CHL Mississippi RiverKings

RiverKings and Blazers playoff preview

Published on March 28, 2007 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


SOUTHAVEN, MS --- The Memphis RiverKings open the 2007 Central Hockey League playoffs this Thursday night at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City at 7:05. It is one of six best-of-seven first round series beginning this week in the CHL. Games two and three will be played at the DeSoto Civic Center on Friday at 7:05 and Sunday at 4:05.

The RiverKings and Blazers played eight times this season, with the RiverKings going 6-1-1. Out of the eight games, five were decided by one goal. The most recent meeting, last Thursday in Oklahoma City, was a 4-2 RiverKings win that was capped off by an empty net goal. This season was the first since 2003-04, and just the third time in the teams' 15 year histories, that the RiverKings have won the season series from the Blazers.

The two teams also have a history in the playoffs. This will be the fourth time these clubs have met in the CHL's second season, all in the first round. Oklahoma City defeated the RiverKings in the 1993 and 1998 post-seasons while the RiverKings picked up a first round victory over the Blazers, three games to two, on the way to their second of back-to-back President's Cups in 2003.

Both clubs feature balanced offensive attacks. The RiverKings had nine players that collected 30 or points this season while the Blazers have eight on their roster. The teams are also similar in that their leading scorer is a defenseman. Memphis' Derek Landmesser, with 62 points led his club for the second straight season. On the other side, Oklahoma City's Mike Burgoyne paced his team with 61 points.

The RiverKings also set their playoff roster this week. All-Star defenseman Jason Tessier is returning off the 45-day IR. His last action came on January 12 versus Colorado. The RiverKings also added a pair of amateurs for the playoffs. The Central Hockey League allows teams to add up to two players that have not played a professional game to their roster. The RiverKings have brought in left wing Ryan Kindret, who played the past two seasons with Division I Cornell University, and defenseman David Schulz, who is coming off a six year junior career in the WHL.

RIVERKINGS/BLAZERS PLAYOFF PRIMER

GM 1 - Thursday, March 29 @ Oklahoma City (7:05 PM) on WHBQ AM 560/chltv.com

GM 2 - Friday, March 30 @ Memphis (7:05 PM) on WHBQ AM 560/chltv.com GM 3 - Sunday, April 1 @ Memphis (4:05 PM) on WHBQ AM 560/chltv.com GM 4 - Tuesday, April 3 @ Oklahoma City (7:05 PM) on WHBQ AM 560/chltv.com GM 5 - Friday, April 6 @ Memphis (7:05 PM)** GM 6 - Saturday, April 7 @ Oklahoma City (7:35 PM)** GM 7 - Tuesday, April 10 @ Memphis (7:05 PM)**

**if necessary

2006-2007 RESULTS

Memphis RiverKings (39-19-6, Home- 21-7-4. Away 18-12-2, 84 pts, 2nd NE Division)

Oklahoma City Blazers (35-21-8, Home- 18-11-3, Away- 17-10-5, 78 pts, 2nd NW Division)

HEAD TO HEAD

Memphis: 6-1-1 / Home- 3-0-1 / Away- 3-1-0

Oklahoma City: 2-5-1 / Home-1-3-0 / Away- 1-2-1

10/31/06 Oklahoma City 3 at Memphis 2 OT

11/03/06 Memphis 6 at Oklahoma City 3

12/19/06 Oklahoma City 3 at Memphis 4

01/05/07 Memphis 5 at Oklahoma City 2

01/27/07 Oklahoma City 3 at Memphis 4 SO

02/10/07 Memphis 4 at Oklahoma City 5

03/09/07 Oklahoma City 2 at Memphis 3

03/22/07 Memphis 4 at Oklahoma City 2

REGULAR SEASON HEAD TO HEAD ALL-TIME RECORDS

Memphis vs Oklahoma City: 37-64-8 / Home- 25-26-3 / Away- 12-38-5

Oklahoma City vs Memphis: 72-27-10 / Home- 43-10-2/ Away- 29-17-8

POST-SEASON HEAD TO HEAD RECORD

RiverKings are 5-7-2 all-time in the playoffs versus Oklahoma City (1-2 in series)

REGULAR SEASON TEAM LEADERS

Memphis: Goals- Jason Sessa (30); Assists- Derek Landmesser (50); Points- Landmesser (62); PIM- Steve Makway (182)

Oklahoma City: Goals-Garrett Prosofsky (23); Assists- Mike Burgoyne (40): Points- Burgoyne (61): PIM- Graham Dearle (233)

REGULAR SEASON SPECIAL TEAMS COMPARISON

Power Play: Memphis- 18.7% (3rd) Oklahoma City- 13.3% (16th)

Penalty Kill: Memphis- 82.2% (14th) Oklahoma City- 83.1% (10th)

