The Mississippi RiverKings erupted for five third-period goals and defeated the Missouri Mavericks 5-1 in Central Hockey League action on Sunday afternoon, March 7th in suburban Kansas City. The RiverKings reclaimed sole possession of fourth place in the CHL Northern Conference by two points over the Mavericks.
The win also finished Mississippi's four-game road trip with a 2-2-0 record.
Missouri took the lead in the first period on a power play goal from Brett Hammond at 9:45. The goal came with Nathan Schwartzbauer in the penalty box for hooking. The Mavericks held the lead at the first intermission, outshooting the RiverKings 14-6.
There was no scoring in the second period, despite the RiverKings outshooting the Mavericks by a 16-6 margin.
The RiverKings broke open the game in the third period, first on the power play with Louis Dumont netting his 21st of the season at 2:38, assisted by Ryan Held.
Mississippi took a 2-1 lead with the eventual game-winning goal from Ryan Held at 7:18, assisted by Dumont and Kevin Truelson.
Special teams went to work later in the period when Elias Godoy scored a power play goal at 7:51 for a 3-1 lead, assisted by Derek Landmesser.
Godoy scored again just over a minute later, assisted by Landmesser and Bobby Chaumont at 8:52. The shorthanded goal was his 11th goal of the season.
Darrell Stoddard completed the scoring at 17:34 of the period with a power play goal, his 11th of the year, assisted by Dumont and Lackner for the final result.
The RiverKings were 3-for-11 on the power play, including a 3-for-8 effort in the final period. Missouri ended the night 1-for-6 with the man advantage.
Kyle McNulty (8-15-1) was the winning goaltender for the RiverKings with a 33-save effort, while Charlie Effinger (16-5-1) took the loss for the Mavericks, allowing all five goals and making 29 saves.
With the win, Mississippi returns home with a 29-23-7 record and 65 points, two more than fifth-place Missouri, which is now 29-25-5 for 63 points. The Mavericks are also winless in their last two games, while the RiverKings have now won two straight.
