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CHL Mississippi RiverKings

RiverKings to play in slightly altered Northeast Division

June 7, 2006 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


SOUTHAVEN --- The Central Hockey League Board of Governors determined numerous operational issues at the league's recently concluded Spring Conference in Scottsdale, AZ. Various alignment, playoff format and roster regulations scenarios were discussed and several adjustments for the 2006-2007 season were made.

The CHL is going to keep the two conference, four division alignment as it expands from 15 to 17 teams. The RiverKings will remain in the Northeast Division of the Northern Conference along with the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs and the Youngstown Steelhounds. The Tulsa Oilers will be the fourth team in the division, replacing Fort Worth. The Brahmas have suspended operations for the upcoming season.

The other division in the Northern Conference, the Northwest, will consist of the Colorado Eagles, Wichita Thunder, Oklahoma City Blazers and the expansion Rocky Mountain Rage.

In the Southern Conference, the Southwest Division will consist of the Amarillo Gorillas, Lubbock Cotton Kings, Odessa Jackalopes, the New Mexico Scorpions and the expansion Arizona Sundogs. The Southeast remains as it was last season with the Laredo Bucks, Austin Ice Bats, Corpus Christi Rayz and Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees calling the division home.

The playoff format will see a significant change from past seasons. The postseason field will be expanding from eight to 12 teams, with the top six teams in each conference qualifying. Division champions will be seeded either first or second in their conference. The four teams with the next highest point totals in each conference would then be seeded three through six. The winner of each of the first round series in each conference will advance to the conference semifinals. Also the highest seeded team that loses in the first round will still advance to the semis and be seed fourth among the remaining teams. The remainder of the playoffs will follow the old format of the winners of the semis playing in the conference finals followed by the Ray Miron President's Cup Finals between the two conference champs. Home ice in the finals will belong to the team with the best regular season point total. All four playoff rounds will feature best-of-seven game formats.

The other changes of note were made to the team's roster regulations. The 18-man roster will remain as it was last season, but the 'veteran' definition has been altered.

A player is now considered a veteran after he has played in 280 professional games. The previous threshold was 260. Each team can have a maximum of four veteran status players on its roster. Teams are still required to maintain a minimum of five developmental players that have 128 or fewer professional games played.

The RiverKings were nominated for two awards at Saturday night's banquet that concluded the conference. The nominations were for Game Operations Franchise of the Year and Broadcaster of the Year.

The RiverKings, as well as the Central Hockey League, will be celebrating their 15th anniversary season in 2006-2007.

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The RiverKings celebrate their 15th Anniversary in 2006-2007.

Season tickets for the 2006-2007 season are available now. Take advantage of the 15th anniversary rates by June 15 and save up to $88. Call 662-342-1755 for more information.



Central Hockey League Stories from June 7, 2006


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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