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Mudbugs Weekly

January 5, 2009 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release


LAST WEEK

Tuesday, December 30 at Tulsa BOK Center W 3-2 (OT)

GAME NOTES: Bossier-Shreveport headed to Tulsa for its fifth meeting of the year with the Oilers and third at the BOK Center. After Simon Mangos scored in the first period, Tulsa scored late in the second and again early in the third to take a 2-1 lead. Dale Lupul then scored on a 5-on-3 powerplay to tie the game for the Bugs and force overtime. Dave Pszenyczny went skated coast-to-coast and netted the overtime game-winner as the Mudbugs moved to 5-0 against the Oilers this year.

Tuesday, December 31 at Mississippi DeSoto Civic Center L 6-0

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs spent their New Year's Eve in Mississippi, taking on the RiverKings for the fourth time on December 31st. The Kings broke the game open late in the first period by scoring three goals in a 38 second span and didn't look back on their way to a 6-0 win. It was the first time the Mudbugs have lost a game by more than four goals since the 2005-06 season and their worst loss since another 6-0 defeat all the way back on February 19, 2002 at Tulsa.

Friday, January 2 vs. Odessa CenturyTel Center W 5-2

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs and Jackalopes met for the one and only time this season Friday night at CenturyTel Center. Odessa brought with it the best record in the Southern Conference and second-best mark in the entire league. After a scoreless first period, Bossier-Shreveport took control in the second with four goals, all at even-strength. The Jackalopes got a pair of third-period goals from Colin Circelli to get back within two, but a late-empty netter for the Bugs sealed the 5-2 win. Joe Blaznek had two goals and one assist, Travis Clayton contributed three assists and Ken Carroll was stellar in net with 30 saves. Chris Brassard also scored the 145th goal of his Mudbugs career in the game, moving him ahead of Trevor Buchanan for second in franchise history in goal scoring.

Saturday, January 3 vs. Arizona CenturyTel Center L 3-1

GAME NOTES: Defending President's Cup Champion Arizona visited Bossier-Shreveport Saturday night for the first-ever meeting between the two teams, and the Sundogs ended up prevailing in their first visit to Bossier City. The game stayed scoreless into the third period before Adam Perry and Rob Lehtinen scored in the third to put the Sundogs on top. Joe Blaznek's goal halfway through the period got the Mudbugs back within one, but Marco Emond wouldn't be beaten again and an Arizona empty-netter capped off their 3-1 victory. The teams will meet two more times this year at Arizona in February.

THIS WEEK

Tuesday, January 6 vs. Mississippi CenturyTel Center 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES: Bossier-Shreveport will host Mississippi Tuesday night and have a chance to atone for a 6-0 road loss to the RiverKings on New Year's Eve. The Mudbugs had won the first three meetings of the year with their biggest division rivals prior to that loss. Mississippi holds a two point lead on the Bugs in the standings going into Tuesday night, so the Mudbugs will have plenty to play for in their last home game before leaving on a season-high six game road swing.

Thursday, January 8 at Corpus Christi American Bank Center 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs kick off a six-game road trip with their second visit of the year to Corpus Christi. This will be the first meeting between the teams since they split a home-and-home weekend series in late December. The first game of that series featured a line brawl that resulted in over 300 penalty minutes and 13 games worth of suspensions between the teams. Defenseman Quade Lightbody will return to the lineup in this game after a six-game suspension stemming from the events of that night. The Mudbugs have lost in their last two appearances at the ABC.

Friday, January 9 at Laredo Laredo Entertainment Center 7:30 pm

GAME NOTES: The Bugs will travel to Laredo on Friday night to battle their longtime rivals for the third time this year. Bossier-Shreveport won 2-1 in Laredo during the opening weekend of the season, but was shutout 4-0 in the second meeting in mid-November. This will be the Mudbugs' final appearance at the LEC this season, but the Bucks will visit Bossier City in three weeks for the final regular season meeting between the teams on Monday, January 26. Laredo enters this week just four points behind Odessa for the number one spot in the Southern Conference.

