Former Riverman star Michel Mongeau dead at 45

[Da Coach]

Michel Mongeau, who was a star for the Peoria Riverman from 1989-1992 and played for the St. Louis Blues has died from malignant melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer. Mongeau was part of the legendary Turner Cup Riverman team of 1990-1991, and was developing into a very good NHL player before he suffered a serious injury. He never returned to the level of play he was at before the injury, but he stayed in professional hockey until he retired in 2000.

http://www.pjstar.com/sports/x1381060662/Rivermen-Hall-of-Fame-center-Mongeau-loses-battle-with-cancer

http://www.hockeyzoneplus.com/intv03_e.htm

stats-

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=3776

I have fond memories of watching Mongeau play hockey the way it was designed to be played. I think if he had not been injured, he might have been a star in the NHL, too.
Like about 10,000 others, I was there in 1991 the day they won the Turner Cup.
The Rivermen team of 1990-1991 still holds the record for the longest winning streak in history of pro hockey with 18 straight wins-

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Longest_winning_streak_in_pro_hockey

[Fyrebyrd]

Mongeau only had a couple brief stints in the NHL in his day, but was still regarded as one of the better players in his day. Back then, the IHL was what the AHL was today, the AAA of hockey. On that same note, the IHL is weeks away from closing its doors forever. They were down to 7 teams this year and many of the teams are jumping ship to either the ECHL or CHL.

[Fyrebyrd]

I'd also like to note, his picture in the paper after his serious injury was he injury that caused my parents to pull me out of ice hockey forever. That picture is still ingrained in my memory. Horrific only begins to describe the amount of bruising and cuts he had on his face.