Ryan Held scored a pair of goals, but the Allen Americans had too much to answer, as the Mississippi RiverKings fell by a 5-2 score in Texas on Friday, March 5th.
Allen took a 1-0 lead in the first minute of the contest, scoring on a goal from Justin Bowers at 44 seconds of the first period. However, the RiverKings were able the Americans off the scoreboard for the rest of the period, as Allen led 1-0 after twenty minutes.
The second period was scoreless with Allen outshooting the RiverKings 10-7 for the period.
The Americans took a 2-0 lead early in the third period on a goal from Bruce Graham and Bowers scored his second of the night for a 3-0 edge before the RiverKings answered.
Held scored his first of the night and 28th of the season at 7:16, assisted by Darrell Stoddard.
Brandon Straub made it 4-1 for Allen with a goal at 8:43, but Held scored again at 11:03 for his 29th of the year. Louis Dumont and Kevin Truelson were given assists on the goal, which made the score 4-2 Allen at that point.
Jarret Lukin completed the scoring with a goal for Allen at 14:23 for the final score.
Neither team scored on the power play. The RiverKings outshot the Americans by a 37-22 margin.
Goaltender Tim Boron (6-8-2) took the loss at the crease with 32 saves. Chris Whitley (28-8-3) was the winning goaltender for Allen with 20 saves.
Coupled with a victory by Missouri, the RiverKings fell into fifth place in the CHL Northern Conference with a 27-23-7 record for 61 points. The Mavericks lead the RiverKings by one point in fourth place.
The road trip continues tomorrow night, when the RiverKings finish the weekend set with the Americans in Allen, Texas, starting at 7:30 PM. The four-game road swing ends Sunday afternoon at Missouri, starting at 3:05 PM.
Mississippi returns home to play the Texas Brahmas on Friday, March 12 at the DeSoto Civic Center, beginning at 7:05 PM. The Memphis Boy Choir will be featured and there will be a post-game skate on the ice for fans after the game.
March 13 is the date for the retirement of Don Parsons’ jersey number 13. A pre-game ceremony will take place prior to the game between the RiverKings and Bossier-Shreveport that will include a video presentation and the unveiling of the jersey banner from the DeSoto Civic Center rafters for the team’s all-time scoring leader.
Season tickets for next year’s excitement of RiverKings hockey are now on sale. For RiverKings ticket information, call 662-342-1755. 
