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Mudbugs Weekly

May 2, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release


Berry Conference Finals (Best of Seven)

#2 Bossier-Shreveport vs. #1 Allen: Series Tied 1-1

LAST WEEK

Game 1: Friday, April 29 Allen Event Center W 5-4

GAME NOTES: The Mudbugs built a 4-1 lead through two periods and held off a late Allen Americans charge to take Game 1 of the Berry Conference Finals by a final score of 5-4 Friday at the Allen Event Center. Shawn Limpright scored Bossier-Shreveport's last two goals of the game (including his second consecutive game-winner) and added an assist, while Justin Aikins had a goal and an assist. Brett Smith also contributed a pair of helpers as the ‚¬ËœBugs scored twice on the powerplay and once shorthanded on their way to winning Game 1 and taking a 1-0 series lead over the Americans.

Game 2: Sunday, May 1 Allen Event Center L 5-3

GAME NOTES: Allen scored three powerplay goals in a span of just over two minutes to pull ahead for good in a 5-3 defeat of the Mudbugs in Game 2 of the Berry Conference Finals Sunday at the Allen Event Center. Jeff Kyrzakos scored two goals for Bossier-Shreveport, the second one bringing the ‚¬ËœBugs within a goal with two minutes remaining. Clay Plume also had a goal and an assist as the Mudbugs' three-game playoff winning streak came to an end. Allen netted three powerplay goals on four chances in the game, while the ‚¬ËœBugs were 1 for 6.

THIS WEEK

Game 3: Wednesday, May 4 Allen Event Center 7:30 pm

Game 4: Friday, May 6 CenturyTel Center 7:05 pm

Game 5: Sunday, May 8 CenturyTel Center 4:05 pm

SERIES NOTES: Through the first two games of the Berry Conference Finals, the best-of-seven series is just starting to gear up with three pivotal games set for this week. With the series tied at one game apiece after the first two games in Allen, Wednesday will afford one team the chance to take a 2-1 edge in Game 3, which will be played back at the Allen Event Center despite technically being one of Bossier-Shreveport's three "home" games in the series. The teams will then shift to Bossier City for Games 4 and 5 on Friday and Sunday at the CenturyTel Center.

WEEKLY NOTES

Even After Two

With Bossier-Shreveport splitting the first two games of the Berry Conference Finals against Allen, all of the Mudbugs' three playoff series here in 2011 have now been tied at one through two games. In fact, dating back to the 2004 President's Cup Finals, ten of the Mudbugs' last 14 playoff series have been evened at one game apiece entering Game 3. The ‚¬ËœBugs have gone on to win nine of 12 such series in their history, including three of the past four. Wednesday's Game 3 will offer another interesting twist, as the ‚¬ËœBugs are 11-1 all-time in series they led 2-1, but are just 3-5 in series in which they fell behind 1-2.

It Takes All Kinds of W's

The Mudbugs have earned most of their playoff wins behind the strong defensive play that is their trademark, surrendering less than three goals in six of their 11 playoff games and ranking third among all playoff teams with a 2.73 team goals-against average - even after giving up four or more goals in three straight games. At the same time, Bossier-Shreveport has managed to win two of the four games in which they have given up at least four goals, a scenario in which they went just 4-20-1 in the regular season. The ‚¬ËœBugs are currently the fourth-highest scoring team in the playoffs with a scoring average of 3.55 goals per game.

One-Goal Games Galore

All but two of Bossier-Shreveport's 11 playoff games thus far have been decided by one goal excluding empty-netters, giving them the most one goal games of any team in the playoffs. Colorado and Missouri are tied for second in the playoffs, each playing six such games. The Mudbugs have won five of their nine one-goal games (again excluding empty-netters), with all four of their playoff losses coming by one - including two that ended in overtime. After the ‚¬ËœBugs and Tulsa combined to score only ten total goals in Games 3 & 4 of their conference semifinal series, the scoring pace has picked back up with a combined average of 8.67 combined goals per game scored between Bossier-Shreveport and its opponents in the past three games.

Fight the Power

For the first time since early January and only the second time this season, the Mudbugs surrendered three powerplay goals in a single contest in their Game 2 loss Sunday in Allen. The Americans converted three consecutive powerplays during the second period of that game and have scored five times on 12 powerplay chances so far in this series. This comes after Bossier-Shreveport's penalty killing unit dominated the first two rounds of the playoffs, killing off 97% of their shorthanded situations through eight playoff games. Even now the Mudbugs rank fourth in the playoffs at 85.7% on the PK. At the other end of the ice, the ‚¬ËœBugs powerplay unit is still converting on over 26% of its chances and has come through with four goals in the past three games to rank second in the CHL. The Mudbugs have 13 powerplay goals on 50 opportunities in the playoffs.

Limpright Leads the Way

Forward Shawn Limpright leads the Mudbugs and is tied for fifth in the league with 14 playoff points on seven goals and seven assists. He had a six-game point streak snapped in Game 2, which was highlighted by a two-goal, three-point effort on Friday. The nine-year veteran scored Bossier-Shreveport's last two goals in Game 1, giving him back-to-back game-winners and putting him in sole possession of the team lead with seven playoff tallies. He has been held pointless just twice in 11 playoff games and has 29 points (13g, 16a) in his last 25 games including the last month of the regular season.

No Feeling-Out Necessary

After playing their first two playoff series against teams they faced a combined total of only three times during the regular season, the Mudbugs have had no such trouble getting acquainted in this series with Allen. The two teams, who are separated by just over 200 miles, faced off ten times during the 2010-11 regular season prior Game 1 of this series. Although the Amerks won eight of those games, five of the Mudbugs' losses to Allen this year were by a single goal excluding empty-netters. The ‚¬ËœBugs are now 4-12-1 in 17 head-to-head meetings since Allen's inception last year.

Loose Pucks

The ‚¬ËœBugs are 33-1 this year (regular season and playoffs) when leading after two periods... F Brett Smith has moved into 8th place on the Mudbugs' all-time scoring list, matching his jersey number with 41 career playoff points (19g, 22a)... D Jim Jorgensen had a four-game playoff point streak (1g, 3a) snapped in Game 2... F Justin Aikins is having the best playoff of his pro career with five goals and ten points... D Michael Couch posted his first two career playoff assists in Game 5 vs. Tulsa and Game 1 at Allen... Amateur F Nick Layton has six points (2g, 4a) in his last seven games...

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.

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