CHL Mississippi RiverKings

RiverKings Update

Published on March 24, 2009 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


RiverKings Player Regular Season Stat Leaders

Bobby Chaumont ended the regular season as the RiverKings goal scoring leader with 28 goals. Martin Gascon finished the season with 54 assists, including 16 with the RiverKings. Derek Landmesser finished the year with the most assists in a Mississippi sweater at 45. Gascon also led the team in points with 68; however Louis Dumont paced the team in points with the RiverKings with 65. Matt Summers had the best plus-minus statistic during the regular season with a plus-22 rating, plus-20 with the RiverKings. Adam Smyth was the team leader in penalty minutes with 271. Jeff Alcombrack led Mississippi in power play goals scored with 10, Dumont paced the club in shorthanded goals scored with six, and Jeff Nelson finished with seven game-winning goals. In the crease, CHL Goaltender of the Year Kevin Beech led the team in all statistical categories, including games played (50), minutes (3025), wins (35), shutouts (3), goals-against-average (2.44), and save percentage (.906).

The Last Time Out...Saturday, March 21st, 2009 - RiverKings 5, Tulsa 1

Mississippi finished the regular season on Saturday night with a 5-1 victory over the Tulsa Oilers at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven. Five separate players scored goals for the RiverKings in the team's 44th victory of the season. Matt Summers, Dallas Costanzo and Dallas Steward each added an assist to their solo goals for two point nights, and Martin Gascon added a pair of assists for a two-point effort. In the net, Tyler Sims won his ninth game of the season (9-5-0) with a 21-save effort. The RiverKings put a season-high 59 shots on goal against Tulsa goaltender Davis Parley and were 1-of-5 on the power play, while stopping all three Tulsa power play chances. The 59 shots included 25 coming in the second period of play.

Northern Conference Semi-Finals - RiverKings vs. Oklahoma City (Regular Season Recap)

Mississippi finished the regular season series against Oklahoma City with a 6-3-0 record. The RiverKings were 4-0-0 at Oklahoma City and were 2-3-0 against the Blazers at the DeSoto Civic Center.

Jeff Nelson and Matt Summers were the team's leading scorers against Oklahoma City this season with nine points each. Nelson led the team in goals scored with four, and Summers assisted on seven goals. Nelson was plus-four against the Blazers. Jeff Alcombrack paced Mississippi in penalty minutes against Oklahoma City with 24. Nelson and Louis Dumont each scored two power play goals in games against OKC, and two of Nelson's goals were game-winners.

Kevin Beech played all nine games in goal against Oklahoma City this season, posting a 6-3-0 record, a 2.53 goals-against-average, and a save percentage of .914.

The RiverKings scored 11 power play goals in 67 chances against the Blazers for a success rate of 16.4% and 12 of the team's 26 goals were scored in the second period.

Bill Vandermeer and Chad Hinz were the leading scorers for the Blazers against Mississippi with ten points each. Ted Vandermeer scored five goals against the RiverKings, while Bill Vandermeer and Hinz each had seven assists. Ted Vandermeer was plus-four against the RiverKings and Josh Patterson earned the most penalty minutes against Mississippi with 37. Oriel McHugh scored three power play goals for Oklahoma City in games against the RiverKings, while D.J. Jelitto and Simon Lambert each had a shorthanded goal. Bill Vandermeer and Hinz scored the first goal of the game on two occasions apiece.

At the crease, Doug Groenestege played in five of the nine games and posted a 2-2-1 record against the RiverKings. He fashioned a 2.58 goals-against-average and a save percentage of .923.

Oklahoma City was 12-of-70 on the power play (17.1%) and eleven of the Blazers' 24 goals were scored in the second period of play.

Special Teams Regular Season Recap

Against Tulsa Saturday night, the RiverKings were 1-for-5 on the power play. For the season, the RiverKings were fourth-best in the CHL on the power play at 19.0% (84-of-441). At home, Mississippi was fourth in the league with the man advantage at 20.9% (46-of-220), while on the road, the RiverKings ended the regular season sixth on the power play at 17.2% (38-of-221).

On the penalty kill, the RiverKings Saturday night finished 0-for-3. During the regular season, Mississippi was fifth on the penalty kill at 84.4% (59-of-378). At home, the RiverKings ended fourth in the circuit on the PK at 85.7% (26-of-182), while on the road they were seventh in the CHL at 83.2% (33-of-196).

Mississippi scored ten shorthanded goals and allowed nine this season. Five of the team's shorthanded goals were scored on home ice, while seven shorthanded goals against were on DCC ice this season.

RiverKings in the Post-Season

This will be the eleventh season in the Central Hockey League post-season for the Mississippi/Memphis RiverKings since the franchise joined the league in the 1992-93 season. In two of the seasons, the Memphis RiverKings won the CHL Ray Miron President's Cup title, claiming back-to-back championships in 2002 and again in 2003. Memphis lost to the Fort Worth Fire in the 1997 finals and lost to the Colorado Eagles in the 2007 Northern Conference finals. Memphis lost in the second round during the 2001 playoff schedule and in the remaining five times the RiverKings were eliminated in the first round.

