'Belief': Peoria Rivermen sweep SPHL first-round playoff series from Macon

Q: What was the final score of the Peoria Rivermen vs. Macon Mayhem playoff game?

The final score was 4-1 in favor of the Peoria Rivermen.

Q: When did the Peoria Rivermen sweep the Macon Mayhem in the playoffs?

The Peoria Rivermen swept the Macon Mayhem in the first round of the SPHL playoffs on April 11, 2026.

Q: Who scored the goals for the Peoria Rivermen in the playoff series against Macon?

The article does not specify individual goal scorers for the Peoria Rivermen in the playoff series.

Q: Where did the Peoria Rivermen play their playoff games against the Macon Mayhem?

The Peoria Rivermen played their playoff games against the Macon Mayhem at Carver Arena in Peoria.

PEORIA — The Peoria Rivermen found what they were looking for Saturday in Game 2 of their best-of-3 SPHL first-round playoff series.

"We came in after that second period, so much had happened to us," Rivermen veteran left wing Griffen Fox said. "We looked around at each other. What we saw was belief. A lot of belief. And we knew we had what we needed to get the job done."

The Rivermen absorbed several momentum bombs in the first 40 minutes but stormed out in the third period to blow up a tie game and go on to a 4-1 victory over the Macon Mayhem before 2,562 at Carver Arena.

Peoria Rivermen goaltender Nick Latinovich stops a breakaway by Macon's Khaden Henry in the second period of their first-round SPHL playoff game Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Carver Arena in Peoria.

Fox, Mike Gelatt and Kylar Fenton scored third-period goals, the latter two 73 seconds apart in the first 1:44 of the period. Veteran Rivermen goaltender Nick Latinovich, who led Peoria to an SPHL President's Cup championship in 2023-24, stopped a breakaway and weathered a five-on-three Macon power play for 1:45 to hold his team in a 1-1 game.

That was enough to clinch the series and send Peoria to the league semifinals, where they will face No. 7 seed Knoxville thanks to an upset by that team over No. 2 Huntsville.

That best-of-5 series starts next week.

Latinovich also stopped a breakaway by Khaden Henry – the player who scored 17 goals in 17 games for the Rivermen this season before Peoria released him.

"I was just thinking, 'Make a save for the team,' " Latinovich said. "And then on that five-on-three, guys were all over the place, blocking shots for me, giving up their bodies, our guys were incredible.

"Macon was gaining momentum at that point, and we had to get through that, find a way to win."

They did it by holding Macon to one shot on goal during that long two-man advantage.

A frustrating 40 minutes

Rivermen head coach Jean-Guy Trudel points to the replay as he argues with officials about a no-goal call in the first period of their first-round SPHL playoff game against Macon on Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Carver Arena in Peoria.

The Rivermen took a 1-0 lead just 3:13 after the opening faceoff when veteran center JM Piotrowski split three Macon defenders down the right side of the zone and got to a loose puck a full stride beyond the endline.

Peoria goaltender Nick Latinovich celebrates with JM Piotrowski and the rest of the team after their 4-1 win over Macon in their first-round SPHL playoff game Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Carver Arena in Peoria.

He turned and flipped the puck out front toward the net and it deflected in either off goaltender Josh Boyko or a Macon defenseman.

A big momentum swing arrived at 7:43 of the first, when a Rivermen goal for 2-0 was waived off by referee Ian Carlson on a call not supported by video replay.

Gelatt raced in on a partial breakaway from the right side of the zone, cut across the doorstep and forced a rebound which left the puck laying uncovered on the goal line.

Boyko dove down on top of Gelatt's stick and self-towed out of the goalmouth, and Jordan Ernst tucked the puck into the open net.

Carlson – who ejected Rivermen head coach Jean-Guy Trudel from a game just last weekend – ruled interference on that play.

Macon, meanwhile, was awarded three straight power plays in the first period and tied the game on the last of them, a bad goal when Henry's shot from behind the endline deflected in off Latinovich at 16:26.

More: How the Peoria Rivermen shut down Macon for a Game 1 victory in SPHL playoffs

The 1-1 game carried on, and by the midway point of the second period Macon had six power plays, including that long five-on-three.

"We're proud of our penalty-killing," Rivermen center Garrett Devine said. "We knew we could do some good things. We came out for the third period after that and we did everything we always talk about doing.

"We just took the game over."

The surge to the semifinals

A pair of Rivermen fans show their support after the team’s 4-1 victory over Macon in their first-round SPHL playoff game Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Carver Arena in Peoria.

The Rivermen took a 2-1 lead just 31 seconds into that third period, netting the game-winner when Gelatt tipped a shot from Gunner Moore right between Boyko's pads.

