Mudbugs Weekly

February 9, 2010 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release


LAST WEEK

Friday, February 5 vs. Wichita CenturyTel Center L 4-2

GAME NOTES: Rookie goaltender Scott Campbell stopped 38 shots as the Wichita Thunder knocked off the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs 4-2 Friday night at the CenturyTel Center. The loss ended the Mudbugs' five-game home winning streak and snapped a string of 13 straight regular season wins over the Thunder. Travis Clayton and Tyrel Lucas scored the goals for Bossier-Shreveport, who outshot Wichita 40-34 but were held off the scoreboard until the third period. John DeCaro made 30 saves, but saw his personal four-game win streak come to an end.

Saturday, February 6 vs. Texas CenturyTel Center L 3-2

GAME NOTES: Jordan Cameron scored with just 14 seconds left in regulation to break a 2-2 tie and help the Texas Brahmas to a 3-2 victory over the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs Saturday night at the CenturyTel Center. The 'Bugs had never trailed in the game before Cameron's late goal put Texas on top to stay. The 'Bugs outshot Texas 40-32 in the contest, but scored only once on ten powerplay chances in their second straight loss. Justin Aikins and Dave Pszenyczny scored the Mudbugs' goals and John DeCaro stopped 29 shots.

THIS WEEK

Tuesday, February 9 at Mississippi DeSoto Civic Center 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs take on the RiverKings for the first time in over a month Tuesday night in Southaven, Mississippi. The 'Bugs have won five of seven contests against the 'Kings this year, but Mississippi took the last meeting 3-1 at the CTC on the day after Christmas. Only one standings point separates the clubs entering this matchup, with Bossier-Shreveport sitting just ahead of Mississippi for third place in the Northern Conference.

Thursday, February 11 at Missouri Independence Events Center 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs head to Missouri on Thursday night looking to avenge back-to-back losses to the Mavericks in early January. The 'Bugs are 1-1-1 this year against the expansion Mavs, who are currently battling Tulsa for the fifth and final playoff position in the Northern Conference. Missouri trails the Oilers by two points in the standings entering this week.

Saturday, February 13 at Corpus Christi American Bank Center 7:45 pm

GAME NOTES: After making the 923-mile journey from Missouri, the 'Bugs will be in Corpus Christi on Saturday to start a home-and-home series against the IceRays. The Mudbugs are 2-0 against the IceRays this year after a 4-3 victory on opening weekend and a 3-2 overtime win on New Year's Day, with both games taking place in Corpus. The IceRays are within one point of a playoff spot in the Southern Conference entering this week, barely trailing Rio Grande Valley for fifth place in the South.

Sunday, February 14 vs. Corpus Christi CenturyTel Center 4:05 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs and IceRays will both head for Bossier City after Saturday night's game to finish off their weekend home-and-home series Sunday afternoon at the CenturyTel Center. The game will be the fourth of six regular season meetings between the two clubs, with the final two head-to-head matchups coming in March.

WEEKLY NOTES

Mudbugs Add Jorgensen in Deadline Swap The Mudbugs acquired CHL All-Star defenseman Jim Jorgensen and the rights to forward Jason Deleurme from the Wichita Thunder just hours before the CHL trading deadline yesterday. Jorgensen, a second-year pro from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, recorded 16 points in 42 games and was named to his first All-Star Game as a member of the Thunder. The 5-11, 200-pound blueliner should be in the lineup for tonight's game. Deleurme, meanwhile, is currently playing in Europe after spending time with both Colorado and Wichita this year. In exchange, the 'Bugs sent forward Neil Clark to the Thunder. Clark posted six points and 67 penalty minutes in 26 games for the Mudbugs this year after reaching new career highs in goals, assists, points and penalty minutes in his first season with the club last year.

Tough Ending to a Good Stand Last week brought an end to the Mudbugs' season high five-game homestand and a stretch of seven out of eight games at the CenturyTel Center. After winning the first five games of that home stretch, the 'Bugs suffered two tough losses to Wichita and Texas this past weekend to end it. Bossier-Shreveport has still won 11 of its last 15 home games since starting 0-5 on home ice this year. Following this week's three-game road trip, the Mudbugs will finish the season with 11 of their final 18 games in Bossier City.

