Mudbugs Weekly

December 8, 2008 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release


TWO OUT OF THREE IN THREE

The Mudbugs won two of their set of three games in three days this past weekend, moving their season record to 12-6-2 (26 pts). Bossier-Shreveport defeated Wichita in two one-goal games on both Thursday and Saturday, falling 4-0 at Texas in between on Friday night. The Bugs have now gone 2-1 in both of their three-in-threes so far this year, with four such situations remaining on their schedule.

NORTHWESTERN EXPOSURE

The Mudbugs are currently in a stretch of four out of five games against teams from the CHL's Northwest Division. After playing Wichita twice last week, Bossier-Shreveport will play a pair against Rapid City this week. The Mudbugs are 2-0 vs. both Rocky Mountain and Wichita and 0-2 vs. Colorado in their first six matchups with the Northwest. The Bugs are now 5-0 against their own division (the Northeast) and 2-4-2 vs. the Southeast Division. The Bugs have not yet faced a team from the Southwest Division this season. By the time the Mudbugs play Tulsa next weekend, it will have been over a month since they faced a divisional opponent.

CLOSE CALLS

Four of Bossier-Shreveport's last six games and eight of their last 13 have been decided by just one goal. The Mudbugs have won three consecutive one-goal games and hold an overall mark of 6-2-2 in those games this season. The Bugs are 1-0 in games decided by two goals (3-1 over Tulsa on November 7) and three goals (5-2 at Rocky Mountain on 11/21). Surprisingly, the Mudbugs have seen eight of their games decided by four goals or more this season, holding a record of 4-4 in those contests.

THE ROAD WARRIORS

The Mudbugs are on the tail end of a particularly road-heavy stretch of their schedule, with nine out of 12 games away from CenturyTel Center. The Bugs played three straight home games between a five-game road trip and their current four-game trip, but have spent most of the past month on the road. In fact, Bossier-Shreveport is in the midst of a 28-game span in which 19 of those games will be played on the road. The Bugs play 60 percent of this season's road games between November 14 and January 22. Of course, that pales in comparison to Rapid City's 14-game, 51-day road odyssey to start the season while they awaited the completion of the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.

ENDING THE DRY SPELL

Chris Brassard, Travis Clayton and Tyrel Lucas all broke out of recent scoring droughts last weekend for the Mudbugs. Clayton's second game-winning goal of the season on Thursday night also broke a string of eight consecutive games without a goal for the 12th-year pro. Lucas scored the game-winner Saturday night to snap a six game goal-less streak, and Brassard earned an assist on that goal to end a streak of seven straight games without a point for the Captain. Hopefully for the Mudbugs, a few more similar streaks will be ending soon as well. After scoring six goals in the first 11 games of the season, Joe Blaznek has gone nine straight games without lighting the lamp, while Joe Ori hasn't scored in eight games and Kevin Cooper has gone seven straight games without recording a point.

LAST WEEK

Thursday, December 4 vs. Wichita CenturyTel Center W 1-0

GAME NOTES: Travis Clayton scored the game's only goal on a first period powerplay and Jon Horrell stopped 31 shots to earn his first career professional shutout as the Mudbugs knocked off the Thunder in a hard fought 1-0 game. Clayton, Horrell and Joe Blaznek are all former Wichita players who were facing the Thunder for the first time since leaving the team.

Friday, December 5 at Texas NyTex Sports Centre L 4-0

GAME NOTES: The Brahmas powerplay ruled the night Friday at the NyTexas Sports Centre, scoring three times in the first two periods to give Texas control of the game. David Cacciola did the rest, shutting out his old club with 22 saves in the third period and 36 overall as the Brahmas went on to win 4-0 for their fifth straight win over the Bugs.

Saturday, December 6 at Wichita Kansas Coliseum W 2-1

GAME NOTES: Brett Smith scored a first period powerplay goal and then set up Tyrel Lucas' marker in the third to give the Mudbugs a two-goal lead in their second meeting with Wichita in a three-day span. They would need that cushion later in the third as the Thunder scored with three minutes left to cut the lead to one. Despite a late 6 on 4 Wichita advantage, Ryan Mior and the Mudbugs held on to win a 2-1 decision. The game was the first one Clayton and Blaznek have ever played as a visitor in the Kansas Coliseum after their own respective careers with the Wichita organization.l

THIS WEEK

Friday, December 12 at Rapid City Rushmore Plaza Civic Center 8:05 pm

GAME NOTES: Bossier-Shreveport meets the expansion Rapid City Rush for the first time ever Friday night at the brand new Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. The Rush is 2-2 at its new home arena, having played only four games there since its completion about two weeks ago heading into a Wednesday night meeting with Colorado. Rapid City is 5-8-5 with 15 points for the year, putting it second in the Northwest Division entering this week.

Saturday, December 13 at Rapid City Rushmore Plaza Civic Center 8:05 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs and Rush clash again on Saturday night in the second of just three regular season meetings between the teams this year. This game will wrap up the Bugs' only visit to Rapid City this year.

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 December 8, 2008


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