WEEK PREVIEW
The Mississippi RiverKings face three different Northwest Division teams this week. That bodes well since they are 7-0-1 against the Northwest this season. Tomorrow they host the Wichita Thunder, who has a new coach in Rob Weingartner after firing Mark French over the weekend. The Thunder has never started worse than the 4-13 record it has at the moment, and the RiverKings have beaten it soundly twice already this season.
Then the RiverKings hit the road for a game in Tulsa against the Oilers on Friday. The Oilers haven't started much better than the Thunder at 6-11-1. Like the Thunder, the Oilers have replaced their man behind the bench. Dan Hodge took over a little over a week ago following the departure of Butch Kaebel.
On Saturday, the RiverKings play the Colorado Eagles for the first time since last season's Northern Conference Final. At 11-6-3, the Eagles sit in second place in the Northwest Division and are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. However, they only have a 2-4-3 record on the road.
SCHEDULE
Tomorrow: RiverKings vs. Thunder, 7:05 p.m.
Radio: Sports 56 WHBQ, 6:55 p.m.
Friday: RiverKings @ Oilers, 7:35 p.m.
Radio: Sports 56 WHBQ, 7:25 p.m.
Saturday: RiverKings vs. Eagles, 7:05 p.m.
Radio: Sports 56 WHBQ, 6:55 p.m.
WEEK REVIEW (1-1)
Friday: Youngstown 4, Mississippi 2
Chris Richards scored two goals to lead the SteelHounds over the RiverKings at the DeSoto Civic Center. Richards scored 2:49 into the game, and his teammate Petr Pohl scored at 5:33 to give the SteelHounds an early 2-0 lead. However, the RiverKings did get one back before too long. Cody Blanshan scored at 7:01 on a play off the end boards behind the SteelHounds net to make it a 2-1 game. No one would score again until 3:23 into the third period, when Richards banged home his second goal of the game. The RiverKings intensified the attack, but Layne Sedevie stood tall in the SteelHounds net and finished the game with 36 saves. Adam Smyth added an empty-netter for the SteelHounds, but the scoring didn't end there. Steve Slonina banked the puck off of Sedevie and into the net with 23 seconds remaining. Sebastien Centomo made 33 saves for the RiverKings, who fell to 0-3-1 in their last four games.
Saturday: Mississippi 5, Youngstown 1
Aaron Davis scored three goals as the RiverKings defeated the SteelHounds in their 1,000th Central Hockey League regular season game. The win brought them to within four points of the SteelHounds for first place in the Northeast Division. Davis scored on the power play with 45 seconds remaining in the first period to give the RiverKings a 1-0 lead. Former RiverKing Jeff Alcombrack scored on the power play 2:34 into the second period to tie the game for the SteelHounds, but Davis didn't take long to bring the fans out of their seats. At 8:35 of the second, he split the SteelHounds defense on the right side on his backhand and cut back to the left with his forehand. He went around both Sedevie's poke check and right pad and deposited the puck into the net. Davis completed the hat trick with 1:03 to go in the second on a seeing-eye shot from the high slot that eluded Sedevie. Ryan Campbell and Ryan Kindret scored in the third period for the RiverKings. Centomo made 28 saves for the RiverKings. Sedevie made 25 stops for the SteelHounds.
STRANGE BUT TRUE FACTS
After scoring seven goals in three games around Thanksgiving, Chad Woollard has not scored in the last six games. However, his 12 goals and six power play goals still rank him in the CHL's top 10 in both categories. His 24 points also land him in the top 20, and his 103 shots place him fourth ..... With an assist in each game this weekend, Sheldon Wenzel recorded an assist in back-to-back games for the first time as a pro and earned a point in consecutive games for the second time ever. Wenzel's 70 penalty minutes place him in the CHL's top 20 ..... Centomo has the second-best goals against average in the CHL at 2.13 and the third-best save percentage at .926. As an all-time RiverKing, his record stands at 25-5-1 with a 2.11 GAA and a .930 save percentage ..... Before Friday, Slonina hadn't scored a goal since registering the RiverKings' first multi-goal game of the season with two goals on Oct. 30 against the Oilers ..... After rattling off seven assists in a three-game span last month, Louis Dumont has only managed two assists in the last 11 games ..... Rick Kozak has the fourth-most penalty minutes in the league at 97. His five game-winning goals still lead the CHL ..... Davis on Saturday recorded his first pro hat trick and tied a career-high of four points in one game ..... Kindret earned points in back-to-back games for the first time with one in each game this weekend ..... Bernie Chmiel assisted on Kindret's goal on Saturday for his first RiverKings point ..... The RiverKings are 6-0 when leading after one period and 8-0 when leading after two ..... Derek Landmesser's eight power play assists put him in the CHL's top 20 ..... Jason Lawmaster had three assists on Saturday to match a career-high ..... Steve Makway's nine power play assists have him in the CHL's top 10 ..... The RiverKings still have the best penalty killing in the CHL at 89.84% ..... The RiverKings are 7-0 when the opposition outshoots them ..... The RiverKings are 7-0 when they score at least four times ..... Blanshan scored his first RiverKings goal on Friday.
RIVERKINGS HERE AND THERE
RiverKings release game broadcast schedule
The RiverKings have released their game broadcast schedule for the remainder of the 2007-2008 season. The adjustments follow last week's switch from The Big 990 KWAM to Sports 56 WHBQ. Of the RiverKings' remaining 44 games, 29 of them will air on WHBQ. Fourteen others will air on fellow Flinn Broadcasting property Y 96.1 FM. As for the Jan. 12 home game against the Youngstown SteelHounds, fans will have to tune in on the Internet at http://www.nifty-tv.com/chl/. Each broadcast will begin 10 minutes prior to game time. For a complete rundown of the schedule, head to www.riverkings.com.
Meanwhile, Beef O'Brady's on Goodman Road in Southaven will continue to host RiverKings Roundup on select Monday nights. However, the start time for the hour-long show will move to 7 p.m. RiverKings Roundup will make its debut on WHBQ with a special Tuesday night edition next week on Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. The team hopes to finalize the season's remaining show dates as soon as possible.
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