Peoria Rivermen trade for prolific scorer
The Peoria Rivermen made a big trade on Monday.
Peoria sent the rights of winger Tyler Barrow to Fayetteville in exchange for left wing scoring ace Brennan Blaszczak. The new Rivermen forward played for Pensacola's SPHL title team in 2020-21, and was captain there in 2021-22, piling up 31 goals and 15 assists in just 45 games — third most goals in a season in Pensacola history.
Barrow, who is currently playing for DVTK Jegesmedvék in Hungary's Erste Liga, played for Peoria in 2022-23 before leaving for Europe.
Blaszczak, 27, is a Las Vegas native, listed at 6-foot and 194 pounds. He played for Pensacola's 2020-21 SPHL champions, which is the same team that Rivermen captain Alec Hagaman and winger Jordan Ernst were loaned to because the Rivermen were dormant that season due COVID-19 operating restrictions in Illinois.
In 22 ECHL games with Savannah, Kalamazoo and Tulsa, Blaszczak has four goals. He played college hockey for Alaska-Fairbanks and has 37 goals and 21 assists in 88 SPHL games. His six other goals and two more assists come in seven career playoff games.
The Rivermen are in fourth place in the SPHL and have lost four of its last five games. They resume action 7:15 p.m. Friday at Carver Arena, hosting Evansville.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria Rivermen trade for Las Vegas native known for scoring
