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Mudbugs Weekly

November 22, 2010 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release


LAST WEEK

Friday, Nov. 19 vs. Rio Grande Valley State Farm Arena W 3-2

GAME NOTES: Trailing 2-0 after one period, the Mudbugs scored three unanswered goals to knock off Rio Grande Valley 3-2 Friday at the State Farm Arena. Travis Clayton set up goals by Steven Crampton and Joe Blaznek, with Justin Aikins notching the other tally as the Mudbugs improved to 3-0 against Rio Grande Valley this season. John DeCaro stopped 25 shots to earn his third win of the year in net as the ‚¬ËœBugs outshot the Bee 32-27.

Saturday, November 20 at Laredo Laredo Energy Arena W 4-3

GAME NOTES: Brett Smith scored twice as the Mudbugs rallied from two goals down for the second straight night to defeat Laredo 4-3 Saturday at the Laredo Energy Arena. The ‚¬ËœBugs have now won five consecutive games heading into next week's set of five games in six days. After falling behind 2-0 in the first period, the ‚¬ËœBugs took control of the game in the second with three goals and a 22-6 shot advantage. Justin Aikins had three assists and Steven Crampton chipped in two, while Jeff Martens and Simon Mangos netted the other two Mudbugs goals.

THIS WEEK

Tuesday, Nov. 23 vs. Missouri CenturyTel Center 6:35 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs play host to Missouri in their second matchup of the season with the Mavericks tomorrow night at the CenturyTel Center. The ‚¬ËœBugs snuck by the Mavs 2-1 on the road in their first meeting of the season, but Missouri enters this week on the three-game winning streak. The Mudbugs lead the all-time series 4-1-1.

Wednesday, November 24 at Texas NyTex Sports Centre 7:00 pm

GAME NOTES: The ‚¬ËœBugs and Brahmas will meet for the second time this season Wednesday at the NyTex Sports Centre as Bossier-Shreveport starts a three-game road swing. The Mudbugs defeated Texas 4-2 in their first meeting of the season on October 23. Texas has gone 6-3-1 in its last ten games and sits in 4th place in the Berry Conference entering this week.

Friday, Nov. 26 at Tulsa BOK Center 7:35 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs make the first of two trips to Tulsa, Oklahoma on Friday to face the Oilers for the second time this year. Bossier-Shreveport outlasted Tulsa 6-4 in the teams' first meeting this season on Oct. 19. The ‚¬ËœBugs have won 15 straight head-to-head games against the Oilers, who have dropped 11 of their last 12 games entering this week.

Saturday, November 27 at Texas NyTex Sports Centre 7:30 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs return to Texas on Saturday night to battle the Brahmas for the second time this week and third time this season. The game will also be Bossier-Shreveport's third straight road game and the fourth contest in a set of five games over a six-day span.

Sunday, Nov. 28 vs. Mississippi CenturyTel Center 4:05 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs cap off a five-game week with a Sunday afternoon home game against the Mississippi RiverKings at the CTC. The ‚¬ËœBugs have already met the ‚¬ËœKings three times this year, sweeping a home-and-home set on opening weekend 10-1 and 2-1 and then losing 4-3 in Mississippi on November 5.

WEEKLY NOTES

So Much for Holiday Relaxation

Starting tomorrow the Mudbugs face the most grueling week they will experience all season with five games in a six-day span. The ‚¬ËœBugs host Missouri tomorrow at the CenturyTel Center to start the stretch and then hit the road to face Texas on Wednesday. After spending an off-day on the road Thursday, Bossier-Shreveport will visit the Tulsa Oilers Friday before returning to battle the Brahmas again on Saturday. The team then closes out its brutal run back at home on Sunday afternoon against the Mississippi RiverKings.

South Texas Series Comes to a Close

Saturday's contest in Laredo concluded the Mudbugs' sweep of five straight games against the Bucks and Killer Bees. The string included two one-goal victories over Rio Grande Valley (one at home and one on the road) and three wins over Laredo (one at the CenturyTel Center and two in South Texas). The mini-series reflected a scheduling trend that has the Mudbugs playing only seven different teams over their first 21 games this year and eight teams in their first 32. In those first 32 games, the ‚¬ËœBugs play only one club (Missouri) from the Turner Conference.

Aikins Keeping Pace

Forward Justin Aikins has collected eight points (3g, 5a) in his last five games to keep pace with the other top scorers and stay in the race for the CHL points lead. Aikins is currently tied with Odessa's Todd Robinson for second in the league in scoring with 22 points this year on eight goals and 14 assists. Only Sebastien Thinel of the Jackalopes (10g,15a=25 pts) has more points entering this week. Aikins also leads the entire CHL in plus/minus rating at +14 this season, which is two better than teammate David Rutherford for the league lead.

Rutherford also Among League Leaders

Despite being held off the board in his last two games, forward David Rutherford is still tied with Nino Musitelli (Allen) and Ryan Menei (Rapid City) for the CHL lead with 11 goals this season. Rutherford had scored five goals and totaled eight points in four games going into last weekend to give him 18 points this season, good enough for second on the team and 8th in the CHL. The second-year Mudbug also ranks second only to teammate Justin Aikins in plus/minus rating at +12. Rutherford has recorded at least one point in 35 of his last 41 regular season games.

Consistently Crampton

Mudbugs forward Steven Crampton carries a five-game point streak into this week after getting three points in the two games last weekend. Crampton carried a four-game goal scoring streak into Saturday's game at Laredo, which tied Shawn Limpright for the longest such streak by a Mudbug this year. Although he did not light the lamp himself against the Bucks, Crampton assisted on a pair of goals to give him 15 points (6g, 9a) this season. The ninth-year pro ranks fifth on the team in scoring and leads the ‚¬ËœBugs in penalty minutes this year with 43. Two of the tallies during his goal streak also proved to be game-winners.

Making the Most of Their Chances

The Mudbugs are currently the second-highest scoring team in the CHL despite ranking last in the league in shots per game. The ‚¬ËœBugs have scored 64 goals in 16 games this year, good for an average of exactly four per game. However, Bossier-Shreveport averages fewer shots on goal than any other team in the league at 27.4 shots per game. That breaks down to one goal scored out of every 6.8 shots on goal the Mudbugs take. Although the ‚¬ËœBugs have outshot their opponent only five times this season, they have done so in three straight games by posting 30+ shots in each.

The Road Warriors Return

This year's Mudbugs have picked up where the 2009-10 team left off in terms of success away from the CenturyTel Center. Bossier-Shreveport trails only Allen for the CHL's best road record at 7-1-0 this season, with the Americans at 9-1-0. The Mudbugs started 4-0 on the road last season and finished second to Governors' Cup Champion Odessa with a 19-9-4 overall record away from Bossier City in 09-10.

Loose Pucks

Eight of the ‚¬ËœBugs last nine games have been decided by one goal... Including regular season and playoffs, Tuesday's game vs. Missouri is the 1,000 in franchise history... Bossier-Shreveport ranks fourth in the CHL on the penalty kill at 85.3%... The Mudbugs outshot Laredo and Rio Grande in their last two games, giving them four games this season in which they have posted more shots than their opponent... D Mitch Love is two games away from 300 in his pro career... D Dave Pszenyczny returned from a three-game absence last weekend...

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.



Central Hockey League Stories from November 22, 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.

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