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Mudbugs Weekly

December 30, 2008 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release


LAST WEEK

Tuesday, December 23 vs. Texas CenturyTel Center L 4-3

GAME NOTES: The Brahmas had built a 3-0 lead by the early stages of the second period before a Mudbugs comeback nearly got the game tied on Tuesday night. The Bugs were down 4-1 after two periods, but nearly rallied with third-period goals from Todd Paul from Dave Pszenyczny to get back within one. Texas was able to hold off the comeback and beat Bossier-Shreveport for the sixth time in a row. The Mudbugs were 0 for 9 on the powerplay in the game.

Friday, December 26 vs. Corpus Christi CenturyTel Center W 5-1

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs scored twice in the first period and three more times in the second to build a 5-0 lead with five different goal scorers. With the Bugs leading big and the IceRays on a powerplay, forward Nicolas Bachand delivered a hard check to Mudbugs goaltender Ken Carroll, setting off a brawl that resulted in over 200 penalty minutes and 13 player ejections at the 15:34 mark of the second period. After a 45-minute delay while the penalties were being sorted out, play resumed with the final 4:26 of the second period and then the third. The Bugs earned 5-1 victory over the IceRays with both teams finishing the game with just 10 skaters each.

Saturday, December 27 at Corpus Christi American Bank Center L 2-1

GAME NOTES: The Bugs met the IceRays again on Saturday night in Corpus Christi with the Mudbugs playing without four players and Head Coach Scott Muscutt and the IceRays missing two players due to suspensions handed out after Friday night's brawl. Despite playing with just 12 skaters and trailing 2-0 after two periods, the Mudbugs mounted a third period rally, starting the Joe Blaznek's goal that made it 2-1 with over seven minutes remaining. Bossier-Shreveport couldn't manage to tie it up though in a 2-1 loss, their second straight at the American Bank Center.

THIS WEEK

Tuesday, December 30 at Tulsa BOK Center 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES: Bossier-Shreveport heads to Tulsa tonight for their fifth meeting of the year with the Oilers. The Mudbugs are 4-0 against Tulsa this year, including a pair of victories at the BOK Center by a combined score of 14-5. The last time the teams met was during a home-and-home weekend series just over a week ago. The Bugs came from behind to win both games, 4-3 in a shootout at home on Friday night and 5-2 in Tulsa the following night.

Tuesday, December 31 at Mississippi DeSoto Civic Center 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs and RiverKings will meet for the first time in over a month on New Year's Eve at the DeSoto Civic Center. The Bugs have won all three of their meetings with Mississippi so far this year. The first two games were back-to-back 6-2 Mudbugs victories during the second week of the season. Then on November 12, J.J. Martin scored the game-winner on the powerplay with just 36 seconds remaining in a 4-3 Mudbugs win. This game will be the fourth of 12 regular season meetings between these Northeast Division rivals.

Friday, January 2 vs. Odessa CenturyTel Center 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs take on Odessa in their one and only meeting with the Jackalopes on Friday night. The Jackalopes bring the best record in the Southern Conference into this game and just recently saw an 11-game win streak end. Only Colorado has more wins than Odessa entering the weekend. Last year, the teams also met just one time in a memorable night for the CenturyTel Center faithful, as the Mudbugs dominated throughout in a 9-0 win.

Saturday, January 3 vs. Arizona CenturyTel Center 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES: Saturday night Bossier-Shreveport and Arizona gear up for the first-ever meeting between the two franchises. The Sundogs, who are in their third CHL season, are the defending President's Cup Champions after sweeping Colorado in the Finals last season. The Mudbugs will also make their first-ever trip to Prescott Valley, Arizona in February to take on the Sundogs two more times this year.

FORMER ICERAYS DO THE DAMAGE

All three former Corpus Christi players on this year's Mudbugs had an impact on the weekend series. Former Ray (and former Oiler) Todd Paul scored a goal in Friday night's game, and both he and J.R. Bria had to jump in to help stick up for their teammates during the brawl that night. Then on Saturday, Joe Blaznek (who played in Corpus last season), tallied the only Mudbugs goal of the night to get the third-period comeback going for Bossier-Shreveport.

A FRANCHISE RECORD FOR SURE

At the conclusion of Friday night's game against the IceRays, the Mudbugs were originally credited with a franchise record 151 penalty minutes. Corpus Christi was also tagged for 141 minutes for a game total of 292 PIMS. Since Friday night though, the box score has been revised and corrected after the league review of video footage from the game. As of Tuesday morning, the game has been adjusted to final totals of 181 minutes in penalties for the Mudbugs and 121 for the IceRays for a grand total of 302 penalty minutes. Bossier-Shreveport's previous franchise record was 144 penalty minutes set against Tulsa on February 27, 2007.

WHO'S HOT

Joe Blaznek has six points (2g, 4a) in his last five games and leads the team with 16 assists this season... Travis Clayton has been remarkably consistent lately, being held pointless just once and recording eight points (4g, 4a) in his last seven games.... Brett Smith has finished with multiple points in four of his last eight games...Chris Brassard has five points (2g, 3a) in his last five games...Neil Clark has four points (2g, 2a) in his last four games.

CLAYTON CLOSES IN

Mudbugs Center Travis Clayton has already surpassed the CHL record for career games played this season, but the 12th-year pro is starting to close in on two more league milestones as well. Clayton needs just eight more assists to move into second all-time in CHL history in that category. His 520 career CHL assists are sneaking up on the 527 of former Oklahoma City Blazers defenseman Hardy Sauter. Clayton also needs only 19 more points to surpass former Tulsa great Doug Lawrence as the second leading scorer in league history. Lawrence finished his CHL career with 875 points, while Clayton enters tonight with 857.

ANOTHER NEW YEAR'S BATTLE

The Mudbugs have played six previous New Year's Eve games in their history, with three of those coming in Memphis/Mississippi against the RiverKings. Bossier-Shreveport is 2-0-1 against the 'Kings on New Year's Eve, but all three games have been close: 6-4 Mudbugs in 2001, 6-5 RiverKings in a shootout in 2002, and 5-4 Mudbugs in a shootout in 2004. Adding in the other New Year's Eve games they've played, the Bugs are 3-1-2 all-time on December 31st.

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.

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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.

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