WIN STREAK SNAPPED AS OILERS BEAT RIVERKINGS

TULSA, OK --- The Mississippi RiverKings' five-game winning streak was snapped in the final game of a three-game weekend Saturday, January 30th.  Tulsa scored a 7-3 victory over the RiverKIngs to hold on to a tie for fifth place in the CHL Northern Conference standings, while the RiverKings fell to fourth place in the conference ledger with the loss.

The Oilers took a 2-1 lead in the first period. Jake Riddle opened the scoring for the Oilers with his seventh goal of the year at 12:22 on the power play. Just over four minutes later, brother Troy Riddle answered with a goal at 16:33 for a 2-0 lead.

However the RiverKings answered as Nathan Schwartzbauer poked in a loose puck at the side of the net by Tulsa goaltender Trevor
Cann for his fifth goal of the year at 17:48 for Mississippi’s first goal of the night, as the Oilers finished the period with a lead.

Tulsa continued the attack in the second period, outscoring the RiverKings 3-1. Former RiverKing Aaron Davis scored at 2:16 of the period for a 3-1 lead. Derek Merlini added to the lead on a goal at 10:40 for a 4-1 Tulsa advantage.
Mississippi quickly came back, however, as Stephen Margeson blasted a shot from the slot past Cann for his third goal of the season.
Darrell Stoddard and Ryan Held earned assists on the goal at 11:23 that made the score Tulsa 4, RiverKings 2.

The Oilers took a 5-2 lead into the locker room at the intermission with a penalty shot goal from Marty Standish, which came at 15:35. It was his fifth goal of the year.

In the third period, Jeff Gumaer opened the scoring for the Oilers at 5:08 for a 6-2 lead.

The RiverKings would answer that when Kevin Truelson’s blast found the back of the net for his seventh goal of the season at 12:45, assisted by Stoddard and Derek Landmesser. The power play goal from Truelson came with an extra attacker on a delayed penalty call while the RiverKings were already on the power play.

However, Tulsa finished off the scoring on Troy Riddle’s second goal of the night, and his seventh of the year at 16:51 for the final 7-3 score.

Mississippi was 1-for-5 on the power play, while Tulsa went 1-for-2. The RiverKings outshot the Oilers by a 30-25 count.

Mark Sibbald lost in goal for the first time as a Mississippi goaltender (5-1-0), stopping 18 of 25 shots. Trevor Cann was the winning goalie for Tulsa with a 27-save performance.

With the loss, Mississippi fell to fourth place in the CHL Northern Conference with a 22-16-4 record and 48 points.

Before the game, the RiverKings announced that goaltender Kevin Beech had been traded to Corpus Christi in exchange for future considerations. Beech, last year’s Most Outstanding Goaltender, had a 6-3-2 record in 13 games for Mississippi this season.