# Worcester IceCats

The Worcester IceCats were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Worcester, Massachusetts, at the Worcester Centrum (Renamed to the DCU Center in 2004). In 2005 the team was renamed the Peoria Rivermen and moved to Peoria, Illinois.

## History

The IceCats got their start when original New York Islanders owner Roy Boe purchased the Springfield Indians AHL franchise and moved it to Worcester in the summer of 1994. The team began play in the Fall of 1994 with a collection of free-agent players but as yet with no National Hockey League team affiliation. Immediately following the end of the 1994–95 season, Boe and head coach/General Manager Jim Roberts closed an affiliation deal with the St. Louis Blues. From that point on the IceCats would be the Blues' premier minor league team. The Peoria Rivermen of the East Coast Hockey League, in turn, became the IceCats' minor league affiliate in 1998, having been with St. Louis before the 1994 Worcester deal. During the 2000–01 season, Boe sold the IceCats to the St. Louis Blues. The team celebrated its tenth season in the AHL in fall 2003.
On November 9, 2004, the St. Louis Blues announced the sale of the IceCats to the owners of their ECHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen. The new owners moved the franchise to Peoria, Illinois, for the 2005–06 season.
    This franchise was previously known as: Springfield Indians (1926–1994)
    The franchise became known as: Peoria Rivermen (2005–2013)
    This franchise was replaced by: Worcester Sharks (2006–2015)
Affiliates:
* St. Louis Blues (1995–2005)
* New York Islanders (1995–1996)
* Ottawa Senators (1996–1998)

## Season-by-season results
### Regular season

| Season | Games | Won | Lost | Tied | OTL | SOL | Points | Goals for | Goals against | Standing |
| 1994–95 | 80 | 24 | 45 | 11 | 0 | — | 59 | 234 | 300 | 6th, North |
| 1995–96 | 80 | 36 | 28 | 12 | 4 | — | 88 | 242 | 244 | 2nd, North |
| 1996–97 | 80 | 43 | 23 | 9 | 5 | — | 100 | 256 | 234 | 1st, New England |
| 1997–98 | 80 | 34 | 31 | 9 | 6 | — | 83 | 267 | 268 | 4th, New England |
| 1998–99 | 80 | 34 | 36 | 8 | 2 | — | 78 | 237 | 260 | 4th, New England |
| 1999–00 | 80 | 34 | 31 | 11 | 4 | — | 83 | 249 | 250 | 3rd, New England |
| 2000–01 | 80 | 48 | 20 | 9 | 3 | — | 108 | 264 | 205 | 1st, New England |
| 2001–02 | 80 | 39 | 33 | 7 | 1 | — | 86 | 245 | 218 | 3rd, North |
| 2002–03 | 80 | 35 | 27 | 15 | 3 | — | 88 | 235 | 220 | 3rd, North |
| 2003–04 | 80 | 37 | 27 | 13 | 3 | — | 90 | 207 | 186 | 3rd, Atlantic |
| 2004–05 | 80 | 39 | 34 | 3 | 4 | — | 85 | 212 | 223 | 5th, Atlantic |

### Playoffs

| Season | 1st round | 2nd round | 3rd round | Finals |
| 1994–95 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 1995–96 | L, 1–3, Portland | — | — | — |
| 1996–97 | L, 2–3, Providence | — | — | — |
| 1997–98 | W, 3–1, Springfield | L, 3–4, Hartford | — | — |
| 1998–99 | L, 1–3, Providence | — | — | — |
| 1999–00 | W, 3–1, Portland | L, 1–4, Hartford | — | — |
| 2000–01 | W, 3–1, Lowell | L, 3–4, Providence | — | — |
| 2001–02$^†$ | L, 1–2, Manitoba$^†$ | — | — | — |
| 2002–03 | L, 0–3, Binghamton | — | — | — |
| 2003–04 | W, 4–2, Manchester | L, 0–4, Hartford | — | — |
| 2004–05 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
$^†$ Lost in preliminary round.

## Team records
### Single season

* Goals: 38 Eric Boguniecki and Justin Papineau (2001–2002)
* Assists: 46 Eric Boguniecki (2001–2002)
* Points: 84 Eric Boguniecki (2001–2002)
* Penalty minutes: 337 Sylvain Blouin (1999–2000)
* GAA: 2.13 Curtis Sanford (2003–2004)
* SV%: 0.929 Dwayne Roloson (2000–2001)

### Career

* Career goals: 79 Marc Brown
* Career assists: 154 Terry Virtue
* Career points: 210 Terry Virtue
* Career penalty minutes: 1083 Terry Virtue
* Career goaltending wins: 65 Curtis Sanford
* Career shutouts: 10 Curtis Sanford
* Career games: 455 Terry Virtue

### Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top ten point-scorers in IceCat's franchise history.
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points;
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Terry Virtue | D | 455 | 56 | 154 | 210 |
| Jame Pollock | D | 270 | 63 | 104 | 167 |
| Marc Brown | LW | 303 | 79 | 81 | 160 |
| Eric Boguniecki | C | 141 | 69 | 86 | 155 |
| Jeff Panzer | C | 210 | 62 | 84 | 146 |
| Justin Papineau | C | 162 | 66 | 77 | 143 |
| Stephane Roy | C | 208 | 61 | 78 | 139 |
| Daniel Corso | C | 187 | 54 | 85 | 139 |
| Marty Reasoner | C | 122 | 57 | 68 | 125 |
| Blake Evans | C | 253 | 52 | 73 | 125 |

## Team captains

* Jim Nesich, 1994–1995
* Roy Mitchell, 1995–1996
* David Williams, 1996–1997
* Terry Virtue, 1997–1998
* Ricard Persson, 1997–1998
* Geoff Smith, 1998–1999
* Jason Widmer, 1998–2000
* Bryan Helmer, 1999–2000
* Ed Campbell, 2000–2002
* Eric Nickulas, 2002–2003
* Jeff Panzer, 2003–2004
* Mike Mottau, 2004–2005

## Notable IceCats

* Eric Boguniecki
* Jim Campbell
* Rory Fitzpatrick
* Michal Handzuš
* Jochen Hecht
* Barret Jackman
* Andreas Johansson
* Brent Johnson
* Jamal Mayers
* Jay McClement
* Jamie McLennan
* Mike Mottau
* Ladislav Nagy
* Tyson Nash
* Justin Papineau
* Marty Reasoner
* Pascal Rheaume
* Dwayne Roloson
* Mark Rycroft
* Bryce Salvador
* Curtis Sanford
* Steve Staios
* Mike Van Ryn
* Dennis Wideman