SPHL Mississippi RiverKings

RiverKings Weekly

February 24, 2003 - SPHL (SPHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


SOUTHAVEN, Miss. – The RiverKings swept a weekend set from the Indianapolis Ice. Friday night the RiverKings were led by a Don Parsons' hat trick in a 4-1 win. Saturday night, Jonathan Gagnon scored a pair of goals to help Memphis win 4-3 in a shootout. The ‘Kings have won four straight and six of their last seven games. The RiverKings travel on Wednesday to Wichita and Saturday to Indianapolis, but also play a pair of home games. Friday night they take on Indianapolis. All upper bowl tickets are just five dollars. Sunday night they host the Fort Worth Brahmas. Face off Friday is 7:05 p.m. while on Sunday it is at 6:05 p.m. For tickets call (662) 342-1755 or go online at www.RiverKings.com and use the ticketmaster link.

RECORD:

32-18-3

PLACE:

2nd Northeast Division (67 Points)

DIVISION RECORD:

15-9-1, Won 2

HOME:

20-4-1, Won 6

ROAD:

12-14-2, Lost 3

W / L STREAK:

Won 4, and 6 of last 7

LAST 10:

6-4-0

GOALS FOR:

194

GOALS ALLOWED:

154

POWER PLAY:

18.3 % (3rd)

PENALTY KILL:

85.5 % (6th)

NEXT UP

· The RiverKings travel to Wichita on Wednesday. Friday night the ‘Kings host Indianapolis. Saturday, Memphis is at Indy, while Sunday the ‘Kings return home to tangle with Fort Worth.

SUNDAY NIGHT HEAT

· The RiverKings will be honoring the police and firefighters this Sunday at the DCC. There will be fire trucks on display, and the Germantown L.A.F.S. (Learn About Fire Safety) Clowns will be on hand and much more. The police will be offering free fingerprinting for the kids and the K-9 unit will be present. Parking lot activities go from 1 – 5 p.m.

RIVERKINGS UPCOMING SCHEDULE

2/26 @ Wichita 7:05 p.m.

2/28 Vs. Indianapolis 7:05 p.m.

3/1 @ Indianapolis 6:05 p.m.

3/2 Vs. Fort Worth 6:05 p.m.

3/6 Vs. Laredo 7:05 p.m.

3/7 Vs. Oklahoma City 7:05 p.m.

3/8 @ Tulsa 7:35 p.m.

VS. WICHITA THUNDER

SEASON SERIES AND LAST MEETING – (4-0-0) The RiverKings beat the Wichita Thunder 6-4 on February 8th at the DCC. Don Parsons and Brian Tucker each scored a pair of goals to power the ‘Kings to the win. Tucker, on his 25th birthday, had a short handed tally and a power play lamp.

LAST YEAR – The RiverKings went 6-0-1 versus the Thunder.

VS. INDIANAPOLIS ICE

SEASON SERIES AND LAST MEETING – (5-4-0) The RiverKings swept a pair of games last weekend. Memphis won 4-1 on Friday and 4-3 in a shootout on Saturday. Don Parsons had a hat trick Friday night, while Jonathan Gagnon scored a pair of goals on Saturday.

LAST YEAR – The RiverKings went 10-2-1 versus the Ice.

VS. FORT WORTH

SEASON SERIES AND LAST MEETING – (3-1-0) The RiverKings beat the Brahmas 7-3 on January 3rd in Fort Worth. Don Parsons had two goals and three assists while Jay Neal had a goal and three helpers.

LAST YEAR – The RiverKings went 3-3-0 versus the Brahmas.

2002-2003 RIVERKINGS TIDBITS

· The RiverKings are a team of streaks this season. The ‘Kings have had a four-game, six-game, and an eight-game win streak. The team also has had a pair of four-game losing streaks and a five-game winless stretch.

· Memphis exploded for five goals in the second period versus Wichita on November 15th. The ‘Kings mustered just ten shots, but capitalized on half of them. The RiverKings season high for goals in a game was also posted against the Thunder. On December 6th Memphis tallied nine goals, with three in each period in a 9-5 win.

· The RiverKings fired a season high 53 shots on goal against Lubbock on December 14th. The ‘Kings had 21 in both the first and second, which matched a season high for shots in one period.

· The RiverKings held Fort Worth to just two shots in the third period in a 7-3 win on January 3rd. That matched a season low for shots allowed in a period and was the third time this year the ‘Kings have held an opponent to two shots in a frame.

· The RiverKings 7-1 win in Tulsa on December 28th was the largest margin of victory in a game this year.

· The RiverKings 4-3 overtime win in El Paso on January 20th was their first sudden death victory since Michal Stastny scored in Game Five of the President's Cup Finals last spring.

· The RiverKings lost 6-2 in Indianapolis on February 1st. That matched the most goals allowed in a game this year by the RiverKings.

· Memphis has registered at least one power play goal in 39 of 53 games so far, including twenty multiple power-play goal games.

· 32 times in 53 games the RiverKings have had a player score multiple goals. Don Parsons has done it fifteen times. Parsons and Kahlil Thomas are the only ‘Kings to go on to turn the trick with three goals in one game.

· The RiverKings are 6-2-0 in February after going 6-4-1 in January and 8-5-1 in December. The team went 9-4-1 in November and 3-3-0 in October.

· The RiverKings have scored 92 goals in their last 22 games, an average of 4.2 per game over that stretch and posted a 15-6-1 record.

RIVERKINGS POINT SCORING STREAKS

· Goal Streaks

Games Player Gls

· Point Streaks

Games Player Pts

6 Gagnon 12

2 Parsons 5

2 Landmesser 3

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAY IS BIG, OR IS IT LATELY?

· The last five games neither the RiverKings nor their opponents have enjoyed any special teams advantage but the ‘Kings have won four of five.

