CHL Mississippi RiverKings

Game Day - RiverKings at Quad City

Published on March 12, 2011 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


SOUTHAVEN, MS --- The Mississippi RiverKings complete a three-game weekend with their first-ever visit to the i wireless Center in Moline, Illinois tonight in a 7:05 PM battle with the Quad City Mallards. Broadcast coverage of the game is available on Sports 56, WHBQ-AM and www.sports56whbq.com at 6:50 PM. Tonight's game is also available on the CHL-TV webcasting service found on the RiverKings web site home page by clicking the "Watch Live" button and following the prompts. Media Coordinator and Voice of the RiverKings Bob Bakken calls the action for tonight's game.

RIVERKINGS RECAP: Wichita won its second straight game against the RiverKings this season in last night ‚¬â„¢s 5-2 victory at the INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita. Mississippi got goals from Chris Auger and Chris Richards, but never led in the contest. Goaltender Alexander Pechurskiy saw a season-high 42 shots on net and made 38 saves, with the final Wichita goal entering an open net.

MISSISSIPPI VS. QUAD CITY: Tonight is the second game in the history of the two franchises, with Quad City being one of the five teams coming to the Central Hockey League this season after the demise of the International Hockey League. In the previous contest, the Mallards came to Southaven and claimed a 1-0 victory on November 19th. Obi Aduba scored the lone goal in the contest seven minutes into the first period. RiverKings goaltender Alexander Pechurskiy stopped 25 of 26 shots on goal in the game.

MISSISSIPPI ON THE ROAD: The RiverKings continue to struggle on the road this season, with the 9-17-3 (21 points) record being the least successful in the Central Hockey League this year. Mississippi ‚¬â„¢s last victory on the road came Friday, March 4th, in a 4-1 conquest of the Sundogs in Arizona. Matt Summers leads the RiverKings in goals on the road with eleven, while Nathan Lutz paces Mississippi in assists (19) and points (25). Eight of Summers ‚¬â„¢ eleven goals on the road have been power play goals and two have been game winners. Patrik Levesque has scored the first goal of a road game on three occasions this season and R.G. Flath has scored empty-net goals in two away games. Russell Smith leads the RiverKings in penalty minutes on the road with 93. At the crease, Alexander Pechurskiy has a 6-9-1 record with a 3.68 goals-against-average and a save percentage of .884. Larry Sterling has a 2-6-2 record, a 3.87 GAA, and a save percentage of .883. Mississippi is 14.2% on the power play and has scored five shorthanded goals. The third period is the best for the RiverKings to score away from home with 30 red-lighters in the final period.

PLAYER UPDATES

3-Patrik Levesque...plays in his former home arena for the first time tonight since being acquired from the Mallards by the RiverKings for future considerations...assisted on a RiverKings ‚¬â„¢ goal last night in Wichita and has two assists in his last five appearances.

5-Russell Smith...has reached a career professional high for goals (5), assists (16), and points (21) scored in a season...ranks fourth in the CHL for penalty minutes with 189 (second among CHL defensemen)...is tied for second in the CHL for minor penalties with 52...had a penalty minute game streak of nine games and 64 penalty minutes between February 4th and 19th.

9-Matt Boyd...ranks second in the CHL for shorthanded assists by a rookie with two.

16-Louis Dumont...is two goals short of 100 career RiverKings goals scored...is tied for the CHL lead for shorthanded goals scored with five.

19-Matt Summers...ranks fourth in the CHL for power play goals scored with 13...ranks second in the CHL for shooting percentage at .231 (25 goals, 108 shots).

20-R.G. Flath...assisted on a goal last evening in Wichita and has one goal and two assists in his last five games played.

22-Tyler Sheldrake...tonight is serving the second game of a two-game league suspension which began last night in Wichita. He played his first game since November Thursday at home against Dayton...has 25 penalty minutes in Mississippi ‚¬â„¢s last five games.