The overall Mississippi/Memphis playoff record is 52-44, including a 29-19 record on home ice (Mid-South Coliseum and DeSoto Civic Center), and a 23-25 record at enemy venues.

In overtime playoff games, the RiverKings are 10-5, including a 5-2 home mark and a 5-3 record on the road. Of the 19 playoff series the RiverKings have been a part of, they have won ten and lost nine.

Against Oklahoma City, the RiverKings have been stymied by the Blazers in three of the four previous playoff series. This will be the first time the Mississippi RiverKings have played against their long-standing rivals from the Sooner State, however, as the four previous series were played in Memphis RiverKings sweaters.

The RiverKings' record against the Blazers in the playoffs is 9-13. The lone series victory over Oklahoma City came in the 2003 Ray Miron President's Cup championship year, when the RiverKings took a 3-2 series victory in the Northern Conference First Round.

Landmesser to Play in Fifth RiverKings Playoff Season

Mississippi RiverKings' captain and veteran defenseman Derek Landmesser will be playing in his fifth playoff run when he takes the ice against Oklahoma City this week. Landmesser played in seven games of the 2001 playoffs, 14 games of the RiverKings' championship run in 2003, 18 games with the RiverKings in the 2007 post-season, and all three games of last year's playoff appearance against Texas. The 42 appearances is a RiverKings playoff record. Derek is third on the RiverKings all-time playoff list with 37 points and is six points behind Kahlil Thomas (2002-03) at number two. Landmesser is also second all-time in playoff assists at 28, one fewer than Thomas' 29 helpers at number one. Don Parsons (2001-03) is the RiverKings' all-time point-getter in the playoffs at 61 and is tied with Landmesser for second all-time in assists with 28.

Dumont, Nelson Also Veterans to Playoffs

The post-season will also be nothing new for the RiverKings' two other veterans, as Louis Dumont and Jeff Nelson lead the team against Oklahoma City. This will be the third playoff season appearance for Dumont with the RiverKings, bringing a total of 21 CHL playoff games played into the series with the Blazers, however Dumont has seen post-season action in 12 other professional campaigns, all with various teams in the ECHL.

Nelson, the team's other veteran, will be making his first CHL playoff appearance, however he has played in 14 other playoff campaigns, including three games of the 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs with the NHL's Washington Capitals. Nelson's other playoff time has been in the American Hockey League, International Hockey League, United Hockey League, and in the Italian professional ranks.

Hot Four at Five

A quartet of RiverKings has averaged at or more than a point a game in the final five games of the regular season. Martin Gascon's two goals and four assists for six points leads the way, while Jeff Alcombrack, Garrett Larson, and Derek Landmesser each have earned five points in the team's last five contests. Of the group, Alcombrack has scored three goals, while Landmesser has five assists.

2008-09 RiverKings Regular Season Hat-Tricks: Darrell Stoddard (4 goals, February 3rd, 2009 vs. Wichita)

2008-09 RiverKings Regular Season Penalty Shots: Jeff Nelson (miss, January 17th, 2009 at Tulsa), (goal, February 24th, 2009 at Odessa)

2008-09 RiverKings Regular Season Goaltender Shutouts: Tyler Sims (November 29th, 2008 at Corpus Christi), Kevin Beech - December 31st, 2008 vs. Bossier-Shreveport; January 9th vs. Tulsa; January 31st vs. Rapid City)

Streaking Regular Season RiverKings

Goals: (none)

Assists: (none)

Points: (none)

Penalty Minutes: Louis Dumont (2 games - 4 penalty minutes)

Goaltender Wins: Tyler Sims (2)

Regular Season Please To Note.....

This season, Mississippi had the longest string of road games without a regulation time loss at 11, from January 11th, to March 17th.

The RiverKings had the longest string of overall games without a regulation time loss at 17, from January 30th to March 7th.

Mississippi had the longest road winning streak of eight games from February 13th to March 7th.

The RiverKings tied Odessa for the longest overall winning streak of the year at eleven games from February 13th to March 7th.

Broadcasts

RiverKings hockey is covered in the Mid-South and around the world, primarily on Flinn Broadcasting station Sports 56, WHBQ-AM, with RiverKings Media Coordinator and veteran broadcaster Bob Bakken providing the play-by-play. Broadcast coverage begins 15 minutes before the game's first faceoff. An audio stream of the broadcast is available from the station's web site, www.sports56whbq.com. Fans with a high-speed internet connection can view RiverKings hockey from CHL-TV through a link from the team's official web site, www.riverkings.com. Games not aired on Sports 56, WHBQ-AM due to other programming commitments are heard on fellow Flinn Broadcasting station 96.1 FM "The Pig," WIVG-FM.

Tickets

For information on RiverKings playoff tickets, contact the team's offices at 662-342-1755. New season ticket orders for next season are now being taken and a $75.00 deposit assures you have the edge of your seat at the DeSoto Civic Center for the excitement of RiverKings hockey next season.

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Central Hockey League Stories from March 24, 2009


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