RiverKings Hold Off Late Mayhem Push, Win 6-4

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. – Bryan Arneson netted two goals, and Ryan Salkeld scored twice against his former team to earn the RiverKings a 6-4 victory over the visiting Macon Mayhem on Planters Bank Ice at Landers Center.

After giving up the first goal of the game, the RiverKings clamped down and took charge. Only one minute and 52 seconds after Stathis Soumelidis oped the game’s scoring and put Macon up 1-0, Bryan Arneson tied the game on his 11th goal of the season thanks to a backhand pass from Matt Harrington who got his first of three assists on the evening. It was Harrington to led the charge for the RiverKings on their second goal as well, finding Ryan Salkeld situated in front. Salkeld took the pass and in one fell swoop, roofed a shot over Charlie Finn and gave the RiverKings their first lead of the night with 6:06 left to go in the opening frame. It didn’t take long for the Captain, Devin Mantha to get his name on the stat sheet as he increased the lead to 3-1 only one minute and 28 seconds after the Salkeld goal. With the goal, Mantha also added to his scoring total on the season giving him 41 points, the most on the RiverKings roster. The goal spelled the end of the night for Macon goaltender Charlie Finn who got replaced in favor of Troy Passingham. Salkeld came back and twisted the arm of his former team one more time late in the first, when his second goal of the game upped the RiverKings lead to three goals, 4-1. Salkeld’s bookend goals marked a streak of three tallies in two minutes and 48 seconds by the home team.

Out of the second period, and in complete control, Donald Olivieri was the next man up. After chasing a puck down low, Olivieri cut to the center of the ice and from the slot softly slid a backhanded shot through the wickets of Passingham and Tuesday’s game was quickly getting out of hand with the RiverKings leading 5-1 with 16:07 left to go in the second period. Macon didn’t go quietly and began to battle back. Jake Trask would score just after the game’s halfway point at 9:16 and Soumelidis would follow up with his second of the game only one minute and 11 seconds later to bring the game within two, 5-3 in favor of Mississippi as the team’s headed to the locker room.

Continuing on their hot end to the second period, Macon would get an early goal from John Siemer on the power play, pulling Macon within one, 5-4. The RiverKings and goaltender Tyler Green fought off an onslaught of Macon attempts to keep Mississippi on top, and just for good measure Arneson his second goal of the evening when by tapping in an empty-netter with only 14.5 seconds left to go in the game, en route to the 6-4 victory.