Mudbugs Weekly

Published on March 8, 2010 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release


LAST WEEK

Tuesday, March 2 vs. Allen CenturyTel Center L 3-2

GAME NOTES: The Allen Americans ended Bossier-Shreveport's eight-game winning streak Tuesday night at the CenturyTel Center with a 3-2 victory over the Mudbugs. The loss, which dropped the 'Bugs to 1-3-1 against Allen this year, was their first since February 13. Travis Clayton and Jeff Kyrzakos scored goals for Bossier-Shreveport, who also got two assists from Shawn Limpright. Ken Carroll stopped 27 shots but saw his own four-game win streak come to an end.

Friday, March 5 vs. Rio Grande Valley CenturyTel Center L 2-1

GAME NOTES: Daymen Rycroft scored with just 52 seconds remaining as Rio Grande Valley handed the Mudbugs a heartbreaking 2-1 loss Friday night at the CenturyTel Center. Rycroft's goal gave the Killer Bees their second win in the season series just a few minutes after the 'Bugs had tied the game at one. Brett Smith scored the lone goal for Bossier-Shreveport, who was held to a single tally for the first time since January 23. The Mudbugs put forth a solid 7-for-7 penalty killing effort, but also surrendered a shorthanded goal for the third time in their past four games.

Saturday, March 6 vs. Rio Grande Valley CenturyTel Center L 5-2

GAME NOTES: Rio Grande Valley raced out to a 5-0 lead before the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs found the back of the net in a 5-2 loss to the Killer Bees Saturday night at the CenturyTel Center. With the defeat, Bossier-Shreveport has now lost three straight games in regulation for the first time in the past two seasons. Jeff Kyrzakos and Mark Johnson scored third period goals for the Mudbugs, but not before Aaron Lee put up a natural hat trick and added an assist for a four-point night. Zak McClellan also had four points on a goal and three assists and Andy Franck made 37 saves for the Killer Bees.

Sunday, March 7 at Corpus Christi American Bank Center W 4-1

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs scored three first period goals on their way to snapping a three-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over Corpus Christi Sunday afternoon at the American Bank Center. The win clinched a Northern Conference playoff spot for the Mudbugs. Ken Carroll was stingy in goal, making 36 saves as he tied Tony Martino for second in CHL history with 187 career victories. Jim Jorgensen and Brett Smith each finished with a goal and an assist in the game, while James DeLory and Travis Clayton both added goals.

THIS WEEK

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

GAME NOTES: After taking five days off this week, the Mudbugs will start a stretch of six games in eight days Saturday in Mississippi. The 'Bugs and RiverKings have already met eight times this year, with Bossier-Shreveport winning six of those games against their longtime rivals. Saturday will mark the Mudbugs' final appearance at the DeSoto Civic Center this season and second-to-last game vs. the 'Kings, who are just ahead of Missouri and Tulsa for fourth in the Northern Conference playoff race entering this week.

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

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs and IceRays will close out their six-game season series with their second consecutive Sunday afternoon game at 4:05 here in Bossier City. The 'Bugs are 4-1 against Corpus Christi this season after earning a 4-1 win this past Sunday at the ABC. Corpus leads Rio Grande Valley by just two points for the fifth and final playoff spot in the South entering this week, but controls its own destiny with three more games against the Killer Bees down the stretch.

WEEKLY NOTES

The 'Bugs Punch Their Ticket Sunday's 4-1 victory over Corpus Christi clinched a playoff spot for the Mudbugs, who have now assured themselves a trip to the postseason for the seventh consecutive season and the 12th time in the team's 13-year history. Bossier-Shreveport becomes the fifth CHL team to lock up a playoff spot this year, following Rapid City, Colorado, Odessa and Allen. Now that they are in the playoffs, the 'Bugs next order of business is to clinch a top three seed in the Northern Conference. Their magic number is three points over the Mississippi RiverKings to assure themselves at least third place in the North, which would line them up for a second-round matchup with the Colorado Eagles if the playoffs began today.

Streaking Back and Forth After bringing a season-high eight game win streak into last week, the Mudbugs then suffered a three-game losing skid before beating the IceRays on Sunday. Prior to last week, the 'Bugs had not lost three straight games in regulation since the first three contests of 2007-2008, a span of 179 games excluding playoffs. Overall, Bossier-Shreveport has still won 11 of its last 15 games and posted a mark of 26-12-4 since the start of December. The Mudbugs enter this week on their longest road winning streak of the season with wins in their past five away games, but have dropped three straight at home as they return to the CenturyTel Center Sunday against Corpus Christi.

Finally Some Rest for the Weary This week the Mudbugs will enjoy five consecutive days off for the first time in five weeks before playing in Mississippi on Saturday. Sunday's win in Corpus Christi wrapped up a stretch of 11 games in 17 days for the 'Bugs, who have played three consecutive weekends of three games in three days. The Mudbugs, who came away victorious in eight of those 11 games, will have to use this week to gear up for another difficult run to end the regular season: six games in only eight days. Overall, the Mudbugs' last 17 regular season games will take place in a span of just 30 days.

Carroll Hits Two More Milestones Goaltender Ken Carroll (14-7-3) added two more distinctions to his long list of career achievements last week. Tuesday against Allen, Carroll became the eighth player and first netminder in Mudbugs history to play 300 career games with the club. Then on Sunday in Corpus Christi, the ninth-year Mudbug turned aside 36 shots and surrendered only one goal on the way to his 187th CHL/WPHL victory, tying him with Tony Martino as the second-winningest goaltender in league history. Carroll, who already owns the league record for career shutouts, now trails only Rod Branch (194) on the CHL's all-time wins list. The Oil City, Ontario native leads the league in SV% and ranks second in GAA.

Mangos for M.O.D. Mudbugs defenseman Simon Mangos was honored as a finalist for the CHL's Most Outstanding Defenseman Award Friday when the league announced its year-end award finalists. The second year Mudbug is tied for fourth among the league's defensemen in goals (12) and ranks fifth in assists (29) and points (41). Mangos is fifth on the team in scoring and sits only two points away from matching his career-high point total of 43, set two years ago in England with the Manchester Phoenix. Other finalists for the award are Odessa's Alex Dunn, Tulsa's Derek Eastman, Colorado's Aaron Schneekloth and Rapid City's Jamie VanderVeeken.

The 20-Goal Club The Mudbugs now have two players who have reached the 20-goal plateau this season. Joe Blaznek was the first to reach the mark on February 26 in Allen. Blaznek has now scored at least 20 goals in nine of his 12 pro seasons. Jeff Kyrzakos became the second Mudbug to get to 20 last Tuesday and then took over the team lead and tied his career high with his 21st goal on Saturday. Although the 'Bugs do not have a single player in the CHL's top 25 goal scorers, they do have ten different players who have notched at least ten tallies this season.

Loose Pucks Mudbugs players have combined for a total of 18 two-goal games this year without a single hat trick... F Travis Clayton had a nine-game point streak (2-10-12) snapped on Friday... F Shawn Limpright has 11 points (3g, 8a) in his last eight games... D Clay Plume recorded his 100th career point Tuesday... F Joe Blaznek has scored 199 CHL goals... D Chris St. Croix is one assist away from 200... F David Rutherford, who is sitting on 99 pro games played, has been rested for the past four games... G Ken Carroll has two assists this year and G John DeCaro has one...

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.

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Central Hockey League Stories from March 8, 2010


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