PEORIA, Ill – The Peoria Rivermen are back on the ice for the first time since bowing out of the playoffs in late April and the local hockey fans are glad of it. On a recent Sunday, the Rivermen played a 3PM matinee game. Billed as “Family Night,” the event featured $1 hot dogs and sodas, face painting, balloon animals, and inflatable ‘bouncers’. For kids under twelve, upper bowl tickets were just a buck and it included a post-game skate with the players. Sounds like a great deal, but I wondered, do the kids really enjoy it? To find out, I decided to ask a few experts after the game. Ireland, age 9, and her BFF McKenna, age 10, caught my eye right away. They were wearing matching figure skates, white with hot pink accents. They also had their faces painted. They were either ferocious butterflies or pastel tigers. While McKenna was skating around fairly well, Ireland was hugging the dasher. “We like to skate with the players. We can get their autographs and find out what they like,” they told me. “These Family Fun Nights are awesome.” What is their favorite thing about hockey? “The fights,” they tell me, giggling. Shaun, age 9, misses hockey during the summer. He was struggling on the ice with the help of a big sister. He also enjoys the fights, however, everything else took a back seat this night to the post game skate. “This is my first time, ever,” he replied when asked how long he’d been skating. When he sat down we discovered his new skates hadn’t even been sharpened yet. I suspect he will do better once those blades have an edge. He’ll be taking lessons this winter with the hopes of one day donning a sweater for the Red Wings in Detroit. Although his face wasn’t painted, his sister did let me know he had taken full advantage of the Family Night specials. Which part? “The hot dogs,” she said as they skated away. Roman, age 7, was moving around fairly well on the ice. He kept his feet about him pretty well, but he had more motivation than most. Roman was wearing shorts. “I know hockey,” Roman told me, confidently. “I like it when they bang into the glass!” You wonder how much the kids pay attention to the actual game, though. That question was answered by Jack, age 2…I am sorry, age two-and-a-half. Just before strapping on some double-bladded skates, he was asked “Who won?” Jack thought for a moment, looked down at the little Rivermen jersey he was wearing, looked back up with a huge grin and said, “Me!” Indeed, Jack and the rest of the kids are the winners here…and so are their parents. Contact the author: Shaun.Bill@prohockeynews.com
