Zach Wilkie Named Warrior Hockey/SPHL Player of the Week
February 4, 2025 - 11:20 am
PEORIA, IL— The SPHL announced Tuesday that Rivermen defenseman Zach Wilkie has been named this week’s Warrior Hockey/SPHL Player of the Week. He is the second Rivermen player this year to earn Player of the Week honors.
Wilkie scored four goals in a record outing, added two assists, and was +5 as the Rivermen picked up a pair of wins in Knoxville to maintain their hold on first place heading into February. Wilkie was instrumental with four goals and two assists this weekend in Knoxville. His biggest moment came on Saturday night when Wilkie scored four goals, including his first professional hat trick, and added on one assist for five points in Peoria’s 6-4 victory. Wilkie became just the second defenseman in SPHL history to record four goals in a game. The record was initially set by Pensacola’s Louis Belisle, who scored four goals against Huntsville on November 26, 2016. Wilkie’s four goals also set a new Peoria single-game mark for a defenseman, while becoming the sixth Riverman player to record five points in a game.
The native of Villa Park, IL, Wilkie leads all defensemen in points (45), goals (11), assists (34), and plus-minus (22). Wilkie is the second Rivermen to be named Warrior Hockey/SPHL Player of the Week, Jordan Ernst earned the honor in early January following his five-goal game against Evansville.
The Peoria Rivermen, along with Wilkie, will be on the road on Thursday at 12:00 pm in Moline, IL, and on Friday night at 7:05 pm in Evansville before returning to Carver Arena on Saturday night to take on the Evansville Thunderbolts at 7:15 pm.
