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*Home Games in BOLD; all times are CST – ALL games are broadcast live on Hippie 101.1 FM, streamed live on www.rivermen.net. Video broadcasts are available through www.AHLlive.com on a pay-per-view basis.

Wednesday, April 8 – The last chance for $8 tickets in the Pilots’ House. TICKETS

Saturday, April 11 – Fan Appreciation Night. Thousands of dollars in prizes will be given away to fans throughout the night as part of UFS Downtown Outlet/Ralph Rashid Fan Appreciation Night. TICKETS

vs. Chicago (4/1): The Peoria Rivermen notched their fourth consecutive win in their pivotal playoff push with a 3-0 shutout over the Chicago Wolves at Carver Arena on Wednesday night. Manny Legace made 30 saves for his third shutout of the season and set and Rivermen AHL record in the process.    Read More…

vs. Houston (4/3): It only took the Peoria Rivermen two shots against Houston Aeros’ netminder Rejean Beauchemin to take a 2-0 lead as they went on to secure a 3-1 win Friday night at Carver Arena, as well as a little breathing room in the West Division standings.  It was the Rivermen’s fifth consecutive win overall and their 10^th straight win on home ice.  Read More…

@ Quad City (4/4): For the second time in their AHL history, the Peoria Rivermen are headed to the Calder Cup playoffs after a 2-1 victory over the Quad City Flames at the iWireless Center on Saturday night. The win for Peoria made them the second team to clinch a playoff spot in the West Division and opened up a four-point lead on both Rockford and Houston for home ice in the first round. Read More…

Where they stand…With 3 games left to play, the Peoria Rivermen have solidified a playoff berth and are just two points away from securing a second place finish and home ice in the first round of the playoffs. Both Rockford (84) and Houston (84) are tied for third place and the final playoff spot in the West Division. They are both one point away from clinching a spot and officially knocking out Quad City (79). Milwaukee (103) has won the division. Defending Calder Cup Champion Chicago(77), Iowa (79) and San Antonio (74) have all been eliminated.   

Playoff Bound…The Rivermen wrapped up their first playoff berth since the 2005-06 season. It will be just their second appearance since joining the AHL. If the Rivermen can finish in second place it would be their highest finish in the standings. In their only other playoff season they finished in third place with a record of 46-26-8 (100 points) and were swept out in the first round by Houston. 

Defense wins championships… Unless the Rivermen can score 13 goals over their final three games they will set a mark for the fewest goals scored by an AHL Rivermen team. Their 208 goals is currently tied (with Houston) for fewest by a playoff eligible team. Peoria’s 205 goals allowed is 21 goals less than their previous best during the 2005-06 season.  

Three Party…Since the beginning of March, the Rivermen have scored three goals or more in 12 of their 17 games. They are 11-0-1 in those 12 games. On the season Peoria is 33-7-3 when scoring three or more in a game while just 9-24-1 when scoring two or fewer.

Sixth Sense…Peoria’s six-game winning streak is their longest of the season but three shy of their AHL record. The Rivermen won nine consecutive games last season between January 4-18. 

Carving the Competition…The Rivermen continued their hot stretch on home ice by winning their ninth and 10^th straight home games over the weekend. Already an AHL-franchise record, the Rivermen have not lost at home since falling 3-1 to Chicago on February 21. After starting the season with an 11-3-1 at Carver Arena, the Rivermen struggled going 1-9-1 over their next 11 home games. Since Feb. 18, the Rivermen have turned things back around by winning 11 of their last 12 home games.

History in the making…The Rivermen have won 10 consecutive home games, the first time they have won more than five since joining the American Hockey League prior to the 2005-06 season. Their previous high of five was accomplished between Dec. 18, 2005 – Jan. 14, 2006. This season they have set both the longest home winning (current) and losing (Jan. 7 – Feb. 15, six games) streaks in their history. 

23+11+25=GOALS …When Trent Whitfield, Yan Stastny, and Chris Porter were put on the same line they immediately became the biggest offensive threat for the Rivermen. Since March 15 (when they all had a three-point night), the line has combined for 13 of the team’s 32 total goals over the stretch of 11 games.   

Milestones…Jeff Cowan is three points away from his 100^th AHL point and three assists shy of 100 as a professional. Steve Regier is one point shy of his 200^th professional point. Julian Talbot needs three points for 150 as a pro. Trent Whitfield needs 12 more points to become a member of the AHL’s exclusive 500 point club. He needs four more goals for 200 and eight more assists for 300 during his AHL career. 

Power Play…Peoria’s power play went 3-for-11 this week and are now eight for their last 23 overall (34.8%). They had scored at least one PPG in four straight games before being held to 0-for-2 on Saturday in Quad City. The Rivermen have scored on the man advantage in five of their last seven games.    

Penalty Kill...The Rivermen have killed off 90 of the last 101 (89.1%) power plays against them and 109 of the last 122 (89.3%), dating back to Feb. 8. Peoria has only allowed multiple power-play goals once (Mar. 22 @ HOU) since February 6 and have allowed none in 15 of their 27 games since then. Peoria is tied for second in the league with 15 shorthanded goals, three back of Hartford. 

WEEK 27 PREVIEW

04/04/2009 Aaron Palushaj (RW) ADD Signed to ATO

04/04/2009 James Livingston (RW) DEL Released from ATO

04/04/2009 Ivan Vishnevskiy (D) DEL Recalled from loan by Dallas (NHL)