The energy level on the ice and in the grandstand skyrocketed, and it was 3-1 just 73 seconds later when defenseman Kylar Fenton's drive from the top edge of the right circle worked its way past Boyko through traffic at the net.

The desperate Mayhem pulled Boyko for an extra attacker down the stretch with 3:40 still left, but Peoria's defense remained stout and the Rivermen added an empty-netter from Fox with 25 seconds left.

A young Rivermen fans makes some noise with his vuvuzela as his team battles Macon in their first-round SPHL playoff game Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Carver Arena in Peoria.

"For a while there, we looked like we had guys who were going to play the victim role," Rivermen head coach Jean-Guy Trudel said. "There were guys who had a long face after those first two periods. I told them, 'We can't have that.'

"Coaches don't start comebacks or win games, though. It's the players who react. Our guys decided to attack in that third period.

"The young guys, new guys, they especially were so high-energy, so vocal, it gave us some great juice."

And it got them to where they wanted to be in this matchup between No. 1 seed and No. 8.

The handshake line.

That formality included farewells to four former Rivermen on the Macon team, including goaltender Boyko, wingers Mike Herrera and Khaden Hunt and head coach Dave Pszenyczny.

"There's pressure in the first round on No. 1 when you face No. 8, because you don't want to lose that one, you can't let it happen," Trudel said. "Now we're playing with house money. No pressure in this second round. We're in the Final Four, all of those teams are good and any one of them can win a championship.

"We have a Coffey Trophy (SPHL regular-season championship), Cold War on 74 Trophy (season series with Quad City) and now we're moving closer to the trophy that's been our goal from Day One."

Peoria Rivermen goaltender Nick Latinovich stops a breakaway by Macon's Khaden Henry in the second period of their first-round SPHL playoff game Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Carver Arena in Peoria.

The puck goes wide as Peoria’s Mike Gelatt (27) collides with Macon goaltender Josh Boyko in the first period of their first-round SPHL playoff game Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Carver Arena in Peoria. Rivermen defenseman Jordan Ernst appeared to score on the play, but the goal was called back on an interference penalty.

Macon’s Noah Roitman tries to bring down Peoria’s Griffen Fox in the second period of their first-round SPHL playoff game Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Carver Arena in Peoria.

Peoria’s Trenten Heyde goes to the ice for the puck against Macon’s Justin Kelley in the second period of their first-round SPHL playoff game Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Carver Arena in Peoria.

Peoria’s Michael McChesney (8) and Macon’s Connor May slam into the boards as they chase the puck in the second period of their first-round SPHL playoff game Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Carver Arena in Peoria.

Macon’s Noah Roitman, right, tries to slow down Peoria’s Kylar Fenton in the second period of their first-round SPHL playoff game Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Carver Arena in Peoria.

Peoria goaltender Nick Latinovich catches a shot from Macon in the first period of their first-round SPHL playoff game Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Carver Arena in Peoria.

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Rivermen advance in SPHL playoffs with first-round win over Macon

Peoria Rivermen goaltender Nick Latinovich stops a breakaway by Macon's Khaden Henry in the second period of their first-round SPHL playoff game Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Carver Arena in Peoria.

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Rivermen advance in SPHL playoffs with first-round win over Macon

Peoria Rivermen goaltender Nick Latinovich stops a breakaway by Macon's Khaden Henry in the second period of their first-round SPHL playoff game Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Carver Arena in Peoria.

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Rivermen advance in SPHL playoffs with first-round win over Macon

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Rivermen advance in SPHL playoffs with first-round win over Macon

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Rivermen advance in SPHL playoffs with first-round win over Macon

Macon’s Noah Roitman tries to bring down Peoria’s Griffen Fox in the second period of their first-round SPHL playoff game Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Carver Arena in Peoria.

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Rivermen advance in SPHL playoffs with first-round win over Macon

Peoria’s Trenten Heyde goes to the ice for the puck against Macon’s Justin Kelley in the second period of their first-round SPHL playoff game Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Carver Arena in Peoria.

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Rivermen advance in SPHL playoffs with first-round win over Macon

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Rivermen advance in SPHL playoffs with first-round win over Macon

Macon’s Noah Roitman, right, tries to slow down Peoria’s Kylar Fenton in the second period of their first-round SPHL playoff game Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Carver Arena in Peoria.

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Rivermen advance in SPHL playoffs with first-round win over Macon

Peoria goaltender Nick Latinovich catches a shot from Macon in the first period of their first-round SPHL playoff game Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Carver Arena in Peoria.

(This story has been updated to add pictures, video and additional information)

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 deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: SPHL playoffs: How the Peoria Rivermen clinched series over Macon with Game 2 win