Mudbugs Weekly

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


LAST WEEK

Tuesday, February 23 vs. Texas CenturyTel Center W 4-2

GAME NOTES: Jim Jorgensen's first goal as a Mudbug was also the game-winner as Bossier-Shreveport surged back from a 2-0 deficit to score four unanswered goals in a 4-2 win over Texas Tuesday at the CenturyTel Center. The 'Bugs improved to 4-3 against the rival Brahmas with the victory, which was also their 30th of the year. Jeff Kyrzakos (2g, 1a), Shawn Limpright (1g, 2a) and Travis Clayton (3a) all finished with three points on the night and John DeCaro made 17 saves.

Friday, February 26 at Allen Allen Events Center W 4-3

GAME NOTES: Justin Aikins scored with just 3:01 left to break a 3-3 tie and propel the Mudbugs to a 4-3 victory over Allen Friday at the Allen Events Center. The victory helped the Mudbugs match their longest winning streak of the season at six games. Aikins' goal put the 'Bugs back on top after Allen had rallied from 3-0 down to tie the game. Joe Blaznek had a goal and an assist, while Travis Clayton and Brett Smith also lit the lamp in the 'Bugs first win over the expansion Americans.

Saturday, February 27 at Tulsa BOK Center W 4-3 (OT)

GAME NOTES: For the second consecutive night, Justin Aikins and Tyrel Lucas connected on a dramatic game-winning goal as Aikins scored 21 seconds into overtime to give the Mudbugs a 4-3 victory over Tulsa Saturday at the BOK Center. The Mudbugs overcame another comeback to beat the Oilers for the 12th time in a row. Trailing 3-1 in the third, Tulsa came back to force overtime before Aikins notched the winner on the first shift in OT. Lucas, who also had a goal, assisted on the play. Joe Blaznek had two assists and John DeCaro turned aside 37 shots to get his 20th win of the season .

Sunday, February 28 at Tulsa BOK Center W 3-2

GAME NOTES: Simon Mangos scored twice and Ken Carroll made 35 saves as the Mudbugs extended their winning streak to eight games with a 3-2 victory over Tulsa Sunday at the BOK Center. The win completed a perfect run of seven games in ten days for the Mudbugs, who also earned their 13th consecutive win over the Oilers. Tyrel Lucas scored in the third period to break a 2-2 tie and help the 'Bugs to their fourth win over Tulsa in less than two weeks.

THIS WEEK

Tuesday, March 2 vs. Allen CenturyTel Center 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs and Americans will close out their five-game season series Tuesday night at the CTC. Allen, who has clinched a playoff spot here in its inaugural season, won the first three meetings before the 'Bugs skated to a 4-3 triumph Friday night at Allen in the last meeting between the clubs.

Fri. and Sat., Mar. 5 and 6 vs. Rio Grande Valley CenturyTel Center 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES: The 'Bugs will host the Killer Bees in back-to-back games Friday and Saturday night here at the CTC to cap off their five-game season series. Since Rio Grande Valley won the first meeting 5-3 back in November, the 'Bugs have won two straight games against the Bees by a combined score of 13-3. RGV is battling to try and get back into a playoff spot, trailing Corpus Christi by six points entering this week.

Sunday, March 7 at Corpus Christi American Bank Center 3:00 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs and IceRays will meet in the fifth of six head-to-head meetings this season on Sunday afternoon in Corpus. The ''Bugs won the first two meetings of the season by a goal (4-3 and 3-2 in overtime) before the teams split a home-and-home series in mid-February, with the IceRays winning 5-2 at home and the 'Bugs answering with a 4-1 win in Bossier City.

WEEKLY NOTES

Lining Up the W's

The Mudbugs swept three games last weekend to extend their longest winning streak of the season to eight games. The streak has rocketed the 'Bugs to 16 games above .500 (33-17-4) and gotten them within five points of second-place Colorado in the Northern Conference standings. Clinching a playoff spot will be the next order of business for Bossier-Shreveport, who has a magic number of four points to secure one of the top five seed in the North for the 2010 CHL playoffs.

