CHL Mississippi RiverKings

RiverKings Weekly

January 24, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


RIVERKINGS RECAP: The Mississippi RiverKings finished last week with a 2-1-0 record, defeating Bossier-Shreveport 3-1 on Tuesday, falling to Dayton 2-1 on Friday night, followed by a 4-1 victory over the Gems on Saturday evening. In the Tuesday night victory, Darrell Stoddard, Jeff Christian, and Matt Summers scored goals and Alexander Pechurskiy stopped 19 of 20 shots on goal. On Friday, Pechurskiy stopped 19 of 21 shots between the pipes and Chris Auger scored the only goal of the game for Mississippi just 18 seconds into the contest. Saturday, Mississippi gained a split of the two-game set for the Gems thanks to goals from Russell Smith, R.G. Flath, and Andrew Lackner, while Larry Sterling made 20 saves in net for the victory.

RIVERKINGS STATISTICAL LEADERS:

GOALS: Matt Summers (15)

ASSISTS: Nathan Lutz (26)

POINTS: Chris Richards (36)

PLUS-MINUS: Derek Landmesser (+12)

PENALTY MINUTES: Darrell Stoddard (123)

POWER PLAY GOALS: Summers (10)

SHORTHANDED GOALS: Dumont (3)

GAME-WINNING GOALS: Jeff Christian, R.G. Flath (3)

RIVERKINGS GOALTENDING LEADERS:

GAMES PLAYED: Alexander Pechurskiy (21)

MINUTES PLAYED: Pechurskiy (1137)

WINS: Pechurskiy (10)

SHUTOUTS: Sterling, Pechurskiy (1)

GOALS-AGAINST-AVERAGE: Pechurskiy (2.74)

SAVE PERCENTAGE: Pechurskiy (.898)

LAST FIVE GAME STAT LEADERS:

GOALS: Matt Summers, R.G. Flath (3)

ASSISTS: Chris Richards (5)

POINTS: Summers, Flath, Nathan Lutz, Richards (5)

PLUS-MINUS: Lutz (+6)

PENALTY MINUTES: Darrell Stoddard (24)

POWER PLAY GOALS: Matt Summers (2)

SHORTHANDED GOALS: (none)

GAME-WINNING GOALS: Flath, Andrew Lackner, Jeff Christian (1)

GOALIE GAMES PLAYED: Alexander Pechurskiy (4)

GOALIE MINUTES PLAYED: Pechurskiy (199)

GOALIE WINS: Pechurskiy (2)

GOALS-AGAINST-AVERAGE: Pechurskiy (1.81)

SAVE PERCENTAGE: Pechurskiy (.929)

RIVERKINGS SPECIAL TEAMS: Saturday against the Dayton Gems, the RiverKings failed to score in four power play opportunities, marking the second straight game Mississippi has not scored with the extra man. In the last five games, the RiverKings have gone 4-for-23 on the power play for 17.4% and for the season rank 13th in the Central Hockey League on the power play at 16.5%. On the penalty kill, the RiverKings Saturday night stopped Dayton on all six power play chances, the first time since January 14th that Mississippi has been perfect on the penalty kill. In the team ‚¬â„¢s last five games, the RiverKings have gone 7-for-30 on the PK for 76.7% and for the season rank ninth in the CHL at 82.9%. Mississippi ranks second in the CHL for penalty kill success at home at 87.6%.

FACE OFF FIELD TRIP: Tuesday is the eighth annual "Face Off Field Trip" morning game hosted by the Mississippi RiverKings, this year vs. the Bloomington PrairieThunder of the CHL Turner Conference. Over the past several years, the RiverKings have invited over 8,000 school children from the Mid-South area to a day game which is more than a day off from school. The RiverKings have committed to making the experience as much educational as it is about hockey. Of the past Face Off Field Trips, the last five have counted in the regular season standings and the RiverKings have a 2-3-0 record, including last year ‚¬â„¢s 3-2 shootout victory over Rapid City on January 26th. Memphis/Mississippi is 0-3-0 vs. Bossier-Shreveport on Face Off Field Trip day, and Memphis defeated Youngstown 6-2 in the first FOFT that counted in the standings in 2006.

HITTING TWENTY: Saturday ‚¬â„¢s win marked the 20th victory of the season for the RiverKings, coming less than a week sooner than the same accomplishment last season. Mississippi netted its 20th win of the year on January 26th of last season in a 3-2 shootout victory over the Rapid City Rush, the third of five straight wins the RiverKings put together at that time. Two years ago, Mississippi reached its 20th victory on January 3rd in a 2-1 victory over the Oklahoma City Blazers. In the 2007-2008 season, the RiverKings hit win number 20 on January 12th in a 6-4 victory over the Youngstown SteelHounds.

LUTZ FOR THE DEFENSE: Defenseman Nathan Lutz leads the Central Hockey League for points by a defenseman with 35. Lutz is in a tie for third in goals scored by a defenseman with nine and is second in assists by a blue liner with 25. Lutz is tied for the league lead in power play assists by a defenseman with 16 (fourth overall).

SUMMERS LEADS THE POWER PLAY: Forward Matt Summers has been joined by three other players at the top of the Central Hockey League standings for the lead in power play goals at ten. Summers is also fifth in the CHL for shooting percentage at .205 (15 goals, 73 shots).

AUGER NOT COMING UP SHORT: Forward Chris Auger is in a two-way tie for the league lead for shorthanded goals by a rookie with two.

DUMONT SHOOTS DOWN THE COMPETITION: Forward Louis Dumont has scored three goals in shootouts this season and is tied for second in the Central Hockey League in that stat category.

PECHURSKIY HITS THE TOP TEN: Alexander Pechurskiy ranks ninth in the Central Hockey League standings for goals-against-average with a 2.74 GAA.

NOTABLES: Mississippi has a 14-9-0 record against teams from the Turner Conference this season and is 1-1-0 against Bloomington. The RiverKings are 7-0-0 in home games with a lead after forty minutes.

BROADCASTS: Tuesday's game against the Bloomington PrairieThunder will be covered in the Mid-South on 87.7 FM "The Pig," WPGF Radio and at www.radiopig.com, with the pre-game report starting the coverage at 9:50 AM. Both Friday and Saturday night games vs. Bloomington will be available on Sports 56, WHBQ-AM (560 AM) and www.sports56whbq.com, with pre-game coverage beginning at 6:50 PM. RiverKings game coverage is also available on the CHL-TV webcasting service through the "Watch Live" button on the RiverKings' website home page at www.riverkings.com. Veteran broadcaster Bob Bakken provides the play-by-play coverage for all RiverKings games, both home and away.

UPCOMING EVENTS: Friday's game supports the Southern College of Optometry Lions Club as non-profit MVP, and Saturday's game is the Belhaven University Faith and Family Night, presented by Chick-Fil-A.

TICKETS: For RiverKings ticket information, call 662-342-1755 today!



Central Hockey League Stories from January 24, 2011


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