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Mudbugs Weekly

November 1, 2010 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release


LAST WEEK

Tuesday, October 26 at Allen Allen Events Center W 6-3

GAME NOTES: David Rutherford scored twice as the Mudbugs handed the Allen Americans their first defeat of the season Tuesday at the Allen Events Center, building a 4-1 lead on their way to a 6-3 victory. Five players recorded multiple points for Bossier-Shreveport, led by Justin Aikins with a goal and two assists. Jeff Martens and Shawn Limpright each scored and added an assist while Simon Mangos finished with two helpers in the victory. Brian Foster stopped 34 shots in his second straight start on his way to improving to 2-0.

Thursday, October 28 vs. Rio Grande Valley CenturyTel Center W 2-1 (SO)

GAME NOTES: Shawn Limpright scored both Mudbugs goals and Brian Foster stopped 32 shots in the Mudbugs' 2-1 victory over Rio Grande Valley Thursday at the CenturyTel Center. The win pushed Bossier-Shreveport's win streak to three games and improved their record to 6-2 on the young season. Limpright and David Rutherford both scored in the shootout as Foster shut down four of five Rio Grande Valley shooters in the win, which came on the night the Mudbugs honored former goaltender Ken Carroll and celebrated 10 years at the CenturyTel Center.

Saturday, October 30 at Missouri Independence Events Center W 2-1

GAME NOTES: John DeCaro made 27 saves in his first start of the season and the Mudbugs scored twice in the third period to edge Missouri 2-1 Saturday at the Independence Events Center. The win puts the Mudbugs at 7-2-0 for the season and kept them unbeaten on the road this year at 4-0. After the 'Bugs were shut out for over 50 minutes in the game, Jeff Kyrzakos and Shawn Limpright scored less than three minutes apart to erase a 1-0 Missouri lead. DeCaro stopped all 19 shots he faced over the final two periods to win in his first action since being injured in Game 2 of last year's Northern Conference Semifinals.

THIS WEEK

Friday, November 5 at Mississippi DeSoto Civic Center 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs will look to stay unbeaten on the road in their third game against Mississippi Friday night at the DeSoto Civic Center. Bossier-Shreveport swept a home-and-home series between the teams during opening weekend, winning 10-1 at the CenturyTel Center in the first game and edging the RiverKings 2-1 the following night in Southaven, MS. The 'Kings have won two of their last three entering Friday's contest, while the 'Bugs have won four straight.

Saturday, November 6 vs. Allen CenturyTel Center 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES: The 'Bugs and Amerks will meet for the fourth time already this season when Allen returns to Bossier City Saturday night. Allen is undefeated in four trips to the CenturyTel Center after winning here twice last season and sweeping a back-to-back set along the Red River less than two weeks ago. The Mudbugs (7-2-0) and Americans (6-2-0) are currently the top two teams in the CHL's Berry Conference.

WEEKLY NOTES

Mudbugs Streak to the Top

With nine games under their belt already this season, the Mudbugs lead the CHL with a 7-2-0 record and 14 points. The 'Bugs have won four consecutive games overall and are unbeaten on the road this year at 4-0. Bossier-Shreveport has already won more games this year than 13 of the 18 CHL teams have played. The Mudbugs have matched their best record in team history through nine games, starting 7-2-0 in their inaugural season of 1997-98 and most recently in 2008-09 as well.

Busy 'Bugs Close Out Crazy Stretch

Saturday's game brought to a close a brutal stretch of hockey to start the season for Bossier-Shreveport. From the beginning of the year the Mudbugs played a CHL-most nine games in a span of only 16 days, during which they never had more than two consecutive days without a game. The 'Bugs started the year with six games in nine days and then played three more contests last week. This week the 'Bugs will finally get their first rest of the season with five days between games before they face Mississippi on the road this Friday.

Welcome to the 400 Club

Tuesday's 6-3 victory over Allen entered 11th year Mudbugs Head Coach Scott Muscutt into a highly exclusive club among CHL coaches: 400 career victories. Muscutt is just the second bench boss in league history to reach the milestone, trailing only Doug Sauter's 544 career wins with Oklahoma City in the CHL coaching annals. With seven wins already this season, Muscutt has improved his career record to 402-187-61 since taking over the coaching reins from Jean LaForest in 2000. Since that time, the Appin, Ontario native has led Bossier-Shreveport to a President's Cup title, three Northern Conference Championships and two Governors' Cup regular season titles.

Foster Steps in, Steps up

With both John DeCaro and Jeff Harvey nursing injuries, the 'Bugs goaltending situation was in flux until Brian Foster returned from an AHL call-up with the Rochester Americans just over a week ago. Now, Foster has won three consecutive starts and DeCaro has returned from his stay on I.R. to solidify Bossier-Shreveport's goaltending. Foster stopped 32 shots in a shootout win over Rio Grande Valley on Thursday to run his winning streak to three and improve his record to 3-0-0 so far as a pro. The 23-year-old University of New Hampshire alum, who is under contract with the NHL's Florida Panthers, dressed for three games with Rochester during his AHL call-up. Foster enters this week with a 1.95 goals-against average and a .941 saves percentage.

DeCaro Denies in Return

Fourth-year Mudbugs goaltender John DeCaro was impressive in his first action of the season Saturday in Missouri. Making his first start since being injured in last year's Northern Conference playoffs, DeCaro turned aside 27 shots and was beaten only once while backstopping a 2-1 victory. After the 'Bugs took the lead mid-way through the third period, DeCaro made a number of key saves to preserve the lead, especially during a late Mavericks powerplay chance. The win improved DeCaro's Mudbugs record to 75-27-8 with a 2.19 GAA and .927 SV%.

Limpright Catches Fire

Mudbugs forward Shawn Limpright has been on a scoring tear during the club's four-game winning streak, scoring five goals and totaling seven points in the four victories. His four-game goal scoring streak is currently second in the CHL and his 11 total points put him in a tie for second on the team in scoring this year. Limpright, who led Bossier-Shreveport in scoring last season, scored both Mudbugs goals in Thursday's shootout win over Rio Grande Valley and followed up with his second straight game-winning goal in the third period Saturday at Missouri.

Loose Pucks

The Mudbugs have six players averaging at least one point-per-game through nine games... D Jamie Milam is tied for CHL scoring lead among defensemen with 8 points (2g, 6a)... D Kevin Seibel made his Mudbugs debut Saturday in Missouri, registering one shot on goal and two penalty minutes... After two consecutive 2-1 victories, the 'Bugs and their opponents have combined to score fewer than six goals in a game only three times this year... The 'Bugs are one home win away from 300 home victories in franchise history... Before Thursday, the Mudbugs had empty net goals scored for or against in four straight games... D Clay Plume is out of the Mudbugs lineup on a leave of absence while F Shane Hart is on IR... F Tyrel Lucas has yet to play this season after starting the year on injured reserve...

TICKET INFORMATION:

Season tickets, mini-plans and group ticket packages for the 2010-11 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:

Back for 2010-11 is the latest version of CHL-TV, powered by NeuLion, Inc. Fans will have the chance to watch nearly 600 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 only their team's away games, an all-access league pass or many other options. All game archives are offered to catch up on the games you missed for just $4.00. Visit http://chltv.neulion.com/chltv/ 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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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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