Mudbugs Split The Week

November 3, 2008 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release


The Mudbugs finally suffered their first loss of the season on Thursday night, falling 3-2 to the Colorado Eagles, who currently own the CHL's best record. In their second game of the week, the Bugs rebounded in a big way with a 9-3 win over the Tulsa Oilers on Friday night. Bossier-Shreveport is now second in the Northeast Division and third in the Northern Conference with a 5-1 record and 10 points.

SPREADING THE WEALTH

In Friday night's 9-3 victory over Tulsa at the BOK Center, 13 of the 16 Mudbugs skaters in the game recorded at least one point. The team also had eight players with multiple points, including four (Joe Blaznek, Chris Brassard, Travis Clayton and Kevin Cooper) who finished the night with three points each. Brassard, Clayton, Neil Clark and Tyrel Lucas each scored two goals in the game.

PP HICCUPS, THEN DOMINATES

The Mudbugs' powerplay was ranked first in the CHL going into last week's games, converting at 33.3% rate. The powerplay unit then sputtered on Thursday night, going 0 for 10 in the Bugs' loss to Colorado. It didn't take long for Bossier-Shreveport to get back on track on the man-advantage though, as the team converted five out of seven powerplay chances on Friday night in Tulsa. Five powerplay goals matches the team's season high from last year and puts the Bugs' powerplay unit back in the CHL's top spot at 31.9% (15-47).

THE GUARDIAN ANGEL DEBUTS

Friday's game in Tulsa also marked the Mudbugs debut of 6'6", 248-lb. tough guy Brett Angel. The forward from Kingston, Ontario immediately stirred the pot against the Oilers, finishing the game with nine penalty minutes, including one fighting major. The fourth-year pro, who played 18 AHL games with Norfolk in 2007-08, wore #37 in his first game in the CHL. He also played for Mississippi and Phoenix in the ECHL last season. Angel spent more time in the AHL in 2005-06 with Grand Rapids and has played in the UHL in his career as well. He played five seasons of Major Junior in the OHL and also spent four years playing at Acadia University. In order to make room on the roster for Angel, the team put second-year Mudbug Neil Poulsen on waivers.

FIRST THREE-IN-THREE

After starting with just six games in the first 15 days of the season, the Mudbugs will play their first set of three games in three days this weekend. Friday night the Bugs host Tulsa in the second of two straight games against the Oilers before playing the Rocky Mountain Rage on Saturday night at CenturyTel Center. Then on Sunday, Bossier-Shreveport makes it first visit of the year to the NyTex Sports Centre for another meeting with the rival Texas Brahmas at 3:05 pm.

LAST WEEK

Thursday, October 30 vs. Colorado CenturyTel Center L 3-2

GAME NOTES: Colorado came to town on Thursday for a battle of undefeated teams at CenturyTel Center. The Eagles jumped out to a quick lead, scoring three times in the first nine minutes of the game to go up 3-0. The Mudbugs shut down Colorado's offense after that and notched a pair of third period goals to pull within one, but couldn't get the equalizer. Andrew Penner was tremendous in goal for Colorado, stopping 47 of Bossier-Shreveport's 49 shots as the Bugs lost for the first time in 2008-09.

Friday, October 31 at Tulsa BOK Center W 9-3

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs scored five powerplay goals on just seven opportunities to roll over the Oilers 9-3 in their first ever visit to the brand new BOK Center in Tulsa. The Bugs scored three goals in the first period and five in the second to take control of the contest, eventually building a 9-1 lead before the Oilers scored two late goals. Four different Mudbugs scored two goals and the team also had four players with three points in the game.

THIS WEEK

Friday, November 7 vs. Tulsa CenturyTel Center 7:05PM

GAME NOTES: The Oilers will be looking to rebound from a 9-3 defeat at the hands of the Mudbugs on Friday night in Tulsa when they visit the CTC for the first time this year. Tulsa will still be looking for its first victory of the season on Friday night in Bossier City, where they have lost their last four visits. The last time the Oilers won at CenturyTel Center was March 3, 2007.

Saturday, November 8 vs. Rocky Mountain CenturyTel Center 7:05PM

GAME NOTES: Rocky Mountain is trying to right the ship after a rocky 1-6 start to the year. The Rage will play in Mississippi on Friday night before traveling south for their first meeting of the year with the Mudbugs. The Bugs earned points in all three games they played against the Rage last season, going 2-0-1 against them.

Sunday, November 9 at Texas NyTex Sports Centre 3:05PM

GAME NOTES: The second of ten regular season meetings between the Mudbugs and Brahmas will be on Sunday afternoon at the NyTex Sports Centre. The Brahmas are 4-1-1 entering this week's games and will visit Oklahoma City on Friday before hosting Odessa on Saturday leading up to this game. Texas will be looking to pay the Mudbugs back for a 5-1 Bossier-Shreveport victory on CHL opening night at CenturyTel Center. The teams will also meet again a week from Friday, on November 14th in North Richland Hills.

TICKET INFORMATION: Season and group tickets for the 2008-09 season of Mudbugs hockey are available at the team office: 2000 CenturyTel Center Drive, Bossier City, LA 71129. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. Individual game tickets can be purchased at the CenturyTel Center box office between 9:30 am and 4:30 pm Monday - Friday, by calling Ticketmaster at (318) 741-9700, or online at Ticketmaster.com. For more information, visit www.mudbugshockey.com or call the team office at (318) 752-2847.

MUDBUGS RADIO: All Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs games, both home and away, are broadcast live on "The Home of the Legends" AM 1130 KWKH or Newsradio 710 AM KEEL in Shreveport. Both stations provide free online streaming online at www.kwkhonline.com and www.710keel.com.

CHL Network: Never Miss Another Away Game! The Central Hockey League and Network Foundation Technologies are pleased to renew their partnership that will provide a "FREE-for-View" experience for all CHL hockey fans through the CHL Network. The 2008-2009 CHL season will be broadcast live over the Internet utilizing Network Foundation Technologies' NiFTy Online Television product.



Central Hockey League Stories from November 3, 2008


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