Long-time Rivermen owner Bruce Saurs died Thursday. The 88-year old is known as Peoria’s “Mr. Hockey”.
Saurs first purchased the Peoria hockey team in 1989 in an effort to save it from financial collapse. The team moved from the International Hockey League to the East Coast Hockey League and eventually the American Hockey League over the years.
Saurs sold the team to the St. Louis Blues in 2008. But St. Louis later changed ownership and sold the Rivermen in 2013, leaving Peoria’s team at risk. Saurs re-purchased the hockey team along with other investors and placed the team in the Southern Professional Hockey League.
A visitation for Saurs will be next Thursday at Northwoods Community Church from 4 to 7 in the evening. Funeral services will take place at the same location next Friday at 11 in the morning.