Bugs Fall in Shootout at Mississippi

Published on March 16, 2008 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release


SOUTHAVEN, MS - Rane Carnegie's goal in the seventh round of a shootout vaulted the Mississippi RiverKings back into a playoff spot with a 4-3 shootout victory over the Mudbugs Sunday evening at the DeSoto Civic Center .

Joe Ori had a goal and an assist as Bossier-Shreveport dominated the second period to go up 3-1 after two until a pair of Ryan Held goals forced overtime for Mississippi . The RiverKings then outscored the Mudbugs 2-1 in the seven-round shootout to pass the Rocky Mountain Rage (who lost at home to Tulsa Sunday) for the fifth spot in the Northern Conference.

The RiverKings played like a team fighting for a playoff spot in the first period, with numerous scoring chances and a 17-5 shot advantage after one. Despite missing on two powerplays, Mississippi was able to take the 1-0 lead in the first. After a defensive zone faceoff win by Jason Campbell, Mississippi got the puck away from the Mudbugs and Carnegie hit a wide-open Rick Kozak in the circle to put the Kings on top by a goal after one period.

The table turned drastically in the second though, with the Mudbugs outshooting Mississippi 13-9 and scoring three times. Tyrel Lucas picked up his 23rd goal of the season on the rebound of an Ori shot to tie the game early on in the second. Ori then gave the Mudbugs the lead on a breakaway goal. After the Kings won a faceoff in the offensive zone, the puck squirted past both point men and Ori beat everyone down the ice to get it and beat Sebastien Centomo on the backhand. Justin Aikins set up Elias Godoy's 19th goal of the season a few minutes later to give the Bugs a 3-1 lead after the second.

Ryan Held scored a pair of tip-in goals in the third to tie the contest up. Held deflected in a Cody Blanshan slapshot from the point for the first one that brought Mississippi back within 3-2. The game stayed that way throughout most of the third with both teams playing strong defense until Held tied it up. Ken Carroll made the save on Derek Landmesser's point blast, but the puck trickled between his legs and came to rest just in front of the goal line. Just before Carroll could turn around to sweep the puck out of harm's way, Held reached out and poked it in to tie the game with exactly two minutes left.

After a scoreless overtime that included a RiverKings powerplay, Dale Lupul gave the Bugs the lead in the shootout. Chad Woollard scored on the very next attempt for Mississippi to tie the shootout at one. The next four rounds of the shootout were scoreless before Carnegie put the Kings ahead and Jason Campbell's last chance for the Mudbugs missed just high as the Mudbugs fell to 0-3 in shootouts this year.

Bossier-Shreveport still finished the 12-game season series with a 6-5-1 mark against their division rival, who has three more games to try and clinch a playoff spot. The RiverKings finished the game with a 37-26 shot advantage and missed on six powerplays, while the Bugs were 0 for 2 with the man advantage.

After finishing up their last three-in-three of the regular season, the Governor's Cup Champion Mudbugs will have one day off before taking on the Tulsa Oilers in their final road game of the regular season. Bossier-Shreveport will battle the Oilers at 7:05 pm on Tuesday from the Tulsa Convention Center , trying to finish the season a perfect 5-0 against Tulsa . Pregame coverage will begin at 6:45 pm on 1130 AM KWKH, which is the only place to catch Tuesday's game.

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Central Hockey League Stories from March 16, 2008


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