REGULAR SEASON GOALS FOR/GOALS AGAINST COMPARISON

Goals For: Memphis- 3.55 (4th) Oklahoma City- 3.30 (9th)

Goals Against: Memphis- 3.25 (8th) Oklahoma City-3.34 (11th)

REGULAR SEASON SHOTS FOR/SHOTS AGAINST COMPARISON

Shots For: Memphis- 32.50 (9th) Oklahoma City- 35.31 (2nd)

Shots Against: Memphis- 30.20 (3rd) Oklahoma City- 33.72 (11th)

RIVERKINGS PLAYOFFS HERE AND THERE

The RiverKings are making their 8th appearance in the CHL playoffs. Their all-time playoff record is 42-29-4, 24-13-1 at home and 18-16-3 on the road. The RiverKings playoff series record is 9-6.

Prior to Thursday night's game in Oklahoma City, the last RiverKings postseason game was game five of the 2003 President's Cup Finals series versus the Austin Ice Bats. It was a 4-3 double overtime win on Friday, April 25 at the DeSoto Civic Center. Kahlil Thomas scored the game winner 5:06 into the second overtime. Greg Lakovic also scored two goals with Mark Richards making 33 saves for the win as the RiverKings won their second straight Cup.

RiverKings players that have professional playoff experience are: Louis Dumont (78 games); Derek Landmesser (59); Jason Sessa (43); Jason Tessier (29); Andrew Davis (7); Ryan Held (6); Ryan Campbell (5); Doug MacIver (2). Landmesser is the only player who has played for the RiverKings in the postseason (21 games in 00-01 and 02-03).

These players will be making their professional playoff debuts Thursday night: Phil Aucoin, Travis Banga, Derek Campbell, Bobby Gates, Ryan Kindret, Steve Makway, Tyler McGregor, Darrell Stoddard, Kevin Schieve, David Schulz, Larry Sterling and Sheldon Wenzel. Head Coach Kevin McClelland will also be making his first appearance as a pro head coach in the playoffs. As a player in the NHL, Mac played in 98 postseason games, scoring 11 goals, collecting 18 assists and totaling 281 PIM.

The RiverKings' 84 points and 39 wins in the regular season represent the third best totals in team history. The RiverKings finished with 46 wins and 92 points in 01-02, and with 92 points and 43 wins in 00-01. The team's winning percentage of .656 was their second best in history, behind .719 in 01-02.

The RiverKings had six players play in all 64 games this past regular season: Derek Campbell; Ryan Campbell; Bobby Gates; Derek Landmesser; and Jason Sessa. It is the most players to play an entire schedule of games in a single season in RiverKings history. The previous highest number was three players and that was done four times, most recently last season when Travis Banga, and current Oklahoma City Blazers Peter Robertson and Ryan Watson played all 64 games.

Goalie Larry Sterling's 31 wins broke the previous franchise record of 27 wins in a season for a goalie. And actually, that total is now 5th all-time for a RiverKings career. Also, his 51 appearances was third all-time for a single season behind Craig Lindsay (53 in 97-98) and Antoine Mindjimba (56 in 92-03).

Derek Landmesser also moved up in several categories in the RiverKings' Record Book. During the season, he took over the franchise lead in assists (now has 303) and the lead in games played (now with 371). He also moved up to 3rd in penalty minutes with 680 (71 behind Dan Brown). He increased his margin in the defensive scoring lead and remained 3rd in overall points, now with 369 (behind Don Parsons' 552 and Derek Grant's 468).

Travis Banga moved into the all-time top ten in all 3 offensive categories. At season's end, he is 4th in goals scored with 84 (1 behind Bobby Wallwork); 8th in assists with 106 (4 behind Scot Bell) and 6th in points (1 behind Mike Jackson).

The RiverKings' longest individual streaks of the season were: Goals- Jason Sessa 5 games; Assists- Derek Landmesser 6 games; Points- Ryan Campbell 10 games.

The RiverKings' 10 game winning streak from 12/29-1/23 was the third longest this season in the CHL. Their 11 game home winning streak was the second longest and their 16 game home unbeaten streak was also second longest.

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The RiverKings are back in the CHL Playoffs...Back with a Vengeance! The first home playoff game is Friday, March 30 at 7:05. Single-Game Playoff Tickets are on sale at the DeSoto Civic Center box office and at all TicketMaster locations and at ticketmaster.com.

Wear White For the Playoffs...RiverKings fans are encouraged to wear white for all home playoff games.

A RiverKings playoff game is even more fun when you come as a group. Groups of 10 or more save up to 30% on the box office rate, plus every person in the group receives a player mini bobblehead. Call 662-342-1755 for more information.

After every RiverKings home game, the party heads to the new Buffalo Wild Wings on Airways in Southaven, the official Post Game Hang-Out of the RiverKings.

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Central Hockey League Stories from March 28, 2007


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