PEORIA — Nick Latinovich was named SPHL Goaltender of the Month on Thursday after leading the Peoria Rivermen through a 12-0-0 January in which they rolled into first place and built a 10-point lead.
The veteran goaltender helped the Rivermen build an 18-0-1 run during which they did not lose a game in regulation for 54 days.
Latinovich went 6-0-0 in January with a 1.82 goals-against and .946 saves rate while tossing a pair of shutouts.
He is the No. 1-ranked goaltender in the SPHL with a 1.93 goals-against, a league-best four shutouts and tied for a league-best 15 wins.
During Peoria’s 18-0-1 run, Latinovich was 10-0-0 with four shutouts, a 1.38 goals-against and a .951 saves rate.
“Obviously it’s an honor, but it really comes down to how well the team is playing in front of me, blocking shots, doing all the things that have to be done for us to win,” Latinovich said. “It just makes my life so much easier when they are shutting down the other team’s top players. We’re really so strong defensively.”
Latinovich allowed just one goal in a 2-0 loss at Evansville on Wednesday, Peoria’s first regulation loss in 2026.
That game ended ended a 12-game Rivermen win streak that was the second-longest in SPHL history.
“This is why we traded for him,” Rivermen coach Jean-Guy Trudel said. “It’s why he won us a championship in 2023-24. It’s why he’s at the top of the league every year.
“That’s just Tino. He gives us elite play and elite leadership. When he’s on, he makes it look like it’s easy. Like teams are just throwing beach balls at him.
“It’s amazing how good he can make a coach look.”
River Readings
Hot streak aside, Rivermen coach Jean-Guy Trudel was not thrilled with Peoria’s effort in the 2-0 loss at Evansville on Wednesday. He was candid about it. “Neither team was any good,” Trudel said. “No energy, no pace, nothing. It looked like a game between two teams trying to see who cared the least. There wasn’t an ounce of Rivermen hockey played in that game, and we have to be better than that. We have to remember what we did to get that 18-0-1 run.” … Peoria resumes action Friday and Saturday with games at Roanoke, a notoriously tough place to play.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star 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 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: ‘That’s just Tino’: Why Peoria Rivermen veteran was named SPHL Goaltender of Month
Reporting by Dave Eminian, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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