Mudbugs Weekly

Published on February 1, 2010 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release


LAST WEEK

Tuesday, January 26 vs. Texas CenturyTel Center W 4-2

GAME NOTES : The Mudbugs scored three straight goals in the second period to take a lead they would never relinquish in a 4-2 victory over the Texas Brahmas Tuesday night at the CenturyTel Center. Joe Blaznek scored twice in the game, while Travis Clayton and Brett Smith each chipped in two assists. Simon Mangos and David Rutherford also scored goals as the 'Bugs climbed above.500 on home ice for the first time this year at 9-8-0. John DeCaro made 28 saves to help Bossier-Shreveport beat Texas for the third time this year.

Friday, January 29 vs. Rio Grande Valley CenturyTel Center W 6-3

GAME NOTES : The Mudbugs met Rio Grande Valley for the second straight week here at the CTC on Friday night. Trailing 3-2 late in the second period, the 'Bugs scored four unanswered goals to roll to a 6-3 victory. Jeff Kyrzakos scored twice and added an assist, while Shawn Limpright scored on a penalty shot and had an assist. David Rutherford, Mark Johnson, and Travis Clayton also had multiple points and John DeCaro stopped 27 shots as the 'Bugs won their second straight over the Killer Bees by a combined score of 13-3.

Saturday, January 30 vs. Colorado CenturyTel Center W 4-3 (OT)

GAME NOTES : Travis Clayton's powerplay goal with 1:01 remaining in overtime lifted the Mudbugs to a 4-3 victory over Colorado Saturday at the CTC. The win extended Bossier-Shreveport's home winning streak to five games and ended a nine-game losing skid against the Eagles dating back to last season. Clayton's overtime goal completed an impressive comeback for the Mudbugs, who trailed 3-1 after two periods. Simon Mangos and Jeff Kryzakos scored in the third period and Scott Kalinchuk netted the other Mudbugs goal, while John DeCaro stopped 38 shots in his fourth consecutive win.

THIS WEEK

Friday, February 5 vs. Wichita CenturyTel Center 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES : The Wichita Thunder comes to town for the second time this year Friday to face the Mudbugs in the fourth of five games between the teams this season. The Mudbugs are 3-0 against Wichita this year, but two of those games have been decided by one goal, including a 2-1 'Bugs triumph on January 21. The Thunder, who finally broke their CHL record 22-game losing streak the next day in Tulsa, will take on the Oilers again Tuesday at the BOK Center before coming to Bossier City for Friday's game.

Saturday, February 6 vs. Texas CenturyTel Center 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES : The Mudbugs will close out a five-game homestand Saturday against the rival Texas Brahmas. The 'Bugs topped the Brahmas 4-2 last Tuesday night here in Bossier City to take a 3-2 lead in the season series between the teams. Texas will visit the CTC two more times this year, while the 'Bugs are set to make one more appearance in Texas for the regular season finale on March 20. The Brahmas are two points ahead of Laredo for third place in the Southern Conference entering this week.

WEEKLY NOTES

Streaking into February... and the top Five

The Mudbugs went 3-0 last week to finish January and have put together their longest home winning streak of the season (five straight) as the calendar turns to February. The 'Bugs have won five of their last six games overall to vault themselves into the top five in the overall CHL standings. Bossier-Shreveport pulled ahead of Texas last week to hold the fifth-best record in the CHL at 23-14-4 for 50 points coming into this week's action. Only Odessa, Allen, Rapid City and Colorado can boast better records than the Mudbugs at this point in the season. The 'Bugs went 7-3-3 in January and have posted a 15-6-4 record since the start of December.

Colorado Curse Lifted

Travis Clayton's overtime goal on Saturday finished off the win that finally shed the Mudbugs of a nine-game losing streak against Colorado, dating back to last season and including regular season and playoffs. The Eagles had beaten Bossier-Shreveport five times during the regular season and four more times in the playoffs over the past two seasons, including eight one-goal victories during that span. Prior to the losing streak, the 'Bugs held an all-time mark of 11-9-0 against Colorado including regular season and playoffs.

