CHL Mississippi RiverKings

Big, Busy Week Ahead For RiverKings

Published on January 25, 2010 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


SOUTHAVEN, MS --- The Mississippi RiverKings have four games scheduled between now and the end of the week on Saturday, January 30th. All four are important games against Northern Conference competition, including two against the current conference co-leader, Rapid City Rush.

The two meetings against Rapid City will be home games for the RiverKings, now 19-15-4 and in fourth place in the CHL Northern Conference. The two remaining games this weekend will be road games, Friday at Wichita in their new home arena, the INVEST Bank Arena in downtown Wichita, and Saturday the BOK Center in Tulsa.

LAST GAME: At RiverKings 5, Missouri 1 (Saturday, January 23rd, 2010) Mississippi won its second straight game against the Missouri Mavericks, using a three-goal first period, and adding a pair of goals in the third frame to seal the win. Winning goaltender Mark Sibbald won his second straight RiverKings start with a 35-save, one-goal performance. David Simoes, Dane Marshall, Matt Summers, and Derek Landmesser each had two-point efforts. Glenn Detulleo's goal in the first period was the eventual game-winning goal for the RiverKings. Mississippi was 2-for-7 on the power play, while stopping 11-of-12 Missouri extra-man opportunities. The 73 penalty minutes by the RiverKings was a season-high and the teams combined for 120 minutes of "sin-bin" time.

UPCOMING GAMES (all games on CHL-TV) 1/26-Rapid City at Mississippi (10:05 AM) - WIVG-FM 1/28-Rapid City at Mississppi (7:05 PM) - WIVG-FM 1/29-Mississippi at Wichita (7:05 PM) - WHBQ-AM 1/30-Mississippi at Tulsa (7:35 PM) - WHBQ-AM

RAPID CITY: Mississippi plays the Rush for the sixth and seventh times during the regular season and second and third times at the DeSoto Civic Center. The games Tuesday, January 26th and Thursday, January 28th will mark the final games of the regular season series between the teams. Mississippi is 2-2-1 against the Rush this season and is 4-3-2 overall in the two-year history of the Rapid City franchise.

WICHITA: Friday's game against the Thunder will mark the third meeting of the season between the long-time rivals. Mississippi has a 1-1-0 record against Wichita this season and is historically 59-43-14 against the Thunder. The game on Friday will be the first game for the RiverKings in Wichita's new INVEST Bank Arena. The Thunder come back to the DeSoto Civic Center on Saturday, February 6th, while the RiverKings will return to Wichita on Wednesday, February 17th, after another meeting in Southaven on Valentine's Day at 3:05 PM.

TULSA: The Saturday night contest in Tulsa will mark the seventh meeting of the season between Mississippi and the Oilers. The RiverKings' record thus far in the regular season series with Tulsa is 2-3-1 in the eleven-game set and all-time is 73-55-9 against the Oilers. Mississippi goes to Tulsa two more times this year, Friday, February 12th and Wednesday, March 3rd. The Oilers wrap up the regular season in Southaven on Friday, March 19th and Saturday, March 20th.

MISSISSIPPI LEADERS vs. RAPID CITY: Matt Pierce leads the RiverKings in points against the Rush with five and in assists with four. Pierce also has the best plus-minus stat against Rapid City at +5. Ryan Held, Louis Dumont, and Matt Summers have each scored two goals. One of Held's goals has come shorthanded. Derek Landmesser has one of the two power play goals scored against Rapid City this season. Adam Smyth has taken 18 penalty minutes against Rapid City this season.

MISSISSIPPI GOALIES vs. RAPID CITY: Of the active goaltenders on the RiverKings roster, only Kevin Beech has seen action against the Rush. Beech has made one appearance in goal against the Rush this season, allowing two goals in twenty minutes of play.

RUSH LEADERS vs. MISSISSIPPI: Les Reaney leads the Rush in points against the RiverKings with eight and in assists with five. He joins Scott Wray as co-leaders in goal scoring against Mississippi with three each. Reaney and Wray also lead Rapid City in plus-minus at +4. Colt King has taken 28 penalty minutes against the RiverKings with 28. Derek LeBlanc has scored two power play goals.

RUSH GOALIES vs. MISSISSIPPI: Danny Battochio has a 2-1-0 record against the RiverKings, a 2.19 GAA, and a.926 save percentage. Miguel Beaudry has a 1-1-0 record against Mississippi, a 2.22 GAA, and a save percentage of.915.

