Playoff battle begins in Shreveport
March 16, 2004 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Indianapolis Ice News Release
ICE AND MUDBUGS HISTORY:
· The Ice and Mudbugs met eight times in the regular season with the Ice sporting a 3-4-1 mark against Bossier-Shreveport. Indy was 2-2-0 at home and 1-2-1 at the CenturyTel Center. Bossier-Shreveport was 3-1-0 at home and 2-2-0 in Indianapolis. The Ice won two of the first three meetings this year, but the "Bugs" roared back to win four of the last five contests. This is their first meeting ever in the playoffs.
· This is Indy's second consecutive trip to the CHL Playoffs and the team has made the playoffs in four of its five years in the CHL. Indianapolis was the 2000 CHL Champions and was Northern Conference Runner-ups last season. Overall, the team is 13-13 all-time in the playoffs. The Mudbugs enter the playoffs for the sixth time in their seven years (CHL/WPHL) of existence with their only absence being last season. The Mudbugs won three consecutive WPHL (former Western Professional Hockey League) championships from 1998-2001 and own an all-time playoff record of 43-16.
· Jared Dumba (4G, 4A) and Jason Baird (3G, 5A) led the Ice in scoring in the season series, while Dave Gilmore chipped in with seven points (3G, 4A). Brent Zelenewich was the better of the netminders with a 2-2-0 record, 2.01 GAA and a .940 save percentage in four appearances. The brunt of the Mudbugs offense came from the line of Chad Spurr, Chris Brassard and Craig Soke who combined for 27 points (10G, 17A). Spurr, who once toiled for the Ice, led the "Bugs" with 11 points (5G, 6A). Jeff Blair had the most success in net for Bossier-Shreveport as he went 3-0-0 with a 2.27 GAA and a .932 save percentage.
· The Ice rolls into the playoffs with an 8-3-2 record in its last 13 games, while the Mudbugs finished the year with a 5-3-2 clip in their last ten games. The "Bugs" have enjoyed home ice as the club was 23-6-3 at home during the regular season, while Indy had a road clip of 17-13-2 which included a win at Bossier-Shreveport.
REGULAR SEASON ACCOLADES (ICE): Bernie John was named the CHL's Outstanding Defenseman after leading all CHL blueliners in scoring with 76 points (17G, 59A). He is also the top-scoring defenseman in all of CHL hockey since the start of the 1999-00 season....Jason Baird was a finalist for CHL MVP after leading Indianapolis in scoring with 79 points (27G, 52A). He finished sixth overall in the league in points and third in assists and also led all Ice players in plus/minus (+21) and penalty minutes (196)....Mario Doyon led all CHL defensemen in goals (23) and power play goals (15)....Jeff Sanger tied for the CHL-lead with six shutouts and teamed with Brent Zelenewich for the most combined shutouts in the CHL (8).
REGULAR SEASON ACCOLADES (MUDBUGS): Chad Spurr joined the Ice's Baird as a MVP finalist after putting up 70 points (31G, 39A) in just 53 games of work. He tied for the CHL-lead with four shorthanded goals and led all "Bugs" players with a (+35) plus/minus....Chris Brassard was the Mudbugs top scorer with 75 points (27G, 48A)...The goaltending tandem of Ken Carroll and Jeff Blair was lethal on opponents as the duo combined to go 42-16-6 with a 2.28 GAA and a .924 save percentage....Craig Soke was third among league rookies with 46 points (23G, 23A).
ICE IN THE PLAYOFFS: Bernie John and Ken Boone were members of the Ice's 2000 CHL Championship Team, while Jared Dumba (2001 CHL Championship-Oklahoma City), Dave Gilmore (2001 WPHL Championship-Shreveport) and Mario Doyon (Three European Championships) have also tasted victory....Mario Doyon (48), Ryan Aikia (42) and Bernie John (42) have played the most playoff games, while John is the top all-time playoff scorer of this year's bunch with 28 points (8G, 20A)...John is also second all-time in CHL Ice playoff history with 21 points (6G, 15A)....Jim Shepherd has averaged nearly a point a game in the playoffs with 14 points (6G, 8A) in 16 games...Making their playoff debuts this year are forwards Philippe Choiniere, Joe Guenther and Adam Redmond and goaltenders Jeff Sanger and Brent Zelenewich.
MUDBUGS IN THE PLAYOFFS: Six Mudbugs' players were members of at least one of their championship teams from 1998-2001. Veteran forward Trevor Buchanan and veteran defenseman Jim Sprott took home three rings, while Jason Campbell (2), Forbes MacPherson (2), Dan Wildfong (2) and Ken Carroll (1) were also winners...Buchanan is the dean of the Mudbugs in playoff games (92) and is their top playoff scorer with 77 points (32G, 45A)...Campbell has averaged over a point a game in the playoffs with 44 points (21G, 23A) in 39 games...Making playoff debuts for the Mudbugs are forwards Craig Soke, Ryan Manitowich and Colin Kendall and defensemen Travis Bell, Quade Lightbody, Jason Basile and Wes Blevins and goaltender Jeff Blair.
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