISS THE BUS

HOMEROOMThe Rivermen teamhas talked to roughly

2,500 kids since the

start of training camp

in September, through

their Goals for Kids

school assembly pro-

gram. Your school can

still invite the team for

a visit by contacting

Nick Hand at (309)

680-3582.

Most AHL players use

hockey sticks manufac-

tured by RBK, out of an

aluminum composite ma-

terial with a Kevlar weave.

A pro players stick can

cost as much as $200.

THE STICKS

Made out of vulcanized

rubber, and are 3 inches

in diameter, 1 inch thick

and weigh between 5.5

to 6 ounces. Only four

countries manufacture them Canada, Russia, China and Czech Republic. The pucks used in Tuesdays

Rivermen game will be from Ontario, Canada company InGlasCo.

THE PUCKS

THE GOALThe goaltenders

are defending a

space that is 4 feet

high by 6 feet wide.

Rivermen goaltender

Ben Bishop is

6-foot-7, the tallest

goalie in the world.

Pictured at left is

Bishops mask.

HISTORY

LESSON

The Rivermen are in their 30th season of

professional hockey. They are one of the eight

oldest, continuous operating minor-league

hockey franchises.

The Rivermen have two Zamboni Model 500 Series ice resurfacing

machines. Frank Zamboni invented the rst ones in 1949.DRIVERS ED

The Rivermen play

in the 30-team Ameri-

can Hockey League:

Its the highest level

of pro hockey below

the National Hockey

League (which is

hockeys major

leagues). Each AHL

team is stocked with

players by an NHL

team or parent club.

The Rivermenparent club is the

St. Louis Blues.

Milwaukees is the

Nashville Predators.

GEOGRAPHY

LESSON SET YOUR ALARMThere are 27 non-Sunday day games in the AHL

this season, hosted by 16 teams. So far, the home

team is 9-5-0 in those games. Todays opponent

Milwaukee was 3-0-0 in day games last season,

all as the visit ing team. The Rivermen 10:05 a.m.

start is the earliest of them all. Players started arriv-

ing at the arena at 7:30 a.m.

Kids 12-

under can

join Rivermen

mascot Barrys

Buddies club.

For $15, kids

get tickets

to 4 games,

discounts on

merchandise,

exclusive par-

ties, invitation to

join the ice crew

during intermis-

sions, and more.

Contact the team

at (309) 676-

1040 to join.

JOINTHECLUB

Every time the River-

men score a goal, their twinKahlenberg river barge horns

sound off in the arena. They

are mounted on the wall at the

top of the arena above Section 19.

FINAL BELL

Nearly 6,000 tickets have been

distributed to area schools for

Tuesdays game. Among the larger

groups coming are Canton Ingersoll

Middle School (800 students), Peo-

rias Whittier Primary (550), Hines

Primary (350), Franklin Primary

(300), Peoria Heights Grade School

(242). And they are coming from

afar, too, as Bloomingtons Evans

Junior High will be on hand with 215

students, and Virginia High Schools

42 students will bus 75 miles to see

the game.

TAKING ATTENDANCE

The ice is about 3/4 of an inch thick, and is usually

kept at around 17-19 degrees with cooling pipes buried

in the concrete pad under the ice. Players skate faster as

the ice gets thinner and colder.

HOW THICK IS THE ICE?

SCIENCE

LESSONGame pucks

are kept in a

freezer. The cold

alters the proper-

ties in the puck

and reduces how

much it bounces

on the ice.

EA

Sports

video

game

NHL12

nc u es

e

plus all

teams and some European

and North American junior

leagues. You can play with

the Rivermen players you see

on the ice Tuesday.

RECESS