Mudbugs Weekly

November 29, 2010 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release


LAST WEEK

Tuesday, Nov. 23 vs. Missouri CenturyTel Center W 6-1

GAME NOTES: The forward line of Brett Smith, Justin Aikins and Steven Crampton accounted for five goals as the Mudbugs cruised against Missouri 6-1 Tuesday at the CenturyTel Center. Smith and Crampton scored ten seconds apart in the first period to put the ‚¬ËœBugs ahead to stay. Smith scored two goals and assisted on two others, Aikins scored once and chipped in two assists and both players finished with a team-high +5 rating. Crampton had a goal and an assist and was joined by Jim Jorgensen and Simon Mangos at +4 for the night.

Wednesday, November 24 at Texas NyTex Sports Centre W 3-1

GAME NOTES: Brian Foster stopped 24 shots and Clay Plume scored one goal and set up another as the Mudbugs extended their winning streak with a 3-1 triumph over rival Texas Wednesday at the NyTex Sports Centre. Travis Clayton scored in the first period and Jeff Martens tallied the eventual game-winner in the second as the ‚¬ËœBugs improved to 8-1 on the road and 2-0 against Texas this season.

Friday, Nov. 26 at Tulsa BOK Center W 6-2

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs built a 4-0 lead and scored twice in each period on their way to a 6-2 win over Tulsa Friday at the BOK Center. With their 16th straight victory against the Oilers, the Mudbugs also matched the longest winning streak in the CHL this season at eight straight games. David Rutherford scored two goals and set up another to lead the way offensively. Steven Crampton, Jeff Martens, Jeff Kyrzakos and Justin Aikins all had multiple points as well.

Saturday, November 27 at Texas NyTex Sports Centre L 5-3

GAME NOTES: Three third-period goals, including two in a 24-second span, helped Texas to a 5-3 win over the Mudbugs Saturday at the NyTex Sports Centre. The loss ended Bossier-Shreveport's eight-game winning streak, putting the team at 15-5-0. Brett Smith and Steven Crampton each had a goal and an assist as the ‚¬ËœBugs and Brahmas traded leads four different times. Justin Aikins and Jamie Milam each had two assists also as the Mudbugs lost for the first time since Nov. 6.

Sunday, Nov. 28 vs. Mississippi CenturyTel Center W 5-4

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs scored five times in the final 22 minutes of play to pull out a 5-4 victory over Mississippi Sunday at the CenturyTel Center. The game finished off a set of five games in six days for the Mudbugs, four of which came up as victories as the team improved to 16-5-0 this season. Jeff Martens and David Rutherford each contributed a goal and an assist to spur another come-from-behind win, while Joe Blaznek netted two third-period goals to help keep the ‚¬ËœBugs ahead. Shane Hart scored the other Mudbugs goal and John DeCaro made 30 saves to backstop his f ifth straight win.

THIS WEEK

Friday, December 3 at Allen Allen Event Center 7:30 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs meet the Americans for the fifth time this season Friday in Allen, looking to improve upon a 1-3 record against their second-year neighbors this year. The road team has won the past six head-to-head meetings between the teams, who have battled one another for first place in the Berry Conference throughout the early part of this season.

Saturday, December 4 at Odessa Ector County Coliseum 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES: The ‚¬ËœBugs travel to Odessa on Saturday to face the Jackalopes for the first of three times this season. After winning just two of their first 12 games, the defending Governors' Cup Champion Jackalopes are coming around with wins in five of their last six. This game will be their only head-to-head matchup until a season ending home-and-home series in late March. Last year the ‚¬ËœBugs beat Odessa 5-4 in an 11-round shootout before dropping their last two meetings with the Jacks.

WEEKLY NOTES

‚¬ËœBugs Win Four during Whirlwind Thanksgiving Week

Yesterday's 5-4 victory over Mississippi finally brought to an end the most grueling week the Mudbugs will experience all season with five games in a six-day span. The stretch started with Tuesday's 6-1 home win over Missouri and then took the ‚¬ËœBugs to North Richland Hills, Texas where they beat the Brahmas 3-1 on Wednesday. After one day off, Bossier-Shreveport defeated Tulsa 6-2 on Friday before returning to Texas for Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Brahmas. They capped off the three-in-three and five-in-six Sunday afternoon at home with a 5-4 comeback win against the RiverKings. The ‚¬ËœBugs have played a league-most 21 games entering this week; completing nearly one-third of the 2010-11 season.

