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CHL Mississippi RiverKings

RiverKings news and notes

December 31, 2007 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


Following a tough weekend in Ohio, the RiverKings will open 2008 a stone's throw away from Mexico. They will visit the defending Southern Conference champion Laredo Bucks at 7 p.m. on Thursday. Fans can tune in to the pre-game show beginning at 6:50 on Sports 56 WHBQ. The Bucks will host the RiverKings again on Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m.

On Friday at 7:38 p.m., the RiverKings will call on the Austin Ice Bats. Sports 56 WHBQ will begin this broadcast at 7:28. The RiverKings and the Ice Bats will not meet again this season. The Ice Bats currently have the worst winning percentage in the Central Hockey League and the second-lowest attendance per game.

The RiverKings' "three games in three nights" road trip will end on Saturday with a Northeast Division matchup against the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs at 7:05 p.m. Coverage of this game will begin at 6:55 on Y96.1 FM. Both teams at the moment trail the Youngstown SteelHounds for first place by two points.

WEEK REVIEW (0-2)

Friday: Youngstown 6, Mississippi 3

Former RiverKing defenseman Jeff Alcombrack had four assists to help end his former team's season-high six-game winning streak. Joel Irving scored 15 seconds into the game to the SteelHounds an early lead, but the RiverKings struck back at 3:33 thanks to Darrell Stoddard. However, Eric Przepiroka scored a pair of goals and Kirill Starkov also scored to give the SteelHounds a 4-1 lead after 20.

The RiverKings replaced Sebastien Centomo in net with Kyle McNulty at the start of the second period, but Irving scored again at 9:41 to make it a 5-1 game. Rick Kozak scored at 3:11 of the third period to give the RiverKings some hope at 5-2, but Peter Pohl's goal at 4:12 snuffed out any chance of a Mississippi comeback. Nevertheless, Louis Dumont scored with 5:09 remaining to extend his goal-scoring streak to four games.

McNulty made 14 saves over the final two periods for the RiverKings, who went one for 10 on the power play. Brad Roberts stopped 24 shots for the SteelHounds, who went two for seven with the extra man.

Saturday: Youngstown 3, Mississippi 2

Starkov scored twice to vault the SteelHounds past the RiverKings and into first place. Aaron Davis began the scoring with a power play goal late in the first period, but Starkov came right back with a power play goal of his own to tie the game before the end of the first.

The SteelHounds took the lead midway through the second period when Petr Pohl picked Jason Lawmaster's pocket behind the RiverKings net and put the puck past Centomo. However, Ryan Campbell scored on the power play just a minute later to make it a 2-2 game. But Starkov scored his third goal in two games with 6:44 remaining in the period to put the SteelHounds ahead for good.

Roberts made 23 saves for the SteelHounds. Centomo made 20 saves for the RiverKings.

THREE RIVERKINGS MAKE ALL-STAR GAME

Derek Landmesser, Aaron Davis, and Sebastien Centomo have all made the Northern Conference All-Star Team that will play the Southern Conference All-Star Team at the 2008 CHL All-Star Game on Jan. 16 at the Broomfield Event Center.

This game will mark Landmesser's sixth consecutive all-star appearance, and no player in this year's game will have more all-star games under his belt. In the previous five games, he has scored one goal and assisted on five others. Landmesser has started an all-star game four times.

Davis and Centomo will each play in an all-star game for the first time.

STRANGE BUT TRUE FACTS

Kozak has a share of the league lead in power play goals with nine, and he continues to lead the league in game-winning goals with six. His 122 penalty minutes land him sixth in that category ..... The RiverKings gave up four goals in a period for the first time this year after the SteelHounds made it 4-1 in the first period on Friday ..... Sheldon Wenzel has gotten into a fight in each of the last four games he has played. His 110 penalty minutes rank him 12th in the league ..... Derek Landmesser's 11 power play assists rank him in the league's top 15. However, his five-game point-scoring streak ended on Friday ..... Steve Makway's 13 power play assists put him in the league's top 10. However, his five-game point-scoring streak ended on Friday ..... Chad Woollard's six power play goals has him among the league leaders. His 112 shots have him in the league's top 10 ..... The RiverKings' penalty kill has slipped to second-best in the league, but their power play has jumped up to sixth ..... Kozak, Davis, and Woollard all sit in the league's top 25 in goals with 15, 14, and 14, respectively ..... Centomo's 12 wins and three shutouts have him in the league's top five in both categories ..... The RiverKings on Friday lost for the first time this year when the opponent outshot them ..... The RiverKings on Saturday lost for just the second time this season when scoring first ..... Ryan Held's seven-game assist and point-scoring streaks ended on Friday ..... Dumont's six-game point-scoring streak came to an end on Saturday ..... Campbell's 20 assists put him in the league's top 20.

TICKETS

Season Tickets

It's never too late to purchase a RiverKings season ticket package! Full season tickets are currently on sale at prorated prices. Season ticket holders receive benefits that include invitations to exclusive parties, year-long ticket discounts, and RiverKings merchandise specials. For more information, call the RiverKings at (662) 342-1755, or log on to the Internet at http://www.riverkings.com.

Birthday Parties

Come celebrate your birthday party at a RiverKings game! Birthday packages include tickets and RiverKings goodies for the birthday child and guests. Before the game, enjoy having cake with your birthday party in one of our special birthday party rooms located in the DeSoto Civic Center's banquet hall area.

Group Outings

Schedule your next family, work, church, school, or team outing at a RiverKings game. Group tickets start as low as $7 per person for groups of 10 or more. Group leaders receive great benefits, including tickets to future games and entry into a contest for FREE airline tickets.

Mini Plans

RiverKings ticket packages are available now and throughout the rest of the season. Get your package of either four, eight, or 16 vouchers that you can redeem for tickets to ANY home game, regular season or playoff. You can also use these vouchers in ANY quantity.

Fundraising

The RiverKings Ticket Fundraising Program allows your non-profit organization to raise money by selling tickets to a RiverKings game. Your non-profit organization can raise up to $9 per ticket sold. It can sell tickets for any RiverKings home game this season.

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Central Hockey League Stories from December 31, 2007


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.

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