Sports stats



Mudbugs Weekly

January 3, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release


LAST WEEK

Friday, December 31 at Texas NyTex Sports Centre L 4-2

GAME NOTES: Texas scored two goals in a 21-second span of the third period to take the lead for good in a 4-2 defeat of the Mudbugs Friday at the NyTex Sports Centre. The ‚¬ËœBugs have dropped three straight games against the rival Brahmas and now trail the season series 3-2 against Texas. Scoring for the Mudbugs were Jeff Kyrzakos and David Rutherford, who reached a new career high by becoming the first player in the CHL to score 20 goals this season. The Brahmas won the special teams battle for the night, going 2 for 4 on their own powerplay while holding the ‚¬ËœBugs scoreless on three chances.

Saturday, January 1 vs. Mississippi CenturyTel Center W 8-2

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs scored a season-high five first period goals and never looked back on their way to demolishing Mississippi 8-2 Saturday at the CTC. Steven Crampton finished with a hat trick and David Rutherford scored two goals of his own, while Shawn Limpright had three assists and James DeLory recorded his first career multi-point game with a goal and an assist. Michael Couch also finished the night with a CHL season-high +6 rating.

Sunday, January 2 at Mississippi DeSoto Civic Center L 3-2 (SO)

GAME NOTES: Three Mississippi skaters scored shootout goals to help the RiverKings defeat the Mudbugs 3-2 Sunday at the DeSoto Civic Center. Even with the defeat, the ‚¬ËœBugs are 6-1-1 against Mississippi this year and stand at 20-11-1 after just their second overtime/shootout game of the season. Jeff Martens ‚¬â„¢ late goal tied the game at two with less than two minutes remaining in regulation to help the Mudbugs earn a point in the game before they were outscored 3-1 in the shootout. Justin Aikins and David Rutherford each recorded two assists, while John DeCaro made a season-high 38 saves.

THIS WEEK

Friday, January 7 at Rapid City Rushmore Plaza Civic Center 8:05 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs will return to Rapid City for the first time since losing Game 7 of last year ‚¬â„¢s Northern Conference Finals Friday night at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. The Rush enters this week in first place in the Turner Conference after winning eight of their last 11 games. Friday ‚¬â„¢s game will be the only meeting between the teams this year.

Saturday, January 8 at Colorado Budweiser Events Center 8:05 pm

GAME NOTES: The ‚¬ËœBugs will then travel to Loveland, Colorado for their only meeting of the season against the Eagles. Colorado will be looking for revenge after being swept out of the 2010 playoffs by the Mudbugs, who ended their three-run as Northern Conference Champions. The Eagles are in third place in the Turner Conference entering this week, but stand just two points behind Rapid City with three games in hand.

WEEKLY NOTES

"Soupy" Gets His Due Prior to Saturday ‚¬â„¢s game the Mudbugs honored longtime player and current General Manager Jason "Soupy" Campbell by retiring his #11 jersey to the CenturyTel Center rafters. In seven seasons with the Mudbugs, Campbell played over 400 games with the club and ranks in the top six players in team history in goals, assists and points. He was a part of two President ‚¬â„¢s Cup Championship teams in 2000 and 2001, winning the WPHL ‚¬â„¢s Playoff MVP award in ‚¬â„¢01 after leading the playoffs in scoring. "Soupy" becomes the fourth Mudbug to have his number retired by the franchise, joining #19 Dale Henry, #27 Trevor Buchanan and #33 Jim Sprott.

‚¬ËœBugs Ring in the New Year in Style Saturday night the Mudbugs scored a season-high five first period goals and never looked back on their way to a convincing 8-2 win over the RiverKings in Bossier City. Steven Crampton recorded the second Mudbugs hat trick of the season in the win and David Rutherford scored two goals of his own to increase his league leading total. Shawn Limpright finished with three assists, while James DeLory enjoyed the first multi-point game of his career with a goal and an assist. Justin Aikins, Brett Smith and Joe Blaznek each chipped in two assists as well and Michael Couch finished the night with a CHL season-high +6 rating as all eight Mudbugs goals came at even strength.

Aikins ‚¬â„¢ All-Star Shot Mudbugs Forward Justin Aikins was one of four candidates for the 19th roster spot on this year ‚¬â„¢s CHL All-Star team through the first-ever CHL All-Star Fan Vote, which ended Friday. Aikins finished third just behind Colorado ‚¬â„¢s Riley Nelson, while Missouri ‚¬â„¢s Nick Sirota received over 40 percent of the vote to win the final All-Star spot. Odessa ‚¬â„¢s Todd Robinson was the other finalist. Aikins, who was bidding to join teammate David Rutherford in the game, leads the ‚¬ËœBugs is tied for fifth in the CHL with 42 points (11g, 31a) this year.

Rutherford ‚¬â„¢s Red Light District Forward David Rutherford netted two more goals Saturday vs. Mississippi, increasing his league lead to 22 tallies this season. Friday in Texas he became the first player in the CHL to score 20 goals this season, topping his previous career high of 19 in the process. The Ladner, British Columbia native also has seven multi-goal games this season and nine in his Mudbugs career, but is still awaiting his first career hat trick. He has also contributed 17 assists this year for a total of 39 points, which ties him for tenth in the CHL this season.

The ‚¬ËœBugs Get Tougher... and Add Skill Too Last week the Mudbugs welcomed James DeLory back into their lineup after the second-year forward was reassigned to the club by the Rochester Americans of the AHL and their parent club, the NHL ‚¬â„¢s Florida Panthers. On Saturday DeLory tallied the eventual game-winning goal and added an assist in the third period for the first multi-point game of his pro career. Skating with the ‚¬ËœBugs last season, DeLory led all CHL rookies with 12 fighting majors and totaled 78 penalty minutes in 36 games. He also contributed two goals, three points and a +2 rating. After training camp in Rochester this year, the 6-5, 225-pounder started the season with Cincinnati of the ECHL.

Road Warriors Roll on Despite going winless in their last three road games, the ‚¬ËœBugs still hold the CHL ‚¬â„¢s second-best road record with an 11-5-1 away mark as they continue their longest road trip of the season this week. Sunday the Mudbugs began a six-game road swing, which will take them through Rapid City, Colorado, Allen and Tulsa between a pair of games in Mississippi. Bossier-Shreveport won ‚¬â„¢t play at home again until they host Dayton on January 20. Only Allen ‚¬â„¢s 13-2-0 road mark bests the Mudbugs among the 18 CHL teams.

Two Mudbug Milestones in the Same Building Mudbugs Equipment Manager Billy T. Welker reached a significant career milestone two weeks ago in Mississippi, and Athletic Trainer George Bullock, Jr. then followed suit just five games later. Sunday ‚¬â„¢s contest marked the 1,000th game in Bullock ‚¬â„¢s hockey career, a number which does not include the games he has worked in pro baseball and both college and high school athletics. Welker, who has been on the bench for every game in Mudbugs history, worked his 1,500th career game on December 18 at the DeSoto Civic Center.

Loose Pucks F Jeff Martens is tied for second in the CHL with a +20 rating... D Jamie Milam is tied for fifth among defensemen with 23 points and sixth with 17 assists... D Clay Plume ranks sixth among CHL D-men with a +13 rating... G John DeCaro earned his 98th career victory on Saturday and made a season-high 38 saves in a shootout loss on Sunday... D Michael Couch is approaching 200 career games, entering this week with 193...

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 ‚¬â„¢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 ‚¬â„¢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 .

• Discuss this story on the Central Hockey League message board...

Central Hockey League Stories from January 3, 2011


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.

Other Recent Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central