Three Straight Three-in-Threes

This weekend Bossier-Shreveport will play a set of three games in three days for the third consecutive weekend. Yesterday's victory in Tulsa finished off a perfect run of seven games in ten days for the Mudbugs, but the team will have four more tough games this week to cap off an intense period of the schedule. The 'Bugs began a stretch of 11 games in just 17 days back on February 19, with the string finally reaching its end Sunday in Corpus Christi. Then after taking four days off, the Mudbugs will finish with six games over the final eight days of the regular season. Overall, the Mudbugs' last 17 regular season games will take place in a span of just 30 days.

The Oilers Get Drilled

With two more games this past weekend, the Mudbugs and Tulsa Oilers capped off a stretch of four head-to-head meetings in a span of just ten days, with Bossier-Shreveport winning all four of those contests. The 'Bugs are now 5-0 against Tulsa this season and have won 13 consecutive games in the series dating back to last season, when they went 8-0 against the Oilers. Tulsa stood in fifth place and trailed the Mudbugs by only four points in the Northern Conference when they came to Bossier City on February 19, but is now trailing Missouri for the conference's final playoff spot and staring a 14-point deficit to the 'Bugs. The teams will close out their season series on Thursday, March 18 at the CenturyTel Center.

Aikins, Lucas Come Through in the Clutch

Justin Aikins and Tyrel Lucas hooked up on all three game-winning goals as the Mudbugs went 3-0 this past weekend. After the 'Bugs had surrendered a 3-0 lead Friday in Allen, Aikins redirected a shot by Lucas into the net with 3:01 left to put them back on top in a 4-3 win. Saturday in Tulsa, Aikins banged in Lucas' centering pass just 21 seconds into overtime to finish another 4-3 "W". Finally on Sunday, Lucas scored at 6:07 of the third period to put the Mudbugs ahead of the Oilers to stay, with Aikins picking up an assist. Both players have scored three game-winning goals this year.

Pick a Goalie, Any Goalie

Both Mudbugs goaltenders come into this week having won their last four starts, with Ken Carroll and John DeCaro each backstopping four games of the team's current eight-game winning streak. DeCaro (20-11-1) reached the 20-win mark for the third time in his career with 37 saves Saturday and got his first shutout of the year on February 21 against Tulsa. Carroll (13-6-3) stopped 35 shots in a 3-2 victory over the Oilers on Sunday to reach 186 wins in his Mudbugs career. That leaves him just one win shy of tying Tony Martino as the second-winningest goaltender in CHL/WPHL history. Carroll, who already owns the league record for career shutouts, trails only Martino (187) and Rod Branch (194) on the CHL's all-time wins list. He currently leads the league in saves percentage and ranks second in goals-against average.

Offensive Outburst

The Mudbugs have scored at least four goals seven times during their eight-game winning streak, netting 35 total goals for an average of 4.4 goals per game. An increase in scoring over the past three weeks has bumped Bossier-Shreveport into fifth place among the highest scoring teams in the CHL with a season-long average of 3.35 goals per game. Prior to winning ten of their last 11 games, the 'Bugs ranked ninth in the league at 3.14 gpg. At the other end of the ice, Bossier-Shreveport has surrendered fewer than four goals in six straight games.

Loose Pucks

The 'Bugs are undefeated (18-0-0) this year when they do not allow a powerplay goal.... Bossier-Shreveport went 10-3-0 in 13 February games... Mudbugs players have combined for a total of 18 two-goal games without a single hat trick... F Shawn Limpright has scored goals in five of his last seven games... F Joe Blaznek has five goals and three assists in his last seven games... F Brett Smith scored goals in back-to-back games last weekend to snap a 14-game goalless streak... D Chris St. Croix is one assist away from 200... D Clay Plume has 99 career points... 10 of the Mudbugs' 54 games this year have ended with a final score of 4-3... The 'Bugs are 15-1-2 in games played Sunday through Thursday this year... The 'Bugs are 20-5-3 against the Northern Conference and 13-12-1 vs. the South this year...

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 March 1, 2010


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