The Road Warriors After spending the past two weeks at home, the Mudbugs will venture out on their last lengthy road trip of the season this week. The 'Bugs will play four games in six days starting in Mississippi and traveling to Missouri and on to Corpus Christi before returning home to play the IceRays again on Sunday. Bossier-Shreveport will travel over 2,200 miles and journey through eight different states on the road trip. The Mudbugs have enjoyed a great deal of success away from home this season, posting one of the best road records in the CHL at 12-6-4 to earn 28 of their 50 points as the visitor.

Over 800 Games Later, Clayton is Still Clutch Forward Travis Clayton became the first player in CHL history to play 800 games in the league Friday and scored a goal against his old team. All but 12 games of Clayton's 13-year pro career have been played in the CHL with Wichita and now Bossier-Shreveport. The 2nd leading scorer in league history has shown no signs of slowing down either, leading the Mudbugs in goals (14, T-Blaznek), points (35), powerplay goals (7) and game-winning goals (4) this season.

Rutherford Keeps Rolling Forward David Rutherford kept his scoring streak alive with assists in both games over the weekend. Rutherford is currently tied for the longest active point streak in the CHL at nine games, putting up 12 points (4g, 8a) during that stretch. Rutherford's nine-game point streak, which began on January 16, has tied him with Shawn Limpright for the longest such streak on the team this season. He has also skated his way to a +9 rating with 22 PIMs over the past three weeks.

Lucas Returns... and Scores Forward Tyrel Lucas picked up right where he left off Friday night, returning from a three-game injury absence and scoring his 12th goal of the season late in the third period. He then added an assist on Saturday to give him 23 points (12g, 11a) in 28 games this year. Lucas had turned in three straight multi-point games prior to being injured in the first period of a game at Allen on January 23. Not counting his few shifts during that contest, Lucas has scored five goals and added three assists to put up eight points over his last five full games played.

Milestone Watch A few Mudbugs are closing in on career statistical milestones. Here is a rundown of the players and the achievements they are nearing:

F Joe Blaznek: 4 games away from 700

G Ken Carroll: 1 win away from 200

G John DeCaro: 2 games away from 100 as a Mudbug

F Mark Johnson: 5 games away from 200

F Shawn Limpright: 2 assists away from 200

D Simon Mangos: 3 points away from 200

D Clay Plume: 3 points away from 100, 7 games away from 300

D Chris St. Croix: 4 assists away from 200

Loose Pucks The Mudbugs are a perfect 12-0 this year when they do not allow a powerplay goal.... The 'Bugs have converted only three of their past 40 powerplay chances... Bossier-Shreveport fired 40 shots on goal in back-to-back games for the first time this year last weekend... F Jeff Kyrzakos has 25 shots on goal in his last four games... Saturday's loss was only the Mudbugs' third of the year in which they have surrendered fewer than four goals...

TICKET INFORMATION: Mini-plans and group ticket packages for the 2009-10 season of Mudbugs hockey are available at the team office: 2000 CenturyTel Center Drive, Bossier City, LA 71112. 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: Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs games, both home and away, are broadcast live on "The Home of the Legends" AM 1130 KWKH and News Radio 710 AM KEEL in Shreveport. Both stations provide free online streaming online at www.kwkhonline.com and www.710keel.com.

CHL TV: New for 2009-10 is the latest version of CHL-TV, powered by Insinc Netcasting. Fans will have the chance to watch all 480 games on the CHL's regular season schedule for a small pay-per-view price. Packages are available as well that give fans the chance to order a month at a time or the entire season. All game archives are offered to catch up on the games you missed for just $3.95. Visit http://chltv.insinc.com for more information.

Season and group tickets are on sale by calling 318-752-BUGS (2847) or by visiting our website at www.mudbugshockey.com.



Central Hockey League Stories from February 9, 2010


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.

OurSports Central