Peoria Rivermen goaltender's journey led him to center of SPHL President's Cup Finals
PEORIA — Nick Latinovich has a master's degree in business administration, but now he's being counted on to take care of business on the ice for the Peoria Rivermen.
Latinovich, the all-SPHL goaltender, will lead the Rivermen into the SPHL President's Cup Finals in a best-of-3 series against Huntsville this week.
The Maple, Ontario, native is a financial advisor during the offseason, but he comes from a family whose business has been to produce a long line of goaltenders.
Schedule and ticket info: Peoria Rivermen will face Huntsville in SPHL title series
"My father (Nick) was a goaltender," he said. "So were both of my cousins (both reached AAA amateur hockey). It's just what we do. Growing up, I went to all those games, watched them play, and I inherited a lot of hand-me-down equipment."
His uncle, Steve, bucked that trend as a right wing who is in the York University Hall of Fame, went into Chicago Blackhawks farm system and went on to play pro hockey for four seasons in Switzerland, where he also coached.
But the path was set for Latinovich as a kid watching his family of goaltenders.
"I loved it because only the goaltender gets to be on the ice the entire game," Latinovich said. "You have such an impact on the game, a chance to keep your team in the game, lead them through it."
No room for error
Latinovich and the No. 2-seed Rivermen will face No. 5 Huntsville in a best-of-3 championship series that starts Thursday in Alabama, then returns to Peoria for Games 2 and 3 (if needed) at Carver Arena on Saturday and Sunday.
It's an unforgiving format, where the higher-seeded team has more travel before the series starts, and is up against league history. There have been seven best-of-3 championship series in SPHL history. No team has lost Game 1 in that format and gone on to win the Cup.
"It's a high-pressure situation and I love it," Latinovich said.
This is not only a championship series, but a reunion for the goaltender. He played for Huntsville last season, posting a 16-8-1 record with a 2.72 goals-against and .918 saves rate. Now he faces his former teammates in a winner-take-all.
"I'm pretty excited to play against them," Latinovich said. "I've got friends on that team, and I had a good time playing there. I remember coming to Peoria with them, and how much we hated playing the Rivermen — the league hates us (Peoria) because the team wins so much. There is such an aura in Carver Arena, it's a challenge here to play."
The Price was right for Latinovich
Latinovich, 27, grew up in Maple, Ontario, a village 40 miles northwest of Toronto, and the birthplace of NHLers Lucas Lessio, Justin DiBenedetto and Luca Caputi. He idolized the great Montreal Canadiens goaltender, Carey Price, a Vezina Trophy winner, Olympic gold medalist and man who wore No. 31 through 712 NHL games and 361 wins career with Montreal.
Latinovich, no surprise, wears No. 31 with the Rivermen.
Background: Trade for a goalie, unexpected return of an MVP gives Peoria Rivermen two elite pieces
"I loved watching him play," Latinovich said. "He was formidable in the net. I liked his approach."
Latinovich met another great NHL goaltender this season in Peoria, when former Rivermen netminder Ben Bishop returned for induction into the Rivermen Hall of Fame.
'I want to beat them'
Latinovich played three seasons for Clarkson University, then two for Salve Regina University. He turned pro last season with Huntsville, earned two ECHL call-ups with Rapid City and Florida, and ended up on SPHL Macon's roster at the end of the season.
He was still on Macon's roster in August, and the Rivermen — with veteran goaltender Eric Levine retiring — went after him, dealing a top defenseman, Jake Hamilton, to get him.
"It's hard to part with a guy like that, but to get a goaltender as special as (Latinovich) you know you're going to lose a really good player," Rivermen coach Jean-Guy Trudel said after that deal. "He's a big goaltender, which I like. And we knew he could play. We needed to upgrade at that position, and Nick was the perfect guy for us."
All Latinovich did this season was deliver the No. 1 ranking in the SPHL, piling up a 27-7-1 record with a 1.93 goals-against and .916 saves rate and seven shutouts. All of those categories were league bests. Surprisingly, voters in the league awards snubbed him, naming Birmingham's Hayden Stewart SPHL Goaltender of the Year.
No. 1 seeded Birmingham was upset by No. 8 Evansville in the first round of this postseason.
Latinovich, meanwhile, has a playoffs-best 1.62 goals-against and .930 saves rate and the Rivermen have reached their fifth finals in eight years.
Semifinals: Peoria Rivermen advance to the SPHL President's Cup finals
"I was surprised when the trade happened," Latinovich said. "But it sure turned out great for me. Now we're here in the finals, we all need to do our job, play well. It'll be a challenge to play against Huntsville.
"But I want to beat them."
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.
SPHL President's Cup: Peoria vs. Huntsville
Game 1 — 7 p.m. Thursday, Huntsville
Game 2 — 7:15 p.m. Saturday, Carver Arena, Peoria
Game 3 (if needed) — 5:15 p.m. Sunday, Carver Arena, Peoria
Tickets — $28 for glass seating; $23 for premium lower bowl; $17 for Pilot House, and $16 upper bowl. They can be purchased by calling the Rivermen (676-1040) at their Carver Arena offices. The Civic Center box office is open only Friday (10 a.m.-2 p.m.) or 90 minutes before the game.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: SPHL Finals: Peoria Rivermen goaltender ready for high-pressure situation
