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PEORIA — Ron Hoover had a lot of great memories playing for the Peoria Rivermen in the original International Hockey League.
He added another one on Saturday as the retired center was inducted into the Rivermen Hall of Fame.
Hoover was the guest of honor at the Rivermen SPHL regular-season finale, a 2-1 overtime loss to Roanoke before 4,733 at Carver Arena.
Roanoke won the game with 15 seconds left in sudden-death when it opted to pull its goaltender for an extra attacker and got a four-on-three winner from Gustav Muller.
The game meant nothing to the Rivermen, who were long ago locked into the No. 1 seed for the upcoming SPHL playoffs. It was a huge game for Roanoke, though, which moved up a slot to the No. 3 seed with its gambit.
Hoover, meanwhile, took his place in the 44-year Peoria franchise's Hall of Fame.
"It was awesome," Hoover, 59, said after the on-ice induction ceremony. "To be here, and on that ice again … to remember all the great players I was fortunate to play with here, just such a true honor. I was standing there thinking how much I missed those great times."
A tribute video played overhead, with former Rivermen teammates Dominic Lavoie, Ricky Pion, Darren Veitch, Geoff Sarjeant, Mark Bassen, Butch Kaebel and Eric Fenton all sharing congrats and stories.
"I just want to congratulate you on your induction into the Rivermen Hall of Fame," Pion said. "You were a great teammate and linemate, and definitely a fan favorite."
Said ex-NHLer and 1990-91 Rivermen Turner Cup champions defenseman Veitch: "It was an honor to play with you and have you as a teammate, and you're an even better friend."
Hoover was a 6-foot-1, 185-pound center for the Rivermen who delivered high-quality play at both ends from the 1991-92 through 1995-96 seasons.
He was sent to the Rivermen by the parent club St. Louis Blues for the 1991-92 season, the campaign in which Peoria was defending its Turner Cup title in the class-AAA IHL.
The ironman played at least 70 games four times on the way to a Peoria career that included 359 regular-season games, 114 goals and 106 assists. He played another 41 games in the playoffs for the Rivermen, with 7 goals and 10 assists.
Hoover, an Oakville, Ontario native, saw both his children, Nicole and Matt, born in Peoria while he played here. His son went on to play in the ECHL for Utah in 2020-21.
Hoover was a Western Michigan University product who played 28 games in the NHL for Boston and St. Louis. He played another 137 in the class-AAA American Hockey League before coming to the Rivermen.
He played for Harold Snepsts on Peoria's 1991-92 team that went 48-25-9 and finished second to eventual IHL champion Kansas City.
He played for Paul MacLean in his final three seasons, which included a 51-win division and Eastern Conference champion in 1993-94 and a 51-win division champion in 1994-95.
Sarjeant anchored the Rivermen net on those latter two teams.
"You scored a lot of big goals for us and you were a great player," the goaltender said. "But you were an even better person."
Those Rivermen teams were powerhouses in the early 1990s, and Hoover was with them until their IHL era ended after the 1995-96 season and Peoria moved down to the ECHL.
Hoover went on to play 667 games in a pro career that lasted nine seasons. He never forgot his Peoria days, and Peoria fans never forgot him.
"For me, it's a great honor to be part of all the great players who have been inducted," Hoover said. "Guys like Doug Evans, Michel Mongeau, Darren Veitch so many great players from that era. Peoria was the longest place we stayed at in my career, we started our family there.
"I think of those years and the importance, the impact of good people, good friendships, successful teams. You need talent, but you also need a group that gets along, all working for a common goal.
"There's so many people to thank for this honor, so many great memories."
The Rivermen players headed upstairs into the outer concourse at Carver Arena for pictures, autographs and a thank you meet-and-greet with fans, an annual tradition after the final regular-season game.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star senior writer and 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 [email protected]. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria Rivermen Hall of Fame inductee reflects on his hockey journey
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He added another one on Saturday as the retired center was inducted into the Rivermen Hall of Fame.
