Derek Landmesser scored the game-winning goal on the power play, and Ryan Held kept a lengthy goal and point streak alive, as the Mississippi RiverKings finished the Central Hockey League (CHL) regular season with a 5-2 victory over the Tulsa Oilers on Saturday, March 20 at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven.
Mississippi took a 2-1 lead into the locker room after twenty minutes of play, thanks to goals from Bobby Chaumont and Louis Dumont, while Derek Eastman answered with a goal for Tulsa.
Chaumont’s goal was his 20th of the season and came at 5:53 for a 1-0 lead. Dumont added to the margin with his 23rd goal of the year just under a minute later at 6:41 for a 2-0 advantage.
Eastman’s tally came at 10:53 to cut the margin to 2-1 at the first intermission.
The RiverKings added to the lead with a pair of goals in the second period for a 4-2 advantage after forty minutes of play.
Landmesser scored the eventual game-winning goal on the power play at 1:11 for a 3-2 lead, which Ken Davis improved to 4-2 for the RiverKings on his fourth goal of the season at 3:55. Landmesser netted his eleventh goal of the season.
David Beauregard scored the only goal for Tulsa in the second period, unassisted at 4:42.
The only scoring in the third period kept a lengthy goal scoring streak intact, as Held notched his team-leading 36th goal of the season with 2:03 left in the game for the final 5-2 score.
The red-lighter was Held’s tenth goal in his last nine games and gave him 18 points in his last nine contests.
In the contest, the RiverKings scored once in nine power play chances, while holding the Oilers scoreless in four opportunities.
Mississippi outshot the Oilers 42-19, including 15 shots taken in the first period.
Goaltender Kyle McNulty (11-15-1) won his fifth decision in net for the RiverKings with a 17 save performance. Tulsa goalie Marty Magers (3-13-4) fell for the second straight time against the RiverKings, stopping 37 shots but allowing all five goals.
With the win, Mississippi finished the regular season with a 33-24-7 record and fourth place in the CHL Northern Conference.