Saturday, January 10 at Rio Grande Valley Dodge Arena 7:35 pm

GAME NOTES: Saturday night Bossier-Shreveport will finish off a three-in-three South Texas road swing against Rio Grande Valley in Hidalgo, Texas. This will be the second of four regular season meetings between the teams, with the Mudbugs winning the first meeting 4-3 at CenturyTel Center in late November. The Killer Bees are currently sixth in the Southern Conference, but sit just one point behind division rival Corpus Christi for fifth - what will eventually be the conference's final playoff spot.

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 coming close to two more league milestones as well. Clayton registered five assists last week to give him 525 in his CHL career. He now needs only three more helpers to surpass former Oklahoma City defenseman Hardy Sauter for second all-time in CHL history in that category. Clayton also needs only 14 more points to pass former Tulsa great Doug Lawrence for second on the league's all-time scoring list. Lawrence finished his CHL career with 875 points, while Clayton enters this week with 862.

An All-Star Again

Travis Clayton is headed to another CHL All-Star Game after being announced as a 2009 All-Star last week. When the CHL All-Stars take the ice against the Colorado Eagles in less than two weeks, it will be the seventh All-Star appearance of Clayton's career, the most of any player in this year's game. The 12th-year pro has already suited up for All-Star Games in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006. Clayton is the only Mudbugs player on this year's 18-man CHL All-Star team, which will play the Eagles on January 14 at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colorado.

Brassard Into Second

Chris Brassard's goal in the second period Friday night was a significant one in Mudbugs history. The goal, which also proved to be the game-winner, was the 145th of Brassard's Mudbugs career, moving him past Assistant Coach Trevor Buchanan for second all-time in franchise history. Only Dan Wildfong, who lit the lamp 192 times in his career with the Bugs, has scored more goals with the team than Brassard. The current Mudbugs Captain also ranks third in team history in assists and points, fifth in penalty minutes and sixth in games played. Buchanan still stands second in games played, third in goals and penalty minutes and fourth in assists and points.

Shorthanded Stud

Brett Smith scored another shorthanded Friday night with 12 seconds remaining to seal the victory over Odessa. That goal gives Smith three shorthanded goals this year and 12 in his Mudbugs career, tying him with Dan Wildfong for the all-time franchise record. While Wildfong had 12 shorties in eight seasons as a Bug, Smith has now scored 12 in less than four years with the team. The Guelph, Ontario native also holds the franchise record for shorthanded goals in a season with five in 2005-06.

Blazing Blaznek

Mudbugs forward Joe Blaznek has been on fire for the Mudbugs of late, scoring six points in four games last week to take over the team lead in scoring with 30 points (11g, 19a) this season. Blaznek had two assists and a +1 rating in Bossier-Shreveport's 3-2 overtime win at Tulsa last Tuesday night. He followed up that effort with one of his best performances of the season Friday night against Odessa. The 11th-year pro scored two goals and added an assist as the Mudbugs knocked off the top team in the Southern Conference 5-2 at the CenturyTel Center. Then on Saturday night against Arizona, Blaznek scored a third-period goal that got the Mudbugs within striking distance in what would end up being a 3-1 loss to the Sundogs. Blaznek has nine points in his last six games for the Mudbugs.

He's Baaack...

After two stints on goalie-IR earlier in the season, Ken Carroll is back to his old ways of shutting down would-be opposing goal scorers for the Mudbugs. Carroll had won three straight starts before a close loss to Arizona on Saturday and holds a record of 7-4-1 this year. After backstopping the Bugs' 3-2 overtime win at Tulsa last Tuesday, the 9th-year pro was outstanding on Friday night with 30 saves against the high-powered Odessa Jackalopes. Carroll held the Jacks off the scoreboard for over 45 minutes and made a number of tough stops in a 5-2 win. Saturday night the Oil City, Ontario native held Arizona scoreless for over two periods as well before eventually giving up two goals in the third in a 3-1 loss (after a Sundogs empty-net goal). Carroll ranks fifth in the CHL in both goals-against average and saves percentage this season.

Going South for the Winter

Dating back to December 23, the Mudbugs are currently in a stretch featuring eight out of 11 games against teams from the Southern Conference. The Bugs also started a run of five out of six games against the South last weekend, hosting Odessa and Arizona. After facing division rival Mississippi at home on Tuesday, the Mudbugs will head to South Texas for a three-in-three this week at Corpus Christi, Laredo, and Rio Grande Valley.

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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