Hoover was the guest of honor at the Rivermen SPHL regular-season finale, a 2-1 overtime loss to Roanoke before 4,733 at Carver Arena.
Roanoke won the game with 15 seconds left in sudden-death when it opted to pull its goaltender for an extra attacker and got a four-on-three winner from Gustav Muller.
The game meant nothing to the Rivermen, who were long ago locked into the No. 1 seed for the upcoming SPHL playoffs. It was a huge game for Roanoke, though, which moved up a slot to the No. 3 seed with its gambit.
Hoover, meanwhile, took his place in the 44-year Peoria franchise's Hall of Fame.
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"It was awesome," Hoover, 59, said after the on-ice induction ceremony. "To be here, and on that ice again … to remember all the great players I was fortunate to play with here, just such a true honor. I was standing there thinking how much I missed those great times."
A tribute video played overhead, with former Rivermen teammates Dominic Lavoie, Ricky Pion, Darren Veitch, Geoff Sarjeant, Mark Bassen, Butch Kaebel and Eric Fenton all sharing congrats and stories.
"I just want to congratulate you on your induction into the Rivermen Hall of Fame," Pion said. "You were a great teammate and linemate, and definitely a fan favorite."
Said ex-NHLer and 1990-91 Rivermen Turner Cup champions defenseman Veitch: "It was an honor to play with you and have you as a teammate, and you're an even better friend."
A glorious career
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Hoover was a 6-foot-1, 185-pound center for the Rivermen who delivered high-quality play at both ends from the 1991-92 through 1995-96 seasons.
He was sent to the Rivermen by the parent club St. Louis Blues for the 1991-92 season, the campaign in which Peoria was defending its Turner Cup title in the class-AAA IHL.
The ironman played at least 70 games four times on the way to a Peoria career that included 359 regular-season games, 114 goals and 106 assists. He played another 41 games in the playoffs for the Rivermen, with 7 goals and 10 assists.
You must be registered for see images attach
Hoover, an Oakville, Ontario native, saw both his children, Nicole and Matt, born in Peoria while he played here. His son went on to play in the ECHL for Utah in 2020-21.
Hoover was a Western Michigan University product who played 28 games in the NHL for Boston and St. Louis. He played another 137 in the class-AAA American Hockey League before coming to the Rivermen.
He played for Harold Snepsts on Peoria's 1991-92 team that went 48-25-9 and finished second to eventual IHL champion Kansas City.
He played for Paul MacLean in his final three seasons, which included a 51-win division and Eastern Conference champion in 1993-94 and a 51-win division champion in 1994-95.
There to the end
You must be registered for see images attach
Sarjeant anchored the Rivermen net on those latter two teams.
"You scored a lot of big goals for us and you were a great player," the goaltender said. "But you were an even better person."
Those Rivermen teams were powerhouses in the early 1990s, and Hoover was with them until their IHL era ended after the 1995-96 season and Peoria moved down to the ECHL.
Hoover went on to play 667 games in a pro career that lasted nine seasons. He never forgot his Peoria days, and Peoria fans never forgot him.
"For me, it's a great honor to be part of all the great players who have been inducted," Hoover said. "Guys like Doug Evans, Michel Mongeau, Darren Veitch so many great players from that era. Peoria was the longest place we stayed at in my career, we started our family there.
"I think of those years and the importance, the impact of good people, good friendships, successful teams. You need talent, but you also need a group that gets along, all working for a common goal.
"There's so many people to thank for this honor, so many great memories."
River Readings
The Rivermen players headed upstairs into the outer concourse at Carver Arena for pictures, autographs and a thank you meet-and-greet with fans, an annual tradition after the final regular-season game.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star senior writer and 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 [email protected]. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria Rivermen Hall of Fame inductee reflects on his hockey journey
Continue reading...