24-Andrew Lackner...is two games short of 300 career professional games played, with number 300 expected to come Friday, March 18th at home against Texas.

26-Chris Auger...scored the RiverKings ‚¬â„¢ first goal last night in Wichita and has scored three goals in his last five appearances...leads CHL rookies in shorthanded goals scored with three...is fourth for plus-minus stats by a CHL rookie at +9.

27-Brennan Sarazin...assisted on a Mississippi goal last night in Wichita...has one goal and two assists in his last five appearances.

40-Alexander Pechurskiy...saw season high numbers in net for shots (42) and saves (38) in last night ‚¬â„¢s loss to Wichita...is 2-2-0 in Mississippi ‚¬â„¢s last five games...is tied for the CHL lead in shootout wins by a goalie with three...is fifth in the CHL for shootout save percentage at .815 (22 saves, 27 shots).

44-Nathan Lutz...leads Mississippi with four assists in the team ‚¬â„¢s last five games...is fourth in the CHL for power play assists with 23 (leading CHL defensemen)...ranks third among CHL defensemen for points with 49...is tied for the CHL lead for assists by a CHL blue liner at 39...has taken 14 penalty minutes in his last four games, dating back to March 4th at Arizona.

55-Derek Landmesser...scored career RiverKings goal 100 Thursday night at home against Dayton with his shootout game winning goal...is tied for the CHL lead for shootout goals scored with two.

83-Chris Richards...plays in career CHL game 700 tonight in Quad City...scored one of the two Mississippi goals in last night ‚¬â„¢s game at Wichita and has scored goals in his last two games...took over the team lead for points scored (50) with last night ‚¬â„¢s goal.

87-Darrell Stoddard...assisted on a Mississippi goal last night in Wichita and has two assists in his last two contests...has a goal and two assists in his last five appearances.

RIVERKINGS STATISTICAL LEADERS:

GOALS: Matt Summers (25)

ASSISTS: Nathan Lutz (39)

POINTS: Chris Richards (50)

PLUS-MINUS: Chris Auger (+9)

PENALTY MINUTES: Russell Smith (189)

POWER PLAY GOALS: Summers (13)

SHORTHANDED GOALS: Louis Dumont (5)

GAME-WINNING GOALS: R.G. Flath (4)

RIVERKINGS GOALTENDING LEADERS:

GAMES PLAYED: Alexander Pechurskiy (31)

MINUTES PLAYED: Pechurskiy (1733)

WINS: Pechurskiy (14)

SHUTOUTS: Sterling (2)

GOALS-AGAINST-AVERAGE: Pechurskiy (2.87)

SAVE PERCENTAGE: Pechurskiy (.897)

TEAM NOTES: Mississippi...ranks first in the CHL for penalty minutes (1461), majors (65), game misconducts (18), and tied for the CHL lead in match penalties (1)...has a league leading penalty minute average of 24.76...is tied for the CHL lead in shorthanded goals scored with 14...is 17-7-2 when scoring the first goal...has an 18-14-2 record against Turner Conference teams, but is only 8-14-3 in games against its own Berry Conference.

RICHARDS REACHES 700 CAREER CHL GAMES: Tonight, Mississippi RiverKings forward Chris Richards reaches career CHL game 700 when he takes the ice for the first time against the Quad City Mallards. The veteran forward becomes just the fourth player to play in 700 CHL games joining Travis Clayton, Jason Duda and Joe Burton.

UP NEXT: The RiverKings return home to host the Texas Brahmas in a pair of games Friday and Saturday, March 18th and 19th at Southaven's DeSoto Civic Center, both nights starting at 7:05 PM. Mississippi plays at Missouri Sunday afternoon at 5:05 PM to complete another three-game weekend.

TICKETS: For RiverKings ticket information, call 662-342-1755 or go online to www.riverkings.com today!

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Central Hockey League Stories from March 12, 2011


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