How the Peoria Rivermen lost their 2026-27 SPHL season opener to Quad City
The Peoria Rivermen gave up goals late in periods and couldn't quite rally, adding a loss to their long Opening Night franchise history.
Peoria Rivermen suffered a 3-2 defeat to Quad City in their 2026-27 SPHL season opener on Saturday at Vibrant Arena in Moline. The Rivermen, who have opened their season at Quad City for the fifth consecutive year, were outplayed by their longtime rivals. Despite a first-period tie at 1-1, Quad City claimed the lead with 86 seconds left in the period after former Rivermen player Tommy Tsicos scored a backdoor goal against Nick Latinovich.
The Rivermen managed to tie the game in the second period when rookie Everett Pietila scored his first pro goal on a rebound. However, Quad City regained the lead at 15:45 through Devin Sanders, and stretched it to 3-1 with 9.8 seconds remaining when Eelis Laaksonen sealed the win. Peoria managed to come back with a goal from Braydon Barker in the third period, but it wasn't enough to secure a victory.
Peoria Rivermen will host expansion team Pee Dee in their home opener at Carver Arena on October 24.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
