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Mudbugs Weekly

February 9, 2009 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release


LAST WEEK

Tuesday, February 3 vs. Oklahoma City CenturyTel Center W 5-0

GAME NOTES: Five different Mudbugs scored goals and Ken Carroll made 28 saves as the 'Bugs rolled over Oklahoma City 5-0 on Tuesday. Bossier-Shreveport scored three times in the first period and twice more in the second to build the 5-0 lead and a dominating 23-12 shot advantage after two periods. Carroll then did the rest with 16 third-period saves to earn his first shutout of the season as the Mudbugs finished off the impressive win.

Friday, February 6 vs. Oklahoma City CenturyTel Center W 3-2 (OT)

GAME NOTES: Oklahoma City came back strong after Tuesday's five-goal loss to the Mudbugs. The 'Bugs led 1-0 after the Dale Lupul's first period goal, but the lead wouldn't last. The Blazers controlled the second period, scoring twice and outshooting Bossier-Shreveport 25-5 to take a 2-1 lead. Joe Ori's tip-in goal in the third period tied it at two and forced overtime. That set up Lupul's second goal of the night, which was the OT winner at 1:24 of the extra session. Ken Carroll was the difference in goal with 46 saves, including 23 in the second period alone, and his 17th win of the year.

Saturday, February 7 vs. Texas CenturyTel Center W 4-1

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs finally defeated Texas Saturday night to end a six-game losing streak to the Brahmas. J.J. Martin scored on a rebound in the second period to give the 'Bugs the lead and then Joe Blaznek made it 2-0 in the third. Texas cut the lead in half when Eric Lundberg deflected a shot past Jon Horrell to make it 2-1 mid-way through the period. With just over a minute left and the Brahmas' goalie pulled for an extra attacker, Dale Lupul banked the puck off the boards and into the empty net to make it 3-1. Texas kept the sixth attacker on, allowing another empty-net goal by Blaznek to provide the final score of 4-1. Travis Clayton assisted on the goal to move into the sole possession of second place in CHL history in scoring with 876 career points.

THIS WEEK

Tuesday, February 10 vs. Corpus Christi CenturyTel Center 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs and IceRays will resume their newly born rivalry when they meet for the fourth time this season on Tuesday night. The teams were involved in an all-out brawl during the 'Bugs 5-1 win in late December, resulting in nearly 300 penalty minutes and 13 games worth of suspensions. The season series stands at 2-1 for the Mudbugs with two meetings left this year (Corpus will also be in Bossier City for the regular season finale). The Mudbugs will be looking to extend their CHL-best seven game winning streak, while the IceRays will look to stay in the Southern Conference playoff hunt.

Friday, February 13 vs. Tulsa CenturyTel Center 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES: Tulsa comes to town on Friday night as the Mudbugs finish up a seven-game homestand with their final regular season meeting against the Oilers. Bossier-Shreveport has gone 7-0 against Tulsa this year, with five of those wins coming at the new BOK Center in Tulsa. The 'Bugs will try to finish a perfect 8-0 against Tulsa and close out the long homestand with a win before having six days off to prepare for a pair of road games in Arizona on February 20 and 21.

'Bugs Keep on Rolling

The Mudbugs continued their win streak last week with three straight wins at the CenturyTel Center. Back to back victories over Oklahoma City on Tuesday and Friday helped the 'Bugs get some separation in the Northeast Division standings and gave them a 2-0-1 series edge on the Blazers with one more head-to-head meeting this year. Then on Saturday night, the Mudbugs and Brahmas played a tight, entertaining game that ended up a 4-1 Bossier-Shreveport win. The game, which was much closer that the final score indicated, ended a streak of six straight Texas wins over the 'Bugs.

Congratulations, Clayton!

Mudbugs center Travis Clayton is now the second-leading scorer in Central Hockey League history after his assist on Joe Blaznek's late empty-net goal on Saturday night. That assist was the 876th point of Clayton's CHL career, moving him past Doug Lawrence and into sole possession of second-place on the league's all-time scoring list. Clayton has also become the league record holder in career games played this season (passing Joe Burton for that honor) and surpassed Hardy Sauter for second in career assists. The 12th-year pro entered this year as the second leading goal scorer in league history behind Burton, whose 565 goals and 985 points are still league records.

We're Goin' Streaking!

The Mudbugs are currently enjoying their longest winning streak of the season with seven consecutive victories dating back to January 26. The 'Bugs have knocked off Laredo, Mississippi, Rapid City, Wichita, Oklahoma City (twice), and Texas during the streak. The Mudbugs' win over Texas on Saturday not only extended their own winning streak, it ended the Brahmas' streak, which had been at seven games - the only active streak that was longer than Bossier-Shreveport's. Before the current run, the 'Bugs' 4-0 start to the season had been their longest win streak of this year.

Lupul Leads the Way

Defenseman Dale Lupul has been on fire for the Mudbugs lately - at both ends of the ice. In three games last week, Lupul recorded three goals and three assists for six points, a +4 rating and 14 shots on goal. In three games for the 'Bugs last week, Lupul had 3 goals and 3 assists for 6 points and a +4 rating on the Mudbugs' blueline. He assisted on two goals vs. Oklahoma City Tuesday night, scored twice against the Blazers on Friday night (including the overtime-game-winner), and had a goal and an assist Saturday night against Texas. Lupul has recorded 9 points (3g, 6a) during a five-game point streak to bring his season total to 37 points (9g, 28a). That puts the 3rd-year Mudbug fourth on the team and ties him for fifth among CHL defensemen in scoring entering this week.

49 Straight and Counting

The Mudbugs' penalty killing has been phenomenal lately, going a perfect 46-for-46 in its last seven contests to coincide perfectly with the team's winning streak. The 'Bugs killed off all ten shorthanded situations they faced Saturday night against Texas, including about 2:30 of 5-on-3 powerplay time for the Brahmas. Dating back to the first period against Rio Grande Valley on January 24, the 'Bugs have killed off 49 straight powerplays against them. Bossier-Shreveport's PK ranking now leads the CHL at 86.3%. The Mudbugs have had more powerplays than their opponent just twice in their past 18 games.

Net Gain

Goaltenders Ken Carroll and Jon Horrell have both been outstanding for the 'Bugs of late. Carroll went 2-0-0 last week and earned his first shutout of the season to improve to 17-5-2 for the year and 10-1-1 in his last 12 starts. Carroll, who was last week's CHL Goaltender of the Week, leads the league with a .930 SV% and ranks fourth with a 2.34 GAA. The 8th-year Mudbug has averaged over 39 saves in his last four starts. Horrell has started one game in each of the past two weeks, winning both and surrendering just two goals on a total of 69 shots. He has only one regulation defeat this season, sporting a 7-1-1 record in ten appearances.

One-Timers

Joe Blaznek had five points last week to move him closer to 600 in his pro career, entering this week

with 597 career points... Chris Brassard will soon become the sixth player in Mudbugs history to

play 400 games with the team (he currently sits at 398)... Simon Mangos is coming up on 300 pro

games (he has 296 entering this week)... Joe Ori's goal Friday night was the 100th of his pro career...

Kevin Cooper posted his 100th career assist last night, giving him 201 career points... Dale Lupul

has 99 assists in his pro career...

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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