Impressive Streak Finally Halted

Bossier-Shreveport carried the CHL's longest active winning streak into Texas on Saturday with eight straight victories, which matched the longest run achieved by any CHL team yet this season. The Brahmas put an end to the string however, topping the Mudbugs 5-3 in a spirited, back-and-forth contest. The eight consecutive wins equaled the Mudbugs' longest win streak from last season, when they put together a similar run from February 14 through the 28, and put the ‚¬ËœBugs back ahead of Allen for the top spot in the CHL standings entering this week's action.

Extra Special Teams

Almost one-third of the way through the season, the ‚¬ËœBugs have continued to excel on special teams at both ends of the ice. With four powerplay goals in their last 13 chances, the Mudbugs have maintained their first-place CHL ranking at 24.8% for the season. The ‚¬ËœBugs have scored at least one powerplay goal in 14 of 21 games and notched multiple PPG's eight times this year. At the other end the Mudbugs have the league's 5th highest penalty killing percentage at 85.4%. The ‚¬ËœBugs have not allowed more than one powerplay goal in any game this year and have killed off 32 of their last 31 shorthanded situations.

Aikins Keeping Pace

Despite being held pointless Sunday vs. Mississippi, forward Justin Aikins had collected 13 points (1g, 12a) in the five games prior and had points in nine straight games to hang right in the race for the CHL points lead. Aikins is currently second in the league in scoring with 32 points on nine goals and 23 assists, staying right on the heels of Odessa's Sebastien Thinel (14g, 19a = 33 pts) for the league lead. Aikins, who eclipsed 100 points in his Mudbugs career last week, also leads the league in plus/minus rating at +20.

Consistently Crampton

Mudbugs forward Steven Crampton carried a nine-game point streak into yesterday, tying him with Justin Aikins for the longest such streak by a Mudbug this year. Crampton had recorded multiple points in four of his last five games before being held off the scoresheet Sunday, totaling nine points (3g, 6a) in that span. #12 scored a goal and assisted on another Saturday against Texas in addition to dismantling veteran Brahmas tough-guy Roger Maxwell in a fight that shifted the momentum during the second period. The ninth-year pro is tied for fourth on the team in scoring with 22 points (9g, 13a) this season, including three game-winning goals. Crampton also leads the ‚¬ËœBugs in penalty minutes with 52.

Rutherford Lighting the Lamp

Forward David Rutherford scored three more goals over the weekend to take back sole possession of the league lead in goal scoring with 15 tallies. Odessa's Sebastien Thinel is right behind him with 14 goals this year. Rutherford, who has netted nine goals in his last ten games, has also contributed 10 assists to give him 24 points this year. The second-year Mudbug ranks fifth in the league in plus/minus rating at +15 and has recorded at least one point in 39 of his last 46 regular season games.

The Road Warriors Return

Despite Saturday's loss in Texas, 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 won a season-most five straight road games prior to Saturday to maintain the CHL's second-best road record this year at 9-2-0. Allen holds the league's best visiting record currently at 11-2. Last year the ‚¬ËœBugs finished second only to Governors' Cup Champion Odessa with a 19-9-4 record away from home.

Loose Pucks

F Brett Smith has nine points (5g, 4a) and a +7 rating in his last six games... D Clay Plume has six points in his last five games on two goals and four assists... F Jeff Martens has totaled 11 points (5g, 6a) his last 11 games... G John DeCaro enters this week on a season-high five game winning streak, while G Brian Foster had a similar four-game run broken on Saturday... The ‚¬ËœBugs are 10-1 this year when they surrender the first goal of the game... D Mitch Love played his 300th career game Wednesday at Texas... Bossier-Shreveport has outshot its opponent in seven of the past eight games... The Mudbugs play only eight different teams over their first 32 games of this year, including only one team (Missouri) from the Turner Conference...

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.



Central Hockey League Stories from November 29, 2010


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