Fans say nobody did it better

TEMPE, Ariz. – The Central Hockey League announced today that Mississippi’s Louis Dumont has been selected as the winner of the ‘CHL Performance of the Year’ based on fan voting conducted from March 30 – April 12 on the league’s website.
The veteran RiverKings forward wins the award after an amazing four goal third period in a matter of just over five minutes on December 4th, in a 6-3 win over the Colorado Eagles.

The RiverKings were trailing 3-2 with less than 12 minutes remaining in the game when the Calgary native began his assault. At the 12:59 mark, Dumont struck for his first of the night tying the game. Just over a minute and a half later he gained the lead for his team which was followed 1:26 later with his hat trick extending the Mississippi lead to 5-3. With just under a minute and a half remaining in the game, Dumont capped off the miraculous period with his fourth goal of the night, unassisted on the empty net.
“Playing against our former coach, Kevin McClelland was a neat thing and especially the situation – Colorado is always such a good team, such a powerhouse, and to be down 3-2 in the third period and then scoring four goals against them was pretty awesome,” Dumont said.
On a personal level, Dumont reflected on how that performance settled a competitive matter with one of his teammates.
“Darrell Stoddard wasn’t playing (that night), he was injured at the time,” Dumont said. “The season before, he scored four goals in the third period against Wichita. When I got the empty-net goal, the fourth goal, I was looking for him in the crowd…he always held that over my head, how I had never scored four goals in one period. I could never say anything because he had done it, so now the one thing he had over me, he couldn’t say any more (laughing).”
The memorable night for Dumont earned 42% of the vote during the two-week poll finishing with 1,161 votes. Coming in second was Bossier-Shreveport’s Simon Mangos whose two goals in an 11-round shootout win at Odessa on October 24 earned 574 votes. In all, 2,758 votes were cast in the poll.
Dumont commented on how the use of the World Wide Web has contributed to the overall fan experience.
“I played when the Internet wasn’t such a big thing in my first few years pro and now it’s crazy how fans can be involved,” Dumont said. “It’s really neat and I’m sure the fans like it as well. It’s obviously an honor for fans to click on your name for the Performance of the Year and have five big minutes of the season recognized.” Dumont earns the award in the midst of a milestone year that saw him participate in his 1000th career pro game on November 20. He ended the regular season with a point-per-game average earning 63 points (23 G, 40 A) in his 63 games played. Although the season ended with the RiverKings eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, the 37-year-old forward is already looking forward to the 2010-11 season, his 17^th as a professional.
“I get excited,” Dumont said. “I enjoy playing; I enjoy getting ready for the season. I enjoy everything about it – otherwise I would have stopped a long time ago. I know I’ve played 16 seasons now and maybe I should get on with my life; maybe coaching or other things, but it’s tough to replace the feeling of playing. I still enjoy going to the rink every day. I’ve got a three-year-old son now who’s really kind of getting into it and enjoying coming to the games and he’s into everything about it. It’s still an exciting thing for me to be a part of.”
Contact the author at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer at les.stockton@prohockeynews.com