Mudbugs Weekly

December 13, 2010 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release


LAST WEEK

Friday, December 10 vs. Mississippi CenturyTel Center W 5-3

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs overcame a 2-0 deficit for the fourth time this season in a 5-3 victory over Mississippi Friday at the CenturyTel Center. Five goals in the final 22 minutes of play helped the Mudbugs extend their home winning streak to five games and improve their overall record to 18-6 this season. Joe Blaznek led the way for the ‚¬ËœBugs with a goal and two assists as they beat Mississippi for a fourth time in five tries this year. Travis Clayton and Shane Hart each had a goal and an assist, while Steven Crampton and David Rutherford each contributed two helpers as well in the win.

Saturday, December 11 vs. Texas CenturyTel Center L 4-0

GAME NOTES: Rookie goaltender Wayne Savage stopped all 34 Mudbugs shots to lead Texas to a 4-0 win Saturday at the CenturyTel Center. Despite outshooting Texas 27-9 in the last two periods, the ‚¬ËœBugs never found the back of Savage's net and were shut out at home for the first time since November 2, 2007. Bossier-Shreveport finished 0 for 6 on the powerplay as the Brahmas became the first team to blank the Mudbugs since Mississippi did it on New Year's Eve in 2008. The ‚¬ËœBugs are now 18-7-0 on the season and remain one point ahead of Allen for first place in the CHL standings.

THIS WEEK

Thursday, December 16 vs. Rio Grande Valley CenturyTel Center 6:35 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs open a back-to-back set against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees Thursday at the CTC. The ‚¬ËœBugs are 3-0 against the Bees this year, with all three victories coming by one goal. While the ‚¬ËœBugs have won 11 of their last 14 games to maintain the top spot in the Berry Conference, the Bees have won just twice in their last 12 games to fall into last place in the Conference entering this week. PROMOTIONAL INFO: Thursday is "Great Outdoors Night", with outdoor-themed activities planned throughout the game.

Friday, December 17 vs. Rio Grande Valley CenturyTel Center 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES: The ‚¬ËœBugs and Bees will meet for the second consecutive night and fifth time this season Friday night at the CTC. The sixth and final regular season matchup between the teams will then take place at Rio Grande in February. PROMOTIONAL INFO: Saturday the Mudbugs will get some help with their Killer Bee problem from Billy the Exterminator and the rest of the Vex-Con crew from their hit A&E television show on "Exterminator Night", presented by the Mudbug Boilers Booster Club. Billy and his family will be featured in game entertainment throughout the night and the Mudbugs will even be wearing specialty Vex-Con jerseys that will be auctioned off to the fans after the game!

Saturday, December 18 at Mississippi DeSoto Civic Center 7:05 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs and RiverKings will meet for the sixth time this season Saturday night at the DCC as Bossier-Shreveport finishes up a three-in-three weekend. The ‚¬ËœBugs are 4-1 against the ‚¬ËœKings this year with four more regular season meetings remaining. Mississippi (11-11-1) is currently tied with Arizona and Tulsa for fourth in the Berry Conference.

WEEKLY NOTES

Streak Ends, But Homestand Continues

Saturday's loss to Texas ended Bossier-Shreveport's season high five-game winning streak, which left the Mudbugs tied with Rapid City for the longest home winning streak achieved in the CHL yet this year. Despite that defeat, the ‚¬ËœBugs will have two more chances to get back in the win column at home this week as their four-game homestand continues with a pair of games against Rio Grande Valley. Following the home stretch Bossier-Shreveport will play nine of its next ten games on the road.

Savage Treatment

A stellar 34-save effort from rookie goaltender Wayne Savage on Saturday helped the Texas Brahmas become the first team to shut the Mudbugs out at the CenturyTel Center in nearly four calendar years, including regular season and playoffs. Prior to Saturday's 4-0 loss, Bossier-Shreveport had not been blanked at home since a 3-0 loss to Mississippi on November 2, 2007 and hadn't been shutout at all since New Year's Eve in 2008, also against the RiverKings. The ‚¬ËœBugs, who entered Saturday as the CHL's highest scoring team, had not scored fewer than two goals in any game before the loss to Texas.

‚¬ËœBugs Earn Carbon-Copy Win Over ‚¬ËœKings

The Mudbugs defeated Mississippi 5-3 on Friday in a nearly identical game to the one the teams played at the CTC on November 28 (a 5-4 Bossier-Shreveport win). Just like that day, the ‚¬ËœBugs fell behind 2-0 Friday but got on the board late in the second period on a goal from Shane Hart. The ‚¬ËœBugs then scored four more goals in the third stanza (just like they did on 11/28) and went on to earn their 18th victory of the season 5-3 to stay in first place in the entire CHL.

Comeback ‚¬ËœBugs Strike Again

Friday's game marked the fourth time this season the Mudbugs have trailed 2-0 after the first period only to come back and win. It was also the second consecutive game in which they had done so against Mississippi, with the other two rallies coming against Rio Grande Valley and Laredo. The ‚¬ËœBugs have trailed at some point in 12 out of their 18 victories this season and hold a record of 10-4-0 when their opponent scores the first goal. Dating back to the 2008-09 season the Mudbugs have won 18 times when trailing after two periods, which is more than any other CHL team.

Extra Special Teams

Over one-third of the way through the season, the ‚¬ËœBugs have continued to excel on special teams at both ends of the ice. Despite being held off the scoreboard on Saturday, the Mudbugs have still tallied eight powerplay goals in their last eight games and maintain their first-place CHL ranking at 23.4% for the season. The ‚¬ËœBugs have scored at least one powerplay goal in 16 of 25 games and notched multiple PPG's ten times this year. At the other end the Mudbugs have the league's 2nd highest penalty killing percentage at 86.1% and have killed off 12 straight shorthanded situations entering this week.

Streaks Snapped

One of the big November storylines for the Mudbugs were the extensive point streaks by forwards Justin Aikins and Steven Crampton, who each earned points in nine straight games last month. Three games into December the ‚¬ËœBugs had two new streaks to speak of, as Jeff Kyrzakos had scored goals in three straight games and Travis Clayton had assists in the past four contests entering Saturday. Although those streaks ended in a shutout loss, Kyrzakos still has 12 points (4g, 8a) in his last 14 games and Clayton has totaled six points in his last five to approach one point-per-game this season (23 pts, 25 gp).

Rutherford Still in the Lead

Mudbugs forward David Rutherford continues to lead the CHL in goal scoring this year with 16 tallies, a total which ties him with Odessa's Sebastien Thinel. He is also tied for second in the league in game-winning goals with five. Rutherford added two assists Friday night to give him 13 for the year. The second-year Mudbug is tied for fifth in the league with 29 points and is tied for fifth in plus/minus rating at +15. #91 has recorded at least one point in 42 of his last 50 regular season games.

DeCaro's Streak Ends at Six

Mudbugs goaltender John DeCaro (7-2-0) carried a season-high six-game winning streak into Saturday before suffering just his second loss of the season in goal. Even after the loss, DeCaro still ranks third in the CHL with a 2.34 goals-against average and in the top ten with a .912 saves percentage. The fourth-year Mudbug is just four wins away from 100 as a pro.

Loose Pucks

F Brett Smith has 11 points (5g, 6a) and a +6 rating in his last seven games... D Jamie Milam is tied for second in the league among defenseman with 15 assists this year.... D Simon Mangos missed just the third game of his Mudbugs career on Saturday needing just four more games to reach 400 in his career... D Dave Pszenyczny scored his first goal of the season Friday v. Mississippi.. the' Bugs have the CHL's second-best road record at 10-3-0

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 December 13, 2010


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