Another Shutout, Another Record Falls in Wichita
February 2, 2008 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release
WICHITA, KS - John DeCaro stopped 17 shots as the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs broke the All-time CHL record with their 11th shutout victory of the season, a solid 6-0 effort against the Wichita Thunder. DeCaro also tied the league record for shutouts in a season by an individual goaltender with his eighth and came within 2 minutes and 1 second of tying the CHL record for consecutive shutout minutes by an individual goaltender.
DeCaro has now gone a span of exactly 220 minutes without allowing a goal, which is just shy of the league record of 222:01, set by Indianapolis ' Shawn Silver in 2002-03. Brett Smith and Dale Lupul each had three points as six different goal scorers lit the lamp for the âBugs in the game.
Bossier-Shreveport dominated the first period of play, outshooting Wichita 15-3 despite four Thunder powerplays. Wichita had a 5-on-3 powerplay chance for 1:30 as part of those four full powerplay chances, but still only mustered those three shots on net. The Mudbugs got a fortuitous bounce on their first goal, as Joe Ori's centering pass for Daniel Pegoraro hit a Thunder player in front and ended up in the net for Ori's 18th goal of the season. Later in the period, Bossier-Shreveport got their second goal on another bad bounce for Wichita . With the Mudbugs on the penalty kill, Dale Lupul's defensive zone clear caromed off a Thunder play in neutral ice and right to Brett Smith, who then skated in on a breakaway and beat Jon Horrell on the backhand for a 2-0 Bossier-Shreveport lead after one.
The Mudbugs didn't skip a beat into the second frame, carrying the play and scoring three more times to go up 5-0. Lupul got his third assist of the night when Kevin Cooper deflected his pass into the net early in the second. Exactly one minute later, Mike Falk redirected Chris Brassard's back-door pass by Horrell, chasing him from the game in favor of Bill Zaniboni. The âBugs added to the lead even more as rookie Kevin Labatte scored his first goal as a Mudbug from Brassard and Smith. Late in the period, DeCaro made two nice stops in a row on a rush by the Thunder to preserve the shutout.
Wichita never maintained any offensive pressure, and Bossier-Shreveport continued to pour it on with Jason Basile's powerplay goal that made it 6-0 early in the third period. DeCaro never buckled as the Mudbugs won for the 21st time in their last 22 games and maintained a four-point lead for the CHL's number overall spot.
The Mudbugs passed the 50-shot threshold for the first time this season in the victory, outshooting the Thunder 52-17. Bossier-Shreveport finished 1 for 7 on the powerplay, while Wichita missed on all five of their chances. In addition to his eighth shutout, DeCaro advanced his season record to 17-4-3.
One more regular season meeting remains between the Mudbugs and Thunder, and it will also be the teams' third consecutive game against one another on Tuesday night in Bossier City . Join us at CenturyTel Center as the Mudbugs try to extend their franchise record home winning streak on Tuesday at 7:05 pm in one last game against the Thunder. Individual tickets are available through Ticketmaster at 318-741-9700 and group tickets are on sale through the Mudbugs office at 318- 752-BUGS.
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Central Hockey League Stories from February 2, 2008
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- Rage Snap Winless Skid - Rocky Mountain Rage
- Bucks Drill For Oil: Beat Tulsa 6-1 - Laredo Bucks
- Hounds move into second place tie with huge road win - Youngstown SteelHounds
- Ice Bats Stung Once Again, 4-3 - Austin Ice Bats
- Another Shutout, Another Record Falls in Wichita - Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
- Sundogs Fall to Odessa 4-3 in Southwest Division Battle - Arizona Sundogs
- Eagles Drop Third Straight on Road, 4-6 to Brahmas - Colorado Eagles
- Bucks Host Oilers To End Homestand - Laredo Bucks
- Brahmas To Play Defending Champs Tonight - Fort Worth Brahmas
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