CHL Mississippi RiverKings

RiverKings Weekly

Published on December 6, 2010 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


RIVERKINGS RECAP: The Mississippi RiverKings were 2-0-1 last week, winning two home games and losing a shootout on the road at Tulsa. Tuesday, Mississippi defeated the Evansville IceMen 5-2, and then lost in a 12-round shootout at Tulsa 5-4 on Friday night, followed by a 5-0 win at home Saturday night against the Wichita Thunder. In Tuesday's game, Milan Maslonka and Chris Richards each scored two goals, while Richards and Jeff Christian posted a three-point night. Goaltender Larry Sterling made 35 saves in the victory. On Friday, four players scored solo goals and Louis Dumont added an assist for a two-point night. Sterling made 33 saves and was 10-of-12 in the shootout. Friday, Matt Summers posted the team's first three-goal hat-trick of the season with three consecutive goals, sandwiched around by goals from Patrik Levesque and R.G. Flath. Meanwhile, goaltender Alexander Pechurskiy earned the team&rsq uo;s first shutout of the season with a 27-save performance.

OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS: This week, the RiverKings meet a pair of opponents, a long-time rival and a newcomer to the Central Hockey League. Friday, Mississippi travels to Bossier-Shreveport for a game against the Mudbugs, and then returns home for its first-ever meeting against the Dayton Gems on Saturday night at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven. Bossier-Shreveport currently leads the Berry Conference standings with a 17-6-0 record for 34 points, while Dayton enters the week tied for second on the Turner Conference ledger with a record of 11-6-1 for 23 points. Mississippi enters Friday's play with a 1-3-0 record against Bossier-Shreveport this season, losing in its last outing on Sunday, November 28th in Louisiana by a 5-4 score. Louis Dumont leads the RiverKings in scoring against Bossier-Shreveport with a goal and three assists. Patrik Levesque, Chris Richards, and Andrew Lackner have each scored two goals in games aga inst the Mudbugs. Goaltender Larry Sterling is 1-2-0 between the pipes, while Alexander Pechurskiy has yet to face the Mudbugs this season. Saturday's contest is another "first" for the RiverKings for games against former International Hockey League teams now members of the CHL. In meetings against the former IHL teams, Mississippi has a record of 2-3-0, having already met Evansville (2-2-0) and Quad City (0-1-0). The RiverKings have yet to meet Fort Wayne or Bloomington this season. Mississippi's first game against Bloomington is scheduled for December 21st and the first action against Fort Wayne is set for December 29th.

RIVERKINGS SPECIAL TEAMS: Mississippi scored once on the power play in four chances against Wichita last Saturday night and has scored power play goals in all but six of this season's games. In the last five games, Mississippi is 5-for-27 (18.51%) on the power play and for the season enters this week ranked 10th in the CHL for power play success at 17.83% (23-of-129). The RiverKings stopped all seven Wichita power play chances Saturday night, the ninth time Mississippi's penalty-kill has found perfection this season. In the team's last five games. Mississippi is 3-of-25 in penalty killing (88.00%) and for the season is now ranked fifth in the CHL at 84.00%.

THAT'S A FOUL ON YOU: Mississippi remains one of the most penalized teams in the Central Hockey League, averaging a league-high 30 minutes in penalty time a game. The RiverKings' 630 PIMS are the most in the CHL, and Mississippi also ranks at the top for major penalties (36), ten-minute misconducts (4, tied with Bossier-Shreveport and Rapid City), game misconducts (11), and match penalties (1).

MORE FREE HOCKEY: Friday night was the third game of the season for the RiverKings to play beyond the regulation sixty minutes and it was the second shootout result for Mississippi, which is 1-1 now in shootouts. In the two shootouts combined this season, Mississippi has gone a total of 27 rounds, including the 15-round result on November 24th in Wichita, and Friday night's 12-round main event in Tulsa. The November 27th overtime win over Laredo was the first time this season a RiverKings game had been decided in overtime. The shootout win on November 24th in Wichita was also the longest RiverKings shootout game since 2002, and Friday night's contest landed the number two spot for longest shootouts since 2002. Prior to this season, the RiverKings won a ten-round game against Youngstown, 5-4, on March 10th, 2007, and also won a nine-round marathon against Bossier-Shreveport on January 6th, 2005, by a score of 4-3.

AS THE RECORD TURN(ER)S: Mississippi has a winning record against teams from the Turner Conference at 7-5-0 this season, while the RiverKings' are 3-5-1 in contests against the Berry Conference.

HATS IN THE SUMMER(S): Matt Summers' three-goal hat-trick Saturday night against Wichita marked the first time a RiverKings players has scored three or more goals in a game this season, and first since the next-to-last contest of last season. In all, five RiverKings scored hat-tricks last season, with Glenn Detulleo scoring the final hat-trick of the season last year in a victory over Tulsa on March 19th. Louis Dumont scored a four-goal hat-trick exactly one year prior to Summers' performance on Saturday in a 6-3 victory against Colorado. Dumont's four-goal effort came in the final period of the December 4th, 2009 win and eventually earned him Performance of the Year honors in the CHL.

STRAIGHT SHOOTING SUMMERS: Aided by the 3-for-3 perfection on Saturday night, forward Matt Summers now ranks fifth in the Central Hockey League in shooting percentage at .270 (10 goals, 37 shots).

POWERED BY RICHARDS: Forward Chris Richards is tied for the Central Hockey League lead in power play goals with six.

LET ME HELP: Forward Jeff Christian ranks second in the CHL for power play assists with eleven.

POINTS FROM THE POINT: Defenseman Nathan Lutz ranks second in the CHL for points from the blue line with 19. Lutz is tied for fourth in the league for power play goals scored with four and is tied (with teammate Derek Landmesser and one other player) for third in power play assists with eight.

A BAD, BAD BOY: Since coming to the RiverKings in a trade from Quad City, forward Patrik Levesque has impacted the scoreboard, but also is visiting the penalty box frequently. Levesque has scored four times and has five points with the RiverKings, but also has taken 19 penalty minutes in his five meetings with Mississippi this season. Levesque has the third longest active game streak for penalty minutes in the CHL.

A STERLING GUNSLINGER: Despite being tagged with the shootout loss in Friday night's game at Tulsa, goaltender Larry Sterling's performance vaulted him into a tie for third in the CHL for shootout save percentage at .833 (10 saves, 12 attempts).

SENDING THE FANS HOME HAPPY: Mississippi has now won three straight home games, a streak dating back to November 27th, which is tied for the second-longest active home winning streak in the Central Hockey League.

BROADCASTS: Both RiverKings games this week will be heard on Sports 56, WHBQ-AM, with broadcast coverage beginning at 6:50 PM. Games are also available online at www.sports56whbq.com and through the CHL-TV webcasting service. Click the "Watch Live" link on the RiverKings' home page for information on how to access the webcasting service. RiverKings Media Coordinator Bob Bakken provides the play-by-play coverage.

UPCOMING EVENTS: Saturday's home game vs. Dayton is the annual RiverKings Teddy Bear Toss night at the DeSoto Civic Center. Fans are asked to bring a new teddy bear or other stuffed animal with them to the game. When the first RiverKings goal is scored, fans are asked to throw their stuffed animals onto the ice. The toys will then be collected and donated to the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys for Tots program.

TICKETS: For RiverKings' ticket information, call 662-342-1755 or go online to www.riverkings.com today!

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Central Hockey League Stories from December 6, 2010


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