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Mudbugs Weekly

February 7, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release


LAST WEEK

Thursday, February 3 vs. Evansville CenturyTel Center W 5-1

GAME NOTES: Jamie Milam assisted on three goals and was on the ice for four as the Mudbugs rolled to a 5-1 victory over Evansville Thursday at the CenturyTel Center. The ‚¬ËœBugs opened up a 3-0 lead after one period and never looked back on their way to winning the first-ever matchup with Evansville. Milam assisted on three of the Mudbugs ‚¬â„¢ last four goals in the game, while Shawn Limpright scored one and assisted on another in his 500th career game. James DeLory, David Rutherford, Brett Smith and Jeff Kyrzakos netted the other Mudbugs goals, two of which came on the powerplay.

Friday, February 4 vs. Evansville CenturyTel Center Postponed

GAME NOTES: With snowfall and winter weather creating adverse road conditions throughout the Ark-La-Tex, Mudbugs and CenturyTel Center management decided to postpone Friday ‚¬â„¢s game against Evansville in the interests of public safety. The game has been rescheduled for Wednesday, February 16 at the CTC, the day after the ‚¬ËœBugs play their next home game against the Wichita Thunder.

THIS WEEK

Friday, February 10 at Laredo Laredo Energy Arena 7:30 pm

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs and Bucks are set to meet for the fifth time this season when they open a two-game set Friday night in Laredo. The ‚¬ËœBugs won the first three meetings between the clubs this year by scores of 4-3, 5-1 and 4-3 before the Bucks took the last game 5-1 at the CenturyTel Center. Bossier-Shreveport ranks third in the Berry Conference entering this week, while Laredo is tied with Rio Grande Valley for eighth in the conference with one game in hand.

Saturday, February 11 at Laredo Laredo Energy Arena 7:30 pm

GAME NOTES: The ‚¬ËœBugs and Bucks will complete a back-to-back set in South Texas Saturday night at the LEA with their sixth meeting of the season. Following this weekend ‚¬â„¢s games, the two rivals will meet for the final time this season back in Bossier City on Friday, March 4.

WEEKLY NOTES

Putting the "D" Back in MuDbugs

Most of the Mudbugs ‚¬â„¢ struggles over the past month can be traced back to defensive shortcomings that saw them surrender at least four goals in six out of nine games at one point last month. Lately however, the ‚¬ËœBugs have seen an improvement in their own end, holding their opponents under three goals in three of their last four games. Bossier-Shreveport holds an impressive 21-4-1 mark this year when they give up fewer than four goals, compared with a 2-15-1 record when their opponents score four or more. For the season the Mudbugs rank eighth in the CHL defensively with an average of 3.16 goals-against per game.

Road to Recovery

Forward Jeff Kyrzakos scored a goal Thursday against Evansville as the Mudbugs welcomed him back into the lineup for the first time since January 14 and he played his first full game since January 2 after missing ten of the 11 games in between. Defenseman Clay Plume re-entered the lineup from an injury absence three games agoo, while Brett Smith has been back for five games now since missing the previous eight. The ‚¬ËœBugs are still without both Justin Aikins (the CHL ‚¬â„¢s 5th-leading scorer when injured) and Dave Pszenyczny, who have both missed ten straight games, as well as Kevin Jarman and Tyrel Lucas.

Powerplay Back on Track

After going through a significant 2 for 31 dry spell during the team ‚¬â„¢s seven-game winless streak, the Mudbugs ‚¬â„¢ powerplay unit has broken through with seven powerplay goals in the past four games. The ‚¬ËœBugs went two for three on the man-advantage Thursday vs. Evansville to give them seven goals in their last 19 powerplay opportunities, a success rate near 37%. Bossier-Shreveport currently ranks second in the CHL on the PP at 20.6% for the season.

Milam Piling up Points

Defenseman Jamie Milam racked up three more assists in Thursday ‚¬â„¢s win over Evansville, giving him multi-point outings in four of his last six games including a pair of two-goal performances. Milam has scored four goals and tacked on six assists for a total of ten points in the past seven games, and that is not including another goal for which he should have been credited on January 29 against Fort Wayne. With three minutes to go in that game and the ‚¬ËœBugs down 2-1, the Northern Michigan product scored on a slapshot so hard that the puck traveled through the back of the net and the goal was never awarded. Milam is tied for second in the CHL among defenseman with ten goals this year and is tied for fourth among the league ‚¬â„¢s D-men with 34 points.

Limpright Joins 500 Club, Continues to Shine

Veteran forward Shawn Limpright skated in his 500th professional game last Thursday against Evansville and promptly celebrated the achievement with a goal and an assist in a 5-1 victory. Limpright has enjoyed one of his hottest stretches of the season lately with 12 points on seven goals and five assists in his last nine games. In that span Limpright has had four multi-point games to give him 30 points (13g, 17a) in 35 games this year. The ninth-year pro led the team in scoring with 53 points last season.

Rutherford Back in the Red Light District

Forward David Rutherford is back to lighting the lamp for the Mudbugs with six goals in his last five games since ending a season-long goalless drought of eight games. Rutherford stands just one goal off the league lead with 28 tallies this year and has also contributed 22 assists to lead the ‚¬ËœBugs in scoring with 50 points this season; with all of those totals constituting new career highs for the third-year pro and 2011 CHL All-Star.

Loose Pucks

D Mitch Love ranks second among CHL defensemen with 14 fighting majors this season... The ‚¬ËœBugs lead the league with an average of just 27.14 shots against per game this season.... F David Rutherford ranks third in the league with 40 3-Star points this season... Scott Muscutt has coached the Mudbugs to a total of 899 standings points with a 418-206-63 career record in his 11 years behind the bench... Bossier-Shreveport is the fourth-least penalized team in the CHL this year...

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 .

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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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