Powerplay Drought Ends in a Big Way

Entering the third period of Saturday night's game against Colorado, the Mudbugs were riding a streak of 23 consecutive unsuccessful powerplays. The 'Bugs hadn't scored a powerplay goal since the third period of a 2-1 win over Wichita on January 21 and were 0 for 5 against the Eagles that night. The streak finally ended when Simon Mangos tapped home a PPG at 2:18 of the third period, cutting Colorado's lead to 3-2. The Mudbugs capitalized again on the man advantage in overtime when Travis Clayton scored the game-winner with Riley Nelson in the box for tripping. The 2 for 8 effort gave the Mudbugs their first multi-powerplay goal outing since January 5. The 'Bugs had netted at least one PPG in seven straight games before the long dry spell.

DeCaro Rounds into Form

After a somewhat rocky start to the season, goaltender John DeCaro is up to his old tricks with a four-game winning streak and victories in nine of his last 12 starts. DeCaro (14-8-1) has made 123 saves on his way to wins over Wichita, Texas, Rio Grande Valley and Colorado in his last four games. In the process, the third-year Mudbug has lowered his goals-against average below three (2.97) and raised his saves percentage to above 90% (.908) for the season. On top of that, he even registered an assist on Travis Clayton's overtime game-winning goal from Saturday. During his first two years with the 'Bugs, DeCaro earned back-to-back CHL Most Outstanding Goaltender awards and set single-season league records for goals-against average, saves percentage, shutouts and shutout streak.

Rutherford Still Rolling

Forward David Rutherford currently has the longest active point streak in the CHL at seven games. Rutherford had a three-game goal scoring streak snapped on Saturday, but still notched an assist to give him ten points (4g, 6a) during the streak, which began at Colorado on January 16. He has also skated his way to a +9 rating with 22 penalty minutes over the past three weeks.

Milestone Watch

A few Mudbugs are closing in on career statistical milestones. Here is a rundown of the players and the achievements they are nearing:

G Ken Carroll: 1 win away from 200

F Travis Clayton: 1 game away from 800 in the CHL

D Clay Plume: 3 points away from 100

D Chris St. Croix: 4 assists away from 200

Loose Pucks

Travis Clayton will play his 800th CHL game Friday night against his former team: the Wichita Thunder... The Mudbugs are a perfect 12-0 when they do not allow a powerplay goal this year.... Saturday's game was only the second time this year the 'Bugs have won a game in which they surrendered multiple powerplay goals...

D Scott Kalinchuk has goals in two straight games (the 2nd and 3rd of his pro career) entering this week... Shawn Limpright's penalty shot goal Friday night was also his 300th career point... Dave Pszenyczny played his 100th game as a Mudbug on Friday... F Tyrel Lucas has missed three straight games...

TICKET INFORMATION:

Mini-plans and group ticket packages for the 2009-10 season of Mudbugs hockey are available at the team office: 2000 CenturyTel Center Drive, Bossier City, LA 71112. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. Individual game tickets can be purchased at the CenturyTel Center box office between 9:30 am and 4:30 pm Monday - Friday, by calling Ticketmaster at (318) 741-9700, or online at Ticketmaster.com. For more information, visit www.mudbugshockey.com or call the team office at (318) 752-2847.

MUDBUGS RADIO:

Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs games, both home and away, are broadcast live on "The Home of the Legends" AM 1130 KWKH and News Radio 710 AM KEEL in Shreveport. Both stations provide free online streaming online at www.kwkhonline.com and www.710keel.com.

CHL TV:

New for 2009-10 is the latest version of CHL-TV, powered by Insinc Netcasting. Fans will have the chance to watch all 480 games on the CHL's regular season schedule for a small pay-per-view price. Packages are available as well that give fans the chance to order a month at a time or the entire season. All game archives are offered to catch up on the games you missed for just $3.95. Visit http://chltv.insinc.com for more information.

Season and group tickets are on sale by calling 318-752-BUGS (2847) or by visiting our website at www.mudbugshockey.com.

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Central Hockey League Stories from February 1, 2010


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