Sports stats



Mudbugs Weekly

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


LAST WEEK

Tuesday, March 3 vs. Mississippi CenturyTel Center L 4-1

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs and RiverKings met for the first of what will be six times in the final three weeks of the season Tuesday night. The game was tied at one going into the third period before Mississippi rattled off three straight goals in the last 20 minutes to earn a 4-1 victory, outshooting the Mudbugs 47-22 along the way. Travis Clayton scored the 'Bugs' only goal and Jon Horrell made 43 saves in goal.

Friday, March 6 vs. Wichita CenturyTel Center W 1-0

GAME NOTES: Wichita came to town Friday night for their last meeting of the year with Bossier-Shreveport. Tyrel Lucas scored the game's only goal as the Mudbugs got their second 1-0 victory over the Thunder this season. Ken Carroll made 27 saves to earn the shutout win in his first start since February 10. The shutout was his second of the season and the 28th of his CHL career, extending his own league record.

Saturday, March 7 vs. Mississippi CenturyTel Center L 6-2

GAME NOTES: The RiverKings returned to Bossier City on Saturday night and extended their CHL-best winning streak to 11 games in a 6-2 win. Mississippi built a 5-0 lead through two periods before Chris Brassard and Neil Clark scored in the third to cut the lead to three. With the goaltender pulled for an extra attacker on a late Mudbugs powerplay, Louis Dumont's empty-net goal capped off the RiverKings' second straight victory over the 'Bugs.

THIS WEEK

Tuesday, March 10 at Texas NyTex Sports Centre 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES: Tuesday night the Mudbugs will meet the Texas Brahmas for the final time this season. The Mudbugs have won their last two meetings with Texas by a combined score of 8-3 at the CenturyTel Center. The Brahmas, however, currently own the CHL's longest active home winning streak at 16 games entering this week and lead Odessa by seven points for the first overall seed in the Southern Conference. The 'Bugs are 3-4-2 against Texas this season.

Friday, March 13 at Mississippi DeSoto Civic Center 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs continue their late-season series with Mississippi this weekend with a pair of games at the DeSoto Civic Center. Friday night the 'Bugs will look to rebound from two home losses to the RiverKings last week and climb back into the race for first place in the Northeast Division. Bossier-Shreveport is 2-1 at the DCC so far this year with three more games remaining in that building, and still holds an overall record of 5-3 vs. Mississippi this season.

Saturday, March 14 at Mississippi DeSoto Civic Center 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs and RiverKings meet for the second of back-to-back games on Saturday night in Southaven, Mississippi. Following Sunday's home game vs. Rio Grande Valley, the 'Bugs will head right back to the DCC for another meeting with the 'Kings on Tuesday night.

Sunday, March 15 vs. Rio Grande Valley CenturyTel Center 4:05 pm

GAME NOTES: Bossier-Shreveport will come home on Sunday to cap off a three-in-three against Rio Grande Valley. The Killer Bees have won the last two meetings with the Mudbugs by a combined score of 11-2 to lead the season series two games to one. Rio Grande Valley is sneaking up on Laredo for the third seed in the Southern Conference, trailing the Bucks by just four points entering this week. This is the 'Bugs' only Sunday afternoon home game of the season.

Payback on their Minds

The Mudbugs lost four points in the Northeast Division race last week in a pair of losses to Mississippi. Their deficit to the RiverKings now stands at seven points, but the 'Bugs still have plenty of opportunities to make up for it. Bossier-Shreveport will visit Mississippi for a pair of games at the DeSoto Civic Center this weekend. The RiverKings saw their CHL-best 11 game winning streak end yesterday in Odessa with a 3-2 loss to the Jackalopes. If the Mudbugs can win at Texas on Tuesday night, they will have the opportunity to get back within one point of the RiverKings with a weekend sweep in Southaven, Mississippi. Furthermore, if the Mudbugs sweep all four of their games this week, they would actually retake the Northeast Division lead over both Mississippi and Oklahoma City.

Northern Conference playoff picture at a glance

1. Colorado 40-14-4 84 pts

2. Mississippi 40-15-3 83 pts

3. Oklahoma City 35-16-7 77 pts

4. Bossier-Shreveport 36-17-4 76 pts

5. Rocky Mountain 31-24-4 66 pts

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Playoffs

The Mudbugs and RiverKings are in the midst of what is practically a mini-playoff series to close out the regular season. Starting this past Tuesday, the division rivals face one another six times in an 18-day span ending on Friday, March 20. Four games remain between the teams entering this week, with three of those set to take place at the DeSoto Civic Center. The other three teams Bossier-Shreveport faces down the stretch have all got something to play for as well. Texas still has a shot at the Governor's Cup and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs, Rio Grande Valley is fighting for playoff positioning and could finish as high as third in the Southern Conference, and Corpus Christi is battling to hold off Arizona and New Mexico for the South's fifth and final playoff spot.

Another Brassard Benchmark

Chris Brassard's goal in the third period of Saturday night's game had some significance in Central Hockey League history. With that goal, Brassard became the 20th player in league history to record 500 points in the league. The seventh-year Mudbug also played two CHL seasons earlier in his career with the Fayetteville Force and Macon Whoopee. Brassard has totaled 191 goals and 309 assists to reach the 500-point plateau in 512 career CHL games for a career average of nearly one point per game in the league. The Mudbugs Captain is also closing in one two more milestones entering this week, with 596 total points in his pro career and 399 points in his Mudbugs career. With his next point, Brassard will become just the third player to record 400 points with the franchise.

The Road Warriors

The Mudbugs are hoping to continue a recent trend of road success in their three games away from Bossier City this week. Going into Tuesday's game at Texas, the 'Bugs are on a league-best eight-game road point streak with a 6-0-2 record in their last eight road games. That streak is the second longest in the CHL this season. Bossier-Shreveport hasn't lost in regulation as the visitor since falling to Rio Grande Valley at the Dodge Arena back on January 10. Much of that success has been thanks to the powerplay, where the Mudbugs are ranked second in the CHL on the road at 20.5% this season. The 'Bugs are one of just four CHL teams whose powerplay percentage is higher in road games than home games.

Red Lights Fall Silent

The Mudbugs have had a tougher time scoring lately, netting just four goals in their last three games. Since a three-game winning streak in mid-February during which they scored 14 times, the 'Bugs have been held to less than three goals in five of their past seven contests. Good offensive efforts have related to wins for Bossier-Shreveport this season, as the team holds an impressive mark of 26-0-1 when scoring at least four goals in a game.

One-Timers

The Mudbugs are 25-0-3 when leading after two periods... Chris Brassard returned from a two-game

injury absence Friday night against Wichita... The 'Bugs have surrendered two goals or less in four of

their last six games... The Mudbugs have reached 20 home wins this year for the tenth time in

franchise history... Todd Paul's next assist will be his 100th as a pro... Bossier-Shreveport has won

10 straight regular season games against Wichita...

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.

• Discuss this story on the Central Hockey League message board...

Central Hockey League Stories from March 9, 2009


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.

Other Recent Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central