SPHL Mississippi RiverKings

RiverKings Top Odessa, 3-2, Claim Fourth Win of Season

October 30, 2003 - SPHL (SPHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


SOUTHAVEN, Miss – The two-time defending CHL champion Memphis RiverKings notched their third straight home victory of the young season, defeating the Odessa Jackalopes 3-2 before 2,159 fans at the DeSoto Civic Center.

The RiverKings, who moved to 4-1 on the season, jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, thanks to a pair of first period goals. Midway through the initial frame, Memphis forward Trent Dickson stole a pass, performed a wraparound, and shot the puck past Odessa goaltender Joel Martin, giving the RiverKings a lead they would never relinquish.

Less than five minutes later, the RiverKings notched another goal, courtesy of a tip deflection by LW Jonathan Gagnon off a slapshot from the blueline by defenseman Derek Landmesser. RiverKings captain Don Parsons, back in Memphis after a stint with St. John's of the American Hockey League, also recorded an assist on the play.

Odessa cut the Memphis lead in half in the waning moments of the first period, as forward Mike Rutter skated past an outstretched Nathan Grobins to make it 2-1.

But the RiverKings would gain the insurance goal they needed in the second period as veteran Brian Tucker scored, making the contest 3-1 off assists by Scott Lega and Jay Neal.

The Jackalopes' Rutter would score once again before the contest ended, but the RiverKings were able to hold off Odessa, despite a furious closing offensive attack that saw Memphis goaltender Nathan Grobins having to make several key saves.

The game was preceded by the presentation of the 2002-03 CHL Championship rings, as former and current RiverKings players were honored for the second of the team's back-to-back CHL championships.

The RiverKings staked a three point lead in the Northeast Division, ahead of both Indianapolis and Bossier-Shreveport. Odessa fell to 1-5-0 with the loss.

Tomorrow night's contest is slated for 7:05 pm CST, as the RiverKings take on the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs. Friday is the RiverKings Halloween Spectacular, and all fans are invited to dress accordingly. Fans in costume will receive $2.00 off select tickets, and prizes will be awarded to the fans that are judged to have the best costume. Fans 21 and older are also invited to continue the Halloween celebration at Hunter Brown's Sports Café following the game. Hunter Brown's will also have a costume competition, with prizes awarded to the top three costumes.

The RiverKings are proud to be sponsoring Saturday's production of ‘The Wizard of Oz', as performed by the DeSoto Youth Theatre. The performance will take place at the DeSoto Civic Center Theatre at 2:00 pm. Any individual who presents a full or partial Memphis RiverKings ticket stub will receive a discounted price on admission.

Saturday's contest, also versus the Mudbugs, will start one hour later than previously scheduled. The start time, which was originally scheduled for 7:05 pm CST, was moved up an hour to accommodate security concerns at the DeSoto Civic Center, where President George W. Bush will be participating in a political rally earlier in the day.

The doors will open to the general public at 7:00 pm, with a tailgate party hosted by the DeSoto Civic Center being held in the fountain courtyard from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Food and beverages will be sold. In addition, Drake from the "Drake and Zeke Show" on Rock 103 will be on hand for a live remote from 6-8 pm.

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.



SPHL Stories from October 30, 2003


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