SPHL Mississippi RiverKings

RiverKings Remain Perfect at Home, Defeat Tulsa 5-2

Published on November 11, 2003 under SPHL (SPHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


SOUTHAVEN, Miss – The two-time defending CHL champion Memphis RiverKings recovered nicely from their recent two-game swoon on Tuesday night, defeating the Tulsa Oilers 5-2 at the DeSoto Civic Center before 2,711 fans.

Don Parsons knocked in the game-winning goal less than a minute into the second period, one of two goals on the night for the RiverKings captain, off a feed from winger Jonathan Gagnon and center Alex Mathieu.

The RiverKings took command early in the first period, as forward Daryl Moor notched his first goal of the season on a low-angle shot past Oilers goaltender Tim Kelleher. It was Moor's first point as a RiverKing, coming off an assist by forward Jeremy Cornish, who also garnered his first point in Memphis this season.

Memphis pushed the margin to 2-0 less than 90 seconds later, as Gagnon took a pretty feed from Mathieu and deked his way past Kelleher in a shorthanded situation. It was Memphis's third shorthanded goal of the campaign, tops in the CHL. The score was Gagnon's tenth of the season, which leads the RiverKings.

Tulsa managed to draw back within 2-1, courtesy of a turnover at the blueline that forward Dan Graville converted into a goal at the 15:58 mark of the first period. Graville would also score the other Tulsa marker, maneuvering through the Memphis defense half way through the third period for a score.

But Memphis's offensive output in the first two periods, which also included a tip deflection goal by left wing Brian Tucker in the second period, was too much for the Oilers to overcome. Kelleher, who won his first matchup against the RiverKings earlier in the season, was pulled by Oilers coach Bruce Garber at the start of the third period in favor of veteran Rod Branch. Kelleher stopped only 9 of 14 shots to pick up the loss, while Branch provided solid relief, stopping all 9 shots he faced.

The RiverKings enjoyed solid goaltending from rookie Shawn Conschafter, whose 29 saves helped push his record to 4-1 on the season.

The RiverKings remained perfect at the DeSoto Civic Center on the season. Memphis has won all seven games that they have played in Southaven this year. The win propelled the RiverKings to a 9-3-0 record, good for 18 points and the lead in the Northeast Division of the CHL. Tulsa's record dropped to 5-6-1 on the season.

The RiverKings will be in action again this Friday, November 14, as they travel to Oklahoma City to take on the Blazers in a rematch of last Thursday's 5-4 tussle. The RiverKings' next home game will feature a contest versus the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs on Thursday, November 20 at 7:05 pm at the DeSoto Civic Center.

All 64 RiverKings games can be heard on Easy 680 AM, as well as worldwide via SportsJuice.com. Select RiverKings games will also be available through CHL TV, a league-wide video streaming enterprise. CHL TV is available at www.CHLTV.com. Information on the RiverKings, including the latest roster moves, press releases, and pictures, is available at www.riverkings.com.

Season, group, and individual game tickets are available. For more information, telephone (662) 342-1755.

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