WEIRD SCHEDULE

· The RiverKings play the Indianapolis Ice in four of five games starting with last Friday night's battle.

FAST STARTING

· The ‘Kings have scored 72 first period goals this season which is more than any other team in the CHL.

SLOW FINISHING

· The ‘Kings have scored just 48 goals in the third period. Only three other teams have scored fewer goals in the final frame.

GOING WITH THE HOT HAND

· RiverKings goalie J.F. Racine has started the last five games in the pipes. Racine has won four straight starts, which is his longest streak since he strung together eight straight wins from December 28th – January 11th.

HOME SWEET HOME

· The RiverKings have enjoyed home ice advantage this year. Memphis is 20-4-1 at home. The RiverKings have outscored opponents 104-60 on home ice, averaging 4.2 goals per game at the DCC. Last year the ‘Kings posted a 27-2-3 record at home as they captured the first President's Cup in the franchise's history.

FEEL THE POWER

· The ‘Kings are 33 for their last 145 power play chances (22.7 %). Memphis has tallied a power play goal in 19 of the last 24 games, including six of the last seven games. In addition the RiverKings have scored the most power play goals in the CHL with 66.

INSIDE THE DIVISION

· The ‘Kings are 15-9-1 inside the Northeast Division this season against Fort Worth, Indianapolis and Bossier-Shreveport. Breaking it down even further, the RiverKings are 9-3-1 at home and 6-6-0 on the road in the division. The RiverKings' best record in the division comes against the rival Mudbugs with Memphis posting a 7-4-1 record. The ‘Kings are 5-4-0 versus Indianapolis and 3-1-0 against Fort Worth. Last year the RiverKings were 21-7-2 inside the division.

COLD SNAP IS BREAKING

· The ‘Kings are showing major signs of life as they have erupted for four straight wins and have won six of their last seven games while totaling 12 of the last 14 possible points. Despite the recent improvement the RiverKings have recorded just fifteen points in the last fourteen games.

LIARS CAN FIGURE AND FIGURES CAN LIE

· The ‘Kings are 12-6-3 this year in one-goal games. Despite the positive mark, two of the last five RiverKings losses have come by one goal (3-2 to Bossier-Shreveport and 2-1 to Amarillo on January 24th and 25th). On the flip side two of the ‘Kings last three wins have come by a single goal (3-2 over Oklahoma City and 4-3 over Indianapolis on February 16th and 22nd respectively and both times in a shootout).

PLAYER NEWS & NOTES

· Riley Cote was reassigned from St. John's in the AHL on Saturday prior to the game with Indianapolis. Cote appeared in one game with the baby Maple Leafs, registering one shot on goal.

UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS

· This Friday night all upper bowl tickets are just five dollars as the ‘Kings host the Indianapolis Ice. There will also be a post-game skate after the game.

IN THE COMMUNITY

· Tuesday the ‘Kings will visit Center Hill Elementary School at 8 a.m.

· Wednesday the ‘Kings will visit Grahamwood Elementary and participate in the Jump Rope for Heart at 1:30 p.m.

· This Thursday the RiverKings will participate in the Ronald McDonald House Silent Auction at the Hard Rock Café at 8 p.m. Head Coach Doug Shedden has donated for auction a ‘Kings prize package and the winner will get to sit on the bench with the players for the Sunday, March 2nd, RiverKings game vs. Ft. Worth.

· 02/22/03 – SATURDAY – Saturday night the Indianapolis Ice took the RiverKings to a shootout, but four straight stops from ‘Kings goalie Jean-Francois Racine and goals from Kahlil Thomas and Jay Neal secured an extra point for a 4-3 RiverKings shootout victory. Memphis has won four straight games and six of their last seven. FINAL SCORE Memphis 4, Indianapolis 3. Racine turned aside 31 of 34 shots in regulation and overtime before denying all four shooters from the Ice to improve to 21-8-2 for both his and the RiverKings fourth straight victory. Morris was hit for three goals on 36 shots to drop to 8-4-3. Memphis and Indy both went 1-3 on the power-play.

Shots Memphis 37 Indianapolis 34

PP Memphis 1-3 Indianapolis 1-3

· 02/21/03 – FRIDAY – Friday night forward Don Parsons scored his second hat trick of the season and added an assist to power the RiverKings to a solid 4-1 victory over the Indianapolis Ice. With his four points he retook the lead in the league scoring race. The ‘Kings have won three straight games and five of their last six to keep pace in the playoff chase. FINAL SCORE Memphis 4, Indianapolis 1.

Shots Memphis 23 Indianapolis 23

PP Memphis 0-1 Indianapolis 0-2

ON THE AIR

· All Memphis RiverKings regular season and playoff games will be broadcast this year on RiverKings Radio Easy AM-680 WJCE. Catch the pre-game show twenty minutes prior to face-off and then stay tuned for the play-by-play.

COACHES SHOW AIRING TUESDAY THIS WEEK ON LOCATION *

· The Memphis RiverKings Coaches Show will air this Tuesday night from 6-7 p.m. on location at the Roadhouse Grill in Horn Lake on Sportsplus 790-AM WMC. Dave "wolo" Woloshin will host the show and head coach Doug Shedden will join him. Call the SportsPlus 790 studio lines with your questions at 901-274-7979.

*This week Doug Shedden will call in from the road in Wichita. Kevin Fricke and Kevin Ryan will be on hand to represent the ‘Kings at the Roadhouse Grill.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE NOTES TIME

Tuesday, February 25th Will air as scheduled 6-7 p.m.

Tuesday, March 4th Will air as scheduled 6-7 p.m.

Wednesday, March 12th Moved to Wednesday 6-7 p.m.



SPHL Stories from February 24, 2003


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