Bugs vs. Brahmas: Time for the Battle of I-20
March 27, 2008 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release
BOSSIER CITY, LA - It's official: the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs will start their 2008 Central Hockey League playoff run against the Texas Brahmas in the Northern Conference Semifinals. Texas earned the right to take on the Governor's Cup Champions by virtue of Thursday night's 3-2 victory over Mississippi in game three of their opening round series. That win earned the Brahmas a 2-1 triumph in the best-of-three series with the RiverKings.
The series win is a first for the Brahmas franchise since the 1999 WPHL playoffs, when the then-Fort Worth Brahmas came within two wins of facing the then-Shreveport Mudbugs in the President's Cup Finals. Now, the two old WPHL foes and current CHL Northeast Division rivals will play in the playoffs for the first time.
The best-of-seven Northern Conference Semifinals will be the continuation of a season series that already saw 11 regular season meetings between the two teams, who are located just over three hours from one another on Interstate 20.
Texas was the only team in the CHL this season to win its regular season series against Bossier-Shreveport. Although the Mudbugs won five and earned points in seven of the 11 games this season, the Brahmas were the victor in six of the head-to-head match-ups, including a pair of overtime wins.
Two of those Texas wins came in the first two weeks of the season during Bossier-Shreveport's 0-5-1 start. The teams didn't meet again after that until late December, when the Mudbugs played and won three consecutive games against the Brahmas between December 26th and New Year's Eve.
The teams came together again for a home-and-home series on February 9th and 10th. Heading into the two-game set, the Bugs hadn't lost a regulation game in over two months and were on a streak of 24 consecutive games earning at least a point-with 23 of those being wins. Texas ended that streak with a 6-2 win at CenturyTel Center and followed it up by winning again the next day at the NyTex Sports Centre.
The Mudbugs battled back with a 2-0 shutout road win on February 22nd before the Brahmas won two straight one goal games two weeks apart to take a 6-4 lead in the season series. The last Friday night in the final meeting and second to last day of the regular season, the Bugs scored five powerplay goals on their way to a dominating 7-1 victory that also helped prevent Texas from earning the third seed in the Northern Conference playoffs.
The official schedule for the Northern Conference Semifinal series between Bossier-Shreveport and Texas is as follows:
Game 1: Sunday 3/30 5:05 pm Home Game 2: Monday 3/31 7:05 pm Home Game 3: Friday 4/04 7:05 pm at Texas Game 4: Saturday 4/05 7:05 pm at Texas Game 5: Sunday 4/06 5:05 Home (if necessary) Game 6: Tuesday 4/08 7:05 pm at Texas (if necessary) Game 7: Wednesay 4/09 7:05 pm Home (if necessary)
Individual game tickets for all four possible home playoff games in the Northern Conference Semi-Finals are on sale through Ticketmaster at 318-741-9700 or at the CenturyTel Center box office. Playoff group ticket packages are available through the Mudbugs office at 318-752-BUGS.
Central Hockey League Stories from March 27, 2008
- Bugs vs. Brahmas: Time for the Battle of I-20 - Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
- Brahmas advance, beat RiverKings 3-2 - Fort Worth Brahmas
- Brahmas win series 2-1 - Mississippi RiverKings
- Conference Semi Final Ready to Face-Off - CHL
- Bucks To Battle âJacks In Conference Semi-Finals - Laredo Bucks
- Bats Season Ends With 1-0 Loss To Odessa - Austin Ice Bats
- Miguel Beaudry Makes The Save, RG Flath Makes The Playâ¦The Bats Will Play Another Day - Austin Ice Bats
- Dollar Hot Dogs For All Fans On April 3rd - Youngstown SteelHounds
- Join The Brahmas For Must Win Tonight - Fort Worth Brahmas
- Sundogs Climb To Third Spot In Final CHL Coaches Poll - Arizona Sundogs
- Mudbugs Top Final CHL Coaches Poll - CHL
- Opening Round Series Concludes Tonight - Mississippi RiverKings
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
