CHL Mississippi RiverKings

Pierce Returns To RiverKings Lineup

Published on August 19, 2009 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


(Southaven, MS) --- A steady, productive player during last season's run to a Central Hockey League Northeast Division championship and a Northern Conference finals berth for the Mississippi RiverKings is coming back to aid in this year's effort. Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Kevin "Killer" Kaminski has announced the signing of Matt Pierce to the RiverKings' roster for the 2009-2010 season, becoming the 16th roster addition for the upcoming year.

Last year, the 24-year old native of Arnpior, Ontario recorded career professional highs for games played (62) and assists (21) in a season and equaled his career professional high for points (36). At the same time, Pierce scored 15 goals, which placed him sixth among RiverKings goal scorers. He also finished the season seventh on the roster in plus-minus statistics at +14.

Kaminski welcomes Pierce back to the roster and feels he'll continue to move ahead this year, as he did last season. "I thought he really started to play with confidence and a lot of character," Kaminski said. "We look for him to play a role for us again this season with more grit, determination, and really lead in that he will be 100 percent healthy."

A late season injury kept Pierce from contributing in the RiverKings' playoff run, but now he's anticipating another successful season for himself and the team. "I had a good first season (in the CHL) and put up some good numbers, but I can't be satisfied, so I want to put up a couple more points this year," Pierce said. "It's always been my game to play intense and physical, finish every check and when I get the chance put the puck in the net, so I definitely want to focus on that and play my role."

The 6-foot, 205-pound Pierce was most productive during the RiverKings' league-high 17-game non-loss streak, when the team went 15-0-2. He contributed points in 12 of the games between January 30th and March 7th, including a six-game point streak where Pierce scored four goals and added four assists. The RiverKings were 4-0-2 in that streak.

Matt is looking forward to returning to the team. "It's definitely exciting after the success we had last year," Pierce said. "We had a good run in the playoffs and won our division, so having all the guys return, we should hopefully win a cup this season."

Pierce came to the Mid-South from Knoxville of the Southern Professional Hockey League, where he scored 22 goals and had 36 points with 84 penalty minutes in 2007-08. Matt aided Knoxville's run to an SPHL regular season and playoff championship during his rookie professional season, tying for second on the roster in goals scored. Pierce put together an eleven-game point streak as a member of the Ice Bears with 14 points, which included three multi-point appearances.

Matt also made a brief appearance in the ECHL during his rookie campaign, tallying one goal and four penalty minutes in four contests with Charlotte.

Pierce came to professional hockey from a brief stop in Canadian collegiate hockey at the Royal Military College, where he scored a goal and collected 21 penalty minutes in four games.

Pierce's career statistics can be found at http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=106073

Season tickets are now available for another exciting season of RiverKings hockey at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, beginning Friday, October 16th against the Tulsa Oilers, and starting at 7:05 PM. Call and reserve your season tickets now at 662-342-1755.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Central Hockey League Stories from August 19, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central