CHL Mississippi RiverKings

RiverKings news and notes

Published on January 14, 2008 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


With their season-long losing streak over in a big way, the RiverKings have finally received a chance to take a couple deep breaths. The 2008 CHL All-Star Game takes place at the Broomfield Event Center on Wednesday. The entire league resumes play on Friday.

RiverKings Roundup returns today at 7 p.m. from Beef O'Brady's on Goodman Road in Southaven. Fans who can't make it to the pub can tune in to the show on Sports 56 WHBQ.

The RiverKings host the Tulsa Oilers on Friday at 7:05 p.m. The pre-game show begins on WHBQ at 6:55 p.m. The Oilers split a home-and-home series with the Texas Brahmas this weekend, with the road team winning both games.

The RiverKings visit on the Brahmas on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. Coverage on WHBQ begins at 6:55 p.m. The Brahmas beat the Oilers on Saturday to end a five-game losing streak.

Then the RiverKings and Brahmas play on Sunday in Southaven at 5:05 p.m. The broadcast begins at 4:55 p.m. on Y 96.1.

WEEK REVIEW (2-1) Tuesday: Wichita 4, Mississippi 2 Alex Goupil and Mike Batovanja each had a goal and an assist to lead the Thunder over the RiverKings at the Kansas Coliseum.

The Thunder scored twice early. Kris Wiebe's seventh goal of the season at 1:09 of the first period and Goupil's sixth at 3:07 gave the Thunder a 2-0 lead. Kyle Bruce scored his sixth goal of the year with 4:37 left in the first to make it 3-0.

But the RiverKings came back in the second period. Zach Pearson scored his second of the year at 1:27 to get the RiverKings on the board, and Steve Makway scored on the power play for his fifth goal of the season at 13:48 to make it a 3-2.

However, Sebastien Laplante stood tall in the Thunder net and kept the RiverKings from tying the game in the third period. Batovanja scored into an empty net for his second of the season with 35 seconds remaining.

Friday: Mississippi 3, Youngstown 2 Ryan Held scored a pivotal shorthanded goal in the second period to propel the RiverKings over the Youngstown SteelHounds at the DeSoto Civic Center.

Held's 11th goal of the season with 9:37 left in the second gave the RiverKings a 2-1 lead. His goal swung momentum back in his team's favor after it failed to score on a two-minute two-man advantage earlier in the period.

The RiverKings got a goal in the third period from Zach Pearson. His third of the season at 4:17 on the power play proved large, as did a penalty shot save from Sebastien Centomo. Centomo's stop on Kevin Jarman kept the RiverKings in front by two.

The SteelHounds did make it a one-goal game again with 5:01 remaining, as Mark Johnson crashed the net for his third goal of the year. However, the RiverKings rode out the SteelHounds' storm to earn their first win in 2008.

Eric Przepiorka scored his 16th of the season 7:13 into the contest to give the SteelHounds a 1-0. Louis Dumont slammed home his eighth of the season at 10:22 to tie the game for the RiverKings.

Saturday: Mississippi 6, Youngstown 4 Ryan Campbell had a four-point night to lead the RiverKings over the SteelHounds.

Campbell's night began at 5:30 of the first period when he scored shorthanded to give the RiverKings a 1-0 lead. After Chris Richards tied the game for the SteelHounds on the power play at 6:29 with his 13th of the year, Campbell received credit for his 12th goal of the season thanks to former RiverKing Jeff Alcombrack. Alcombrack's pass in the SteelHounds' zone went off of Campbell and into the net to give the RiverKings a 2-1 lead 8:08 into the contest.

Eric Przepiorka tied the game for the SteelHounds with 3:22 remaining in the first period with his 17th goal of the season. However, the RiverKings came out in the second period with vigor. Chad Woollard scored his 16th goal of the year at 9:01, and Brian Mullally netted his first goal of the year at 10:13 to give the RiverKings a 4-2 lead after 40.

The RiverKings' strong play carried over into the third period, as Jason Weitzel scored his fourth of the season and his first with his new team just nine seconds after the opening face-off. Kevin Jarman's ninth of the year at 5:37 on a power play made it a 5-3 contest, but Woollard scored his second of the game at 7:56 to restore the RiverKings' three-goal lead.

Kirill Starkov scored his sixth of the year with 2:36 remaining, but the SteelHounds did not score again.

Campbell's night did not end at the final horn, however. He set a single-game career high for penalty minutes with 19 after fighting Przepiorka near the SteelHounds' bench. The scrap completed Campbell's "Gordie Howe Hat Trick" on the night, as he now had at least one goal, at least one assist, and at least one fighting major. He also had a +5 rating for the game.

STRANGE BUT TRUE FACTS Rick Kozak registered his first two-assist game as a pro on Friday. He has the third-most penalty minutes in the league at 150, his nine power play goals rank him in the top 10, and he continues leading the CHL in game-winning goals with six ..... With two assists and four points on Saturday, Ryan Campbell leads the team in multiple-point games with nine and multiple-assist games with six. His three shorthanded goals have him in the league's top 10 ..... With two goals on Saturday, Chad Woollard leads the team in multiple-goal games with four. He sits in the league's top 20 with 17 goals and in the top 10 with 144 shots ..... Just before Saturday's game, the RiverKings activated Steve Slonina from injured reserve when Darrell Stoddard received leave from the league ..... Steve Makway has the 22nd-highest penalty minutes total in the CHL at 106, and his 14 power play assists land him in the top 10 ..... Zach Pearson scored in back-to-back games for the first time on Tuesday and Friday and has a point in three straight games ..... Before Saturday, Mullally last scored on Feb. 3, 2007 for the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones in Wheeling against the Nailers ..... Sebastien Centomo left Saturday's game during the second period and will not play in the 2008 CHL All-Star Game ..... Peter Kennedy picked up his first RiverKings point with an assist on Pearson's goal on Tuesday ..... Josh Weitzel assisted on Chad Woollard's first goal Saturday to register his first RiverKings point ..... Sheldon Wenzel has the 17th-highest penalty minutes total in the CHL at 120 ..... Louis Dumont now has 979 points as a pro, needing only 21 more for 1,000 ..... Derek Landmesser's 13 power play assists rank him in the CHL's top 10 ..... The RiverKings have a 12-0 record when scoring at least four goals ..... The RiverKings have a 14-0 record when leading after two periods ..... Both of Kyle McNulty's RiverKings wins have come in relief.

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.

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



Central Hockey League Stories from January 14, 2008


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