MISSISSIPPI LEADERS vs. WICHITA: Ryan Held has scored three goals and five points to lead the RiverKings in those categories against the Thunder this year. Held also has scored the team's only shorthanded goal against the Thunder this year. Five different players have been +3 against Wichita this year. Darrell Stoddard has taken seven penalty minutes in games against the Thunder.

MISSISSIPPI GOALIES vs. WICHITA: None of the current RiverKings goalies have appeared against the Thunder this season.

THUNDER LEADERS vs. MISSISSIPPI: Marc Belanger leads Wichita in goals scored against the RiverKings with two and Mark Adamek paces the Thunder in assists and points with three. Four different players are +1 against Mississippi this year. Mike Batovanja has taken the most penalty minutes against the RiverKings at 15. Belanger and Jason Duda have each scored a power play goal. Brent Ottman has scored the Thunder's only unassisted and game-winning goal.

THUNDER GOALIES vs. MISSISSIPPI: Scott Campbell is 0-1-0 against the RiverKings with a 4.00 GAA and a save percentage of.833.

MISSISSIPPI LEADERS vs. TULSA: Ryan Held leads the RiverKings in goals (3), assists (6), and points (9) against Tulsa this season. David Simoes has the best plus-minus number against the Oilers at +4. Adam Smyth has taken 21 penalty minutes against Tulsa this year. Held, Derek Landmesser, Kevin Jarman, Kevin Truelson, and Andrew Lackner have each scored power play goals against the Oilers, and Bobby Chaumont has a shorthanded tally. Chaumont and Nate Schwartzbauer have scored game-winning goals against Tulsa this year. Matt Pierce has an unassisted goal and an empty-net goal against the Oilers.

MISSISSIPPI GOALIES vs. TULSA: Kevin Beech is 1-0-1 against Tulsa this year with a 2.97 GAA and a.893 save percentage.

OILERS LEADERS vs. MISSISSIPPI: With the departure of Rob Hisey for the AHL, T.J. Caig has scored the most points against Mississippi with nine. Caig has scored four goals, while Troy Riddle has six assists. Caig also has tallied twice on the power play. R.J. Linder has the top plus-minus number against the RiverKings at +6 and Dan Riedel has taken 13 penalty minutes in games against Mississippi.

OILERS GOALIES vs. MISSISSIPPI: Kevin Armstrong is 3-1-1 against the RiverKings this year with a 3.52 GAA and a save percentage of.905. Trevor Cann is 1-0-0 against Mississippi with a 1.96 GAA and a save percentage of.957. Marty Magers is 0-1-0 against the RiverKings with a 4.06 GAA and a save percentage of.897.

NOTES TO KNOW: Mississippi defenseman Derek Landmesser needs one point to reach 500 career Central Hockey League points. Landmesser scored a goal and added an assist in Saturday's victory against Missouri to give him 88 CHL goals and 411 CHL assists. Landmesser earlier this year reached 400 career CHL assists on November 21st against the Mavericks.

The two games this week against Rapid City will complete a four-game home stand of which the RiverKings are currently 2-0-0. Tuesday's game is the annual "Face Off Field Trip" school day contest for children at 10:05 AM. Mississippi completes the home stand against the Rush on Thursday night. Friday's game will be the first visit by the RiverKings to the new INVEST Bank Arena.

Tuesday's 10:05 AM "Face Off Field Trip" start marks the seventh time where the RiverKings have hosted over 8,000 youngsters in a regular season contest. The first game in 2003 was an exhibition meeting and the second meeting was an intra-squad game in 2004. The first regular season game was between the Memphis RiverKings and Bossier-Shreveport on November 15th, 2005, won by the Mudbugs 6-3. The games reverted to January meetings the following season, when Memphis defeated Bossier-Shreveport 4-1 on January 23, 2007. Other results from "Face Off Field Trip" games include 2008 when Bossier-Shreveport defeated the RiverKings 4-0 on January 4-0, and last year's 2-1 loss to the Mudbugs on January 27th. This is the first year someone other than Bossier-Shreveport has played Mississippi/Memphis in the "Face Off Field Trip" event. The RiverKings (0-4-0) will be looking for its first win in "Face Off Field Trips."

At home, the RiverKings have a 12-6-2 record for 26 of the team's 42 standings points. Last year, Mississippi was 24-7-1 for 49 points.

Mississippi's road record is 7-9-2 for 16 of the team's 42 standings points. The RiverKings' last road victory came on Saturday, December 26th in a 3-1 victory at Bossier-Shreveport.

Against the Northern Conference this season, Mississippi sports a record of 13-13-3 for 29 points.

When scoring first, the RiverKings have a record of 13-4-2.

Mississippi won its first overtime game of the season on New Year's night against Missouri, improving its overtime record to 1-3.

