The Duffers had a night off on March 6, 2009, so what did they do?  They started with a big turn out at the Thursday lunch.  Newly retired Tom O'Connor made his first visit.  The King, Thor, Klinger, Frank and Beak made up the rest of the group.  On Friday, Brinks, brother Bob, cousin Steve and Beak took a ride to Peoria to watch the Chicago Wolves play the Rivermen.  It has been 4 years since the Duffers played there last game there, so they were surprised to see what $55,000,000 can do to the hockey arena that was home to many Duffer games from 1999-2005.  They witnessed the induction of Chicago Wolves' head coach,  Don Granato, into the Rivermen Hall of Fame.

Here’s a video interview of Donny and his look back on the 1999-2000 ECHL title team that he led.
Congrats to Donny, and fellow inductee, former Rivermen center Joe Rybar.
They were inducted in a between-periods ceremony at the March 6th, 2009 game.

Video- Rivermen Hall of Fame

Jason "Smurf" Christie is pictured raising the Cup	Steve "Crash" Granato reads the names on the Kelly Cup.
(Left to Right) Brinks Granato, Bruce Saurs, Dr. Joe Rybar and Donny Granato. Joe was Don's leading scorer when they won the Kelly Cup in 2000. Go to Peoria History	Donny and Joe get congratulated by John Butler, CEO of the U.S Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington, IL.  John gave me his card and invited the Duffers down for a skate.

3 Granatos

Jason Christie and some of his former players.

Luke Gruden with Uncle Bob Granato. Luke played  

John Butler congratulates Donny.

Tyler Rennette played for Jason in Peoria and Donny in Worchester

Donny and Smurf are the last to board the bus to O'Hare.

Sign of the times, Thanks Cammi!!

Granato spent one season in Peoria, but led the franchise to one of its greatest finishes ever, capturing a Kelly Cup in the ECHL in 1999-2000.

Rybar spent a career here, and teamed with veteran Jason Christie — now the Wolves assistant coach — to help deliver that championship season.

“We weren’t the most skilled or talented team,”  said Rybar, now a family medicine physician at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “But we were such a close, close team. I think that’s why we did so well. We had to rely on each other, trust each other, to win.
“For me, it was the greatest year of my career.”

Rybar pointed to a storybook championship series with Louisiana as the defining moment of his career here. The Rivermen lost the first two games of that series at home, then went to Louisiana — where the Gators had won 22 straight — and swept three games in epic fashion, returning home to clinch the title on Carver Arena ice.

Rybar notched 23 points in 18 games in that 2000 postseason run, and finished his Peoria career with 90 goals, 191 assists for 281 points in 298 games over four seasons.

“It was such a shock, those three games down there,”  Rybar said. “No one thought we could beat them. But it was perfect. Just perfect, because it showed, better than anything, the kind of team, the kind of guys, we had and what we were all about.”

Rybar, who turns 35 on Tuesday, spent many sleepless nights studying his medical textbooks on the Rivermen bus during road trips.

He did his physician’s school work at St. George’s University in Grenada, finishing last May. He now is serving as a physician in residency at Mayo.

Rybar and his wife, Jennifer, have two kids, Brayden (29 months) and Emily (3 months).

“It’s a great honor to go into the Rivermen Hall of Fame,” Rybar said. “I’m excited to get back to Peoria and see my old coach, some old teammates, the fans and the community.
“I want to thank (then-Rivermen co-owners) Bruce Saurs and Anne Griffith and all those fans who made the Peoria organization so successful.
“Bruce and Anne operated an organization that, among those of us who played the game, was considered to be classy and elite. I’m proud to be in their Hall of Fame.”