Mudbugs Weekly
April 25, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release
LAST WEEK
Berry Conference Semifinals (Best of Five)
#2 Bossier-Shreveport vs. #3 Tulsa: Mudbugs Win Series 3-2
Game 3: Tuesday, April 19 BOK Center L 3-2
GAME NOTES: Ian Keserich stole the show and the game for the Tulsa Oilers Tuesday at the BOK Center, making 44 saves in a narrow 3-2 defeat of the Mudbugs in Game 3 of the Berry Conference Semifinals. Shawn Limpright and Nick Layton scored the goals for Bossier-Shreveport, who outshot the Oilers 23-8 in the second period alone and 46-22 in total in Game 3. John DeCaro suffered his first loss of the playoffs after making 19 saves, and the ¬ËBugs were held without a powerplay goal for just the second time this postseason on five chances.
Game 4: Friday, April 22 BOK Center W 3-2 (OT)
GAME NOTES: Andy Contois netted the game-winning goal at 7:27 of overtime to lift the Mudbugs to a 3-2 victory over Tulsa in Game 4 of the Berry Conference Semifinals Friday night at the BOK Center. The win tied the best-of-five series at two games apiece and forced a deciding Game 5 Saturday at the CenturyTel Center. Jim Jorgensen and Jeff Kyrzakos scored the other two goals for Bossier-Shreveport and John DeCaro made 29 saves in goal. The overtime winner was the first of the playoffs for Contois, who was back in the lineup after missing two straight games.
Game 5: Saturday, April 23 CenturyTel Center W 5-4
GAME NOTES: Despite bringing a three-goal lead into the third period, the Mudbugs were forced to hold off a late rally to earn a series-clinching 5-4 victory over Tulsa in the deciding Game 5 of the Berry Conference Semifinals Saturday at the CenturyTel Center. After winning the series three games to two, the Mudbugs will now advance to the Berry Conference Finals to face the top-seeded Allen Americans. Steven Crampton set up three goals in the victory, while Andy Contois and Nick Layton each had a goal and an assist. Justin Aikins also posted two helpers as the Mudbugs built a 4-1 lead through 40 minutes before the Oilers tallied three times in the third period and kept pushing until the final horn.
THIS WEEK
Berry Conference Finals (Best of Seven)
#2 Bossier-Shreveport vs. #1 Allen: Series Starts Friday @ Allen
Game 1: Friday, April 29 Allen Event Center 7:30 pm
Game 2: Sunday, May 1 Allen Event Center 6:00 pm
SERIES NOTES: After winning two playoff rounds, the #2 Mudbugs will now advance to the Berry Conference Finals to face the top-seeded, Governors' Cup Champion Allen Americans in a best-of-seven series. Bossier-Shreveport dispatched #7 Arizona in four games and #3 Tulsa in five games to reach this point, while Allen got here by sweeping #8 Rio Grande Valley and then rallying from a 0-2 series deficit to knock off #5 Odessa in five games. Although the Americans won eight of the ten regular season meetings between the teams this year, five of those Allen wins were by a single goal excluding empty-netters. The ¬ËBugs actually have a better all-time record on the road at Allen (2-5-1) than they do at home against the Amerks (1-6-0).
WEEKLY NOTES
¬ËBugs in the CHL's Final Four
A field of 16 teams in the 2011 CHL playoffs has now been trimmed down to four competitors in the league's conference final round. The series format now switches to best-of-seven as Bossier-Shreveport faces Allen and Rapid City takes on Colorado for the right to represent their respective conferences in the Ray Miron President's Cup Finals. 2011 marks the third time in the past six seasons that the top two seeds from each conference both advanced to the conference finals.
Still Waiting on a Schedule
Although we know that the Mudbugs and Americans will begin in Allen with Games 1 and 2 on Friday and Sunday, the schedule for the remainder of the series is still being determined. Building availability issues at the CenturyTel Center have forced the ¬ËBugs to consider a number of unconventional options for the series, including playing Mudbugs home games at neutral sites or potentially sacrificing "home" dates all together and playing most (if not all) of the games at the Allen Event Center. Final schedule information for the series will be announced as soon as the dates and locations are finalized.
Nailing the Coffin Shut
Saturday night's Mudbugs win in the deciding Game 5 against Tulsa increased their string of recent successes both when facing elimination and with an opportunity to eliminate an opponent. The ¬ËBugs have now won five of their last seven games when facing elimination since the 2009 playoffs. With a chance to eliminate an opponent and advance to the next playoff round, the ¬ËBugs have won seven of their last eight games dating back to 2006. Bossier-Shreveport holds an all-time record of 12-5 in Game 5's and is now 3-1 in deciding games on home ice in their history.
Defense Wins Championships
Even after giving up four goals to the Oilers Saturday in Game 5, the ¬ËBugs still rank third in the CHL playoffs with a team goals-against average of 2.33. Bossier-Shreveport allowed an average of just 24 shots against in their last four games against the Oilers and has surrendered three goals or more just three times in their nine postseason games. John DeCaro is tied for the league lead with five playoff wins in goal and ranks second with a 2.00 goals-against average and fourth with .932 saves percentage.
One-Goal Games Galore
With the exception of the Mudbugs' 6-1 blowout win in Game 2, every other game in their series with Tulsa was decided by one goal - including two contests which ended in overtime. In fact, seven of Bossier-Shreveport's nine playoff games this year have been determined by a single tally, a scenario in which they are 4-3 in these playoffs. The scoring pace picked back up with nine goals scored in Game 5 after the two teams had combined to score just ten total goals in Games 3 and 4. The ¬ËBugs and Oilers scored eight or more goals between them in six of the eight head-to-head games they played this year, regular season and playoffs. The ¬ËBugs rank fifth in the CHL playoffs with an average of 3.44 goals per game.
Loose Pucks
The ¬ËBugs are 32-1 this year (regular season and playoffs) when leading after two periods... F Shawn Limpright has been held pointless just once in the playoffs and has totaled 26 points (11g, 15a) in his last 23 games overall... After winning five of his six playoff starts, G John DeCaro (11-10) has pushed his career playoff record over .500 for the first time since his rookie year of 2007... D Michael Couch posted his first career playoff assist in Game 4 v. Tulsa... Amateur F Nick Layton has six points (2g, 4a) in his last five games... Game 2 vs. Tulsa was the 50th playoff game of Brett Smith's Mudbugs career. He ranks 6th in team history in playoff goals (19), 8th in assists (20) and 9th in points (39)....
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 April 25, 2011
- Mudbugs Weekly - Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
- Shots from the Point for April 25, 2011 - CHL
- Season Wraps Up - Tulsa Oilers
- Schedule Set for Turner Conference Finals Between Rush & Eagles - Rapid City Rush
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.