The RiverKings lost its first shootout game of the year last Saturday night against Allen, giving Mississippi a 2-1 shootout record for the season.

Mississippi scored twice on the power play Saturday night for the second straight time against the Mavericks. It was the third straight game the RiverKings have scored a power play goal and second time Mississippi has scored more than one power play goal since netting three in six chances at Tulsa on January 2nd (5-3 win).

The 12 power play chances given Missouri on Saturday night were the most given an opponent this season for the RiverKings. Prior to that, Wichita had ten extra-man chances against Mississippi on October 17th, and Texas had ten power play chances on November 3rd. In those three combined games, the RiverKings are 4-for-32, including 1-for-12 Saturday against Missouri.

Missouri out shot the RiverKings by a 36-29 margin Saturday evening, marking the first time Mississippi has been out shot since Odessa held a 33-26 advantage in a 3-2 RiverKings win on January 8th in Southaven. In games where the RiverKings have been out shot, they hold a record of 6-4-1.

The RiverKings have a scoring average of 3.24 goals per game (sixth in the CHL rankings) and the scoring defensive average is 3.26 goals per game (eighth in the CHL).

Mississippi remains atop the league standings for shots allowed per game at 28.97.

The RiverKings' 22 shots on goal in the third period of its October 25th 4-3 loss to Wichita is a league season high.

On Tuesday, Mississippi has a record for the year of 2-2-0. On Thursday, the RiverKings are 0-1-1, In Friday appearances, Mississippi is 7-4-2 this season and the RiverKings are 7-5-1 in games played on Saturday.

Mississippi has scored six shootout goals in 13 attempts for a percentage of.462.

At home, Mississippi has a 7-0-1 record when ahead after two periods. Friday night's 4-2 victory over Missouri marked the first win for the RiverKings (1-6-0) at home when they trailed after forty minutes of play.

In one goal games at home, the RiverKings are 6-3-2 for the season.

Mississippi has not lost in regulation at home in the team's last five games, a streak dating back to January 1st, a mark marred only by Allen's shootout victory on January 9th.

Mississippi's two-game winning streak is tied with Tulsa for the second-longest active winning streak in the CHL.

The seven major penalties taken by the RiverKings in Saturday's victory ties Rapid City and Tulsa for the most major penalties taken in one CHL game this year.

PLAYER UPDATE 2-Adam Smyth is tied for third in the CHL for penalty minutes with 156. Smyth leads the league in major penalties with 16.

3-David Simoes is tied for second in the CHL (and tied for first among league blue liners) in major penalties with 14. Simoes is third in penalty minutes by a defenseman with 100. Saturday marked Simoes' first points since an assist on January 1st against Missouri and his second multi-point game of the year.

7-Dane Marshall had his first multi-point game of the year Saturday against Missouri and had his first points since a goal December 22nd at Corpus Christi.

18-Ryan Held leads the RiverKings in scoring with 40 points (19 goals, 21 assists).

19-Matt Summers had his fifth multi-point performance against Missouri Saturday night, his first since a one-goal, two-assist effort against Odessa on January 8th.

35-Mark Sibbald won his second straight game in goal for the RiverKings Saturday night against Missouri with a 35-save performance. In his two appearances, he has a 2-0-0 record,.948 save percentage, and a 1.50 GAA.

55-Derek Landmesser stands tied for fourth in the CHL (second among league defensemen) in power play assists with 15. Landmesser is fifth in scoring by a defenseman with 29 points (8 goals, 21 assists) and is also fifth in shots on goal by a blue liner with 114. Landmesser is 2-for-3 in shootout attempts this year. Saturday's two-point (1 goal, 1 assist) performance was his eight multi-point effort of the year.

BROADCASTS: All RiverKings games, home and away, are broadcast in the Mid-South on the stations of Flinn Broadcasting, primarily Sports 56, WHBQ-AM, and 96.1, WIVG-FM, "The Pig." Veteran broadcaster and second-year "Voice of the RiverKings" Bob Bakken provides the play-by-play coverage. Pre-game coverage begins 15 minutes before each night's start time.

RiverKings games are also available on your computer through CHL-TV, a webcasting service of INSINC. Go to the RiverKings' web site, www.riverkings.com, click the "Watch Live" button on the home page, and follow the prompts to access the games.

TICKETS: RiverKings hockey remains the best pro sports value in the Mid-South. For more information on your home town hockey team, located just minutes away from whereever you are, call 662-342-1755, or go online to www.riverkings.com and click the "Tickets" tab today!

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Central Hockey League Stories from January 25, 2010


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