Bugs End Regular Season With Win
March 22, 2008 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release
BOSSIER CITY, LA - The Governor's Cup Champion Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs closed out the regular season with a 2-1 victory over the Rocky Mountain Rage on Saturday night at CenturyTel Center and finished setting numerous single-season defensive records in the process. The Rage had already been eliminated from the playoffs when Colorado went to overtime to earn a point in Youngstown , but the Mudbugs earned their 44th win on Tyrel Lucas' third period game-winning goal to end the regular season on a two-game winning streak.
The Mudbugs finish the regular season giving up a total of just 122 goals in 64 games to break the All-time CHL record with a team goals-against average of just 1.91 for the season. John DeCaro stopped 33 shots to finish the season with a league-best 27 wins, and also sewed up two more prestigious goaltender records in his incredible season. DeCaro finishes the season with the best goals-against average ever recorded by a CHL goaltender at 1.63 and also sets a new league record with a .941 season saves percentage. Those records are now included on an already lengthy list of record accomplishments by this year's Mudbugs.
Rocky Mountain came out strong in the first period of the game, outshooting the Bugs 17-8 and pushing hard to generate chances. It was Bossier-Shreveport who would score first though, when Karlis Zirnis set up Chris Brassard for his 29th goal of the season on the powerplay. Late in the first the Rage countered with a powerplay goal of its own as Trevor Weisgerber stuffed the puck past DeCaro to tie the contest up after the opening period.
It stayed 1-1 throughout a second period in which the Mudbugs penalty killers were huge. The Bugs killed off four Rocky Mountain powerplays and the game was still knotted at one after forty minutes.
Bossier-Shreveport gained momentum in the third period leading up to Lucas' seventh game-winner this season. Joe Ori fed the puck across the crease to Daniel Pegoraro, who was stopped on a great save by Rage goaltender Scott Reid. With the rebound free tough, Lucas swooped in to pick it up and fire it past Reid at 7:54 to provide the winning margin.
The Bugs held the high-powered Rocky Mountain powerplay to just one conversion on nine chances in the contest, going 1 for 7 in the game themselves. The Mudbugs ended with a 35-34 shot advantage.
With the regular season now complete, Bossier-Shreveport now knows it will face either Texas or Mississippi in its first playoff series. Youngstown passed the Brahmas Saturday to finish third in the Northern Conference, which means #4 Texas will take on the #5 RiverKings in a best-of-three series to start Monday night in Mississippi . The winner of that opening round series will come to Bossier City to face the top-seeded Mudbugs in the Northern Conference Semi-finals, while Colorado and Youngstown will meet in the #2 vs. #3 series.
The Mudbugs' first playoff game will come on either Friday, March 28th or Sunday March 30th at the CenturyTel Center . The official playoff schedule will be made available once it is officially release by the CHL. Playoff tickets are on sale now by calling 318-752-BUGS.
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Central Hockey League Stories from March 22, 2008
- Bugs End Regular Season With Win - Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
- Gorillas Season Comes to a Close With 5-4 Loss - Amarillo Gorillas
- Rage's Season Comes to a Close - Rocky Mountain Rage
- End regular season with a loss - Fort Worth Brahmas
- Bes Sets Another Record: Bucks Win Finale 6-2 - Laredo Bucks
- RiverKings Beat Rayz 6-1 - Mississippi RiverKings
- Hounds sweep Eagles thanks to dramatic comeback - Youngstown SteelHounds
- Bats Roll Into Playoffs With Win, Face New Mexico or Odessa on Monday - Austin Ice Bats
- Rayz fall to Kings 6-1 in season finale - Corpus Christi IceRays
- Eagles Lose in Shootout, Earn Second Seed Anyway - Colorado Eagles
- Qwest Scorpions Fan Experience Winners - New Mexico Scorpions
- Bucks Close Out Regular Season Tonight In Rio - Laredo Bucks
- Sundogs Extend Win Streak to Eight Games with 7-4 Win - Arizona Sundogs
- Mudbugs Red-Hot Powerplay Burns Brahmas - Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
- Rage Still Alive in Playoff Hunt - Rocky Mountain Rage
- Texas Stumbles In Bossier 7-1 - Fort Worth Brahmas
- RiverKings qualify for playoffs - Mississippi RiverKings
- Bucks Clinch South With 8-2 Romp - Laredo Bucks
- Reeder Hat Trick Leads Scorps To Victory - New Mexico Scorpions
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