CHL Central Hockey League

Ray Miron Presidents' Cup Finals Game 2 Recap

May 14, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL) News Release


Taking advantage of their opportunities, the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs came through on Saturday night at the Budweiser Events Center with a 5-3 win over the Colorado Eagles in Game 2 of the Ray Miron Presidents' Cup Finals.

The win ties the series at one win apiece as the two clubs shift venues to the CenturyTel Center for the next three games with Game 3 set for Tuesday night at 7:05 PM CST.

The Mudbugs were thrifty scoring five times on just 19 shots.

It didn't take long for the Mudbugs to take an early edge, in fact, it was the fastest goal allowed by Colorado in a playoff game as Brett Smith scored his second goal of the playoffs just 30 seconds into the opening period on a top shelf shot, the ‘Bugs first of the game, that beat Kyle Jones. Andy Contois and Michael Couch had the assists.

Colorado would come back shortly thereafter with Riley Nelson causing a turnover behind John DeCaro and then dealing the puck in front of Kevin Ulanski who found an open Adam Chorneyko in front of the net scoring his fifth goal of the post-season at the 3:30 mark of the opening period.

Towards the end of the first period, the Mudbugs had a golden opportunity to regain the lead with a pair of penalties called against the Eagles giving Bossier-Shreveport 1:26 of 5-on-3 hockey but they were unable to connect and hardly threatened.

The Eagles outshot the Mudbugs in the opening period 14-6 as DeCaro made 13 saves and Jones finished with five saves.

The teams tightened up the defense in the early part of the second period with the Mudbugs creating several chances that they just couldn't connect on. Colorado's first power play saw few chances as the Mudbugs did a nice job killing it off.

At the 8:17 mark of the middle frame, the Mudbugs were awarded their third power play of the game thanks to a too many men bench minor on the Eagles and had some opportunities but often skated themselves into bad spots resulting in a couple shorthanded chances for Colorado.

Just after the PP expired, the ‘Bugs regained the lead with Simon Mangos slapping a shot past Jones for his third goal of the playoffs. Steven Crampton and Contois had the assists as Bossier-Shreveport took a 2-1 advantage.

Once again, Colorado answered with pressure in the offensive zone leading to Riley Nelson's league-leading 10th goal of the post-season, assisted by Ulanski and Aaron Schneekloth, at the 13:58 mark. A pass to Ulanski caromed back to Nelson who off-balance pushed the puck by DeCaro.

As the teams continued to play back-and-forth hockey, the Mudbugs assumed their third lead of the game on a 2-on-1 that saw Justin Aikins hang on to a puck using the threat of David Rutherford to beat Jones, once again with a low shot, at the 16:37 mark of the middle frame.

The Eagles held a 23-12 shot edge after two periods.

In the third period, the Mudbugs added to their lead taking the first two-goal lead of the series by either team when Jeff Kyrzakos scored his 10th goal of the playoffs, tying him with Colorado's Nelson for most in the post-season. The forward snapped a high shot that just tucked under the crossbar giving Bossier-Shreveport a 4-2 lead. Travis Clayton was credited with the lone assist.

Bossier-Shreveport would later add to their lead seemingly putting Game 2 away as Crampton scored his fourth goal of the playoffs, assisted by Contois and Smith, making the score 5-2. The goal was scored as a poor line change for the Eagles caused them to have just four skaters on the ice for the goal.

Colorado would not go quietly though as they cut the lead back to two goals thanks to Chorneyko's second goal of the night after an aggressive fore-check by the Eagles led to a turnover behind the ‘Bugs net. Nelson and Joe Grimaldi had the assists.

Colorado had a couple late power plays but were unable to connect as DeCaro and the Mudbugs defense held on to the series.

Offensive heros in the game were Brett Smith, Steven Crampton and Simon Mangos for the Mudbugs each scoring a goal and adding an assist and Andy Contois who had three helpers. For the Eagles, Riley Nelson had a goal and two helpers and Adam Chorneyko scored twice.

Colorado outshot the Mudbugs 36-19 as DeCaro improves to 10-3 by making 33 saves. Jones stopped 14 shots and saw his record fall to 4-4.

Follow all the CHL playoff news, notes and happenings on www.centralhockeyleague.com and at the CHL's Playoff Headquarters.



Central Hockey League Stories from May 14, 2011


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