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Mudbugs Hang On Against Gorillas In Amarillo

December 7, 2009 - Central Hockey League (CHL) - Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release


AMARILLO, TX - The Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs held off a late Amarillo rally to beat the Gorillas 4-3 Monday night at the Amarillo Civic Center and earn their tenth victory of the season. The win snapped a three-game road losing streak for the 'Bugs and evened their record at 10-10-0 this year.

Jeff Kyrzakos' goal at 15:52 of the third period turned out to be the game-winner, while Shawn Limpright added a goal and an assist to extend his point streak to eight games. Tyler Liebel scored the other two Mudbugs goals and John DeCaro made 31 saves in goal to get his sixth victory.

The 'Bugs started off with strong shorthanded play that helped them capture the momentum in the game. Bossier-Shreveport killed off three Amarillo powerplays in the first half of the opening period, including 23 seconds of 5-on-3 time for the Gorillas. The Mudbugs then took a 1-0 lead on the powerplay when Shawn Limpright's centering pass bounced off an Amarillo defenseman and past Mike Brown for his seventh goal of the season at the 10:17 mark. Bossier-Shreveport led 1-0 after 20 minutes.

The score stayed that way until nearly halfway through the second period, when Jason Beeman made a nifty move to the front and beat John DeCaro to tie the game at one. The Mudbugs answered only 20 seconds later as Joe Ori found Brett Smith for a tap-in goal at the front of the net that made it 2-1 'Bugs. Amarillo tied it again on a strange play at 16:02 as David Nimmo's long wrister from the blueline somehow snuck through traffic into the top corner. The visitors once again re-took the advantage a short time later though, as Tyler Liebel took a Joe Blaznek faceoff win and lifted a backhand shot top shelf on Brown to put Bossier-Shreveport on top 3-2 after two periods.

The score stayed 3-2 until just over four minutes remained in the third, when the Mudbugs gave themselves some breathing room. Just after Brown had stopped a 'Bugs chance, Kyrzakos had time at the point to wind up a big slapshot that beat the Amarillo netminder low to the stick side and make it 4-2. The Gorillas climbed back within a goal when Beeman tipped in a shot from the point for his second goal of the game with 2:08 remaining. Despite another late Amarillo powerplay, DeCaro capped the win with a few key saves to seal the 4-3 triumph.

John DeCaro evened his record at 6-6-0 and snapped a three-game personal losing streak with the 31-save performance. Mike Brown stopped 24 shots in defeat for the Gorillas. Amarillo outshot the 'Bugs 34-28 and finished 1 for 8 on the powerplay. The Mudbugs converted 1 of 5 powerplay opportunities in the game.

Bossier-Shreveport will now head home for three days off before facing Mississippi in a home-and-home series on Friday and Saturday. The 'Bugs hold a 3-1 record against the rival RiverKings in four meetings this year heading into this weekend's back-to-back set.

The first of the two games will take place at 7:05 pm Friday night at the CenturyTel Center before shifting to Mississippi on Saturday.

Group packages and mini-plans are available through the Mudbugs office at 752-BUGS, while individual tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster at 741-9700.

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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