The Peoria Rivermen are scheduled to play a 7:05 p.m. game on Thursday at Oklahoma City.





If only it was that easy.

The Peoria Rivermen are scheduled to play a 7:05 p.m. game on Thursday at Oklahoma City.

If only it was that easy.

The AHL club was scheduled to fly out of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport at 9:45 a.m. Wednesday, but all flights out of O’Hare and Midway International airports were cancelled Tuesday through Wednesday afternoon, leaving the Rivermen scrambling.

The team will now attempt to fly on the day of the game -- Thursday morning -- out of St. Louis, where the severe winter storm forced cancellation of the parent club St. Louis Blues home game on Tuesday night.

The Rivermen are coming off the AHL All-Star break, which means several of their players are trying to fly back from other parts of the country to re-join the team.

It also caused problems for the Rivermen All-Star contingent — coach Jared Bednar, defenseman Nathan Oystrick, center T.J. Hensick and goaltender Jake Allen — as they returned from the all-star game at Hershey, Pa., on Tuesday.

Their flight landed at O’Hare at 11:18 a.m., but their connecting flight to Peoria -- along with all other remaining flights -- were shut down as the airlines ceased operating.

“We got in, but we couldn’t get out of Chicago,” Bednar said. “So we rented a van and drove ourselves down to Peoria this afternoon. The roads were not the best.”

One more problem: United Airlines refused to release any baggage to the Rivermen quartet, leaving everything at O’Hare.

The Rivermen trio of all-star players, as of Tuesday night, had no equipment. It’s on the canceled United flight in Chicago.

The team is also trying to find a venue to practice at Wednesday. If it can’t, it will have been off the ice for a week by the time it faces Oklahoma City on Thursday.

“We’re regrouping and just waiting to see if and when we can get back out,” Bednar said.

If Plan B goes as hoped, the Rivermen will land in Oklahoma City just 7 hours before game time.

Dave Eminian can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com.