CHL Central Hockey League

Ray Miron President's Cup Finals Preview

Published on April 25, 2006 under Central Hockey League (CHL) News Release


The 2005-2006 Ray Miron President's Cup Finals are set, following five game Conference Finals wins by the Laredo Bucks (Southern Conference Champions) and Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs (Northern Conference Champions). The Bucks advanced following a 4-3 double overtime win Saturday night to eliminate the Odessa Jackalopes 4 games to 1, while the Mudbugs dispatched defending champion Colorado by a 2-1 score Monday evening, winning four consecutive contests after losing the series opener 3-2 in double overtime. Both clubs firmly controlled their Conference Finals series, with Laredo trailing Odessa for only 9:54 of 324+ minutes of play and Bossier-Shreveport behind Colorado for just 10:07 of 330+ minutes of action. Laredo enters the Finals outscoring their opposition 47-25 through 11 post-season contests, with Bossier-Shreveport outscoring their opposition 32-17 through 10 games. The 2005-2006 championship matches the highest scoring club in the CHL playoffs (Laredo is averaging 4.27 goals for per game) against the top defensive unit (Bossier-Shreveport is allowing just 1.70 goals against per outing). Both clubs have successfully defended home ice in the playoffs, each recording unblemished 6-0 marks.

Laredo and Bossier-Shreveport meet in a rematch of the 2003-2004 Finals, won by the Bucks 8:43 into overtime of Game 7 on a disputed goal call in front of a sold out crowd of 8,002 at the Laredo Entertainment Center. The Finals schedule this season follows the same 2-3-2 format, beginning this Friday and Saturday in Laredo prior to shifting to Bossier-Shreveport's CenturyTel Center next week for Games 3,4 and 5, if necessary. Laredo makes their third straight appearance in the championship series, a feat matched only by Bossier-Shreveport, who appeared in, and won, three consecutive Western Professional Hockey League titles the three seasons prior to the May/2001 merger between the WPHL and the CHL.

A complete Ray Miron President's Cup Finals preview is below. CHL fans can also follow the entire post-season on "Playoff Central" on the CHL website at www.centralhockeyleague.com, and can view all Finals action live on www.CHLTV.com.

Ray Miron President's Cup Finals Laredo (1) Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs (2)

05/06 Record 43-15-6 41-15-8

All-Time Record 167-62-23 363-174-58

Playoff Appearance 4th in 4 seasons 8th in 9 seasons

All-Time Playoff Record 33-21 64-29

Ray Miron President's Cup Finals Schedule

Game Day Date Location Time (local)

1 Friday 4-28 Laredo (7:30 PM)
2 Saturday 4-29 Laredo (7:30 PM)
3 Tuesday 5-02 Bossier-Shreveport (7:05 PM)
4 Friday 5-05 Bossier-Shreveport (7:05 PM)
5* Saturday 5-06 Bossier-Shreveport (7:05 PM)
6* Tuesday 5-09 Laredo (7:05 PM)
7* Wednesday 5-11 Laredo (7:05 PM)
*If Necessary

Ray Miron President's Cup Finals - Series Overview

We meet again. The Laredo Bucks and the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs meet in the Finals for the second time in three seasons of play, with the Bucks hoping to claim their second Ray Miron President's Cup over Bossier-Shreveport and the Mudbugs eager to erase bitter disappointment from their Game 7 overtime loss to Laredo in 2004. While both clubs have many new faces, several Bucks and Mudbugs remain in action from perhaps the most competitive and memorable Finals in CHL history.

Offense: Laredo's attack, ranked second in the CHL with 3.70 goals per game during the regular season, has been even better in the playoffs, leading the circuit at 4.27 goals per outing. Four of the top five playoff pointgetters are Bucks, with C Jeff Bes (4 goals, 18 assists) and LW Chris Grenville (12 goals, 9 assists) atop the post-season scoring race. A well-balanced Mudbug offense has five players with double digit point totals through 10 playoff games, and eight players with three or more post-season goals. Seven different Mudbugs have recorded game winning goals in these playoffs, with club leader LW Chris Brassard potting a game winner in each of the first two rounds of action.

Defense: Ranking 1,2 in the regular season defensively (Laredo 1st at 2.44 goals against per game, Bossier-Shreveport 2nd at 2.66), these teams protect their own end very well. While the Bucks have improved to 2.27 during the playoffs, the Mudbugs have been even better, allowing 17 total goals in 10 post-season games. Both clubs have experienced veteran leadership, including CHL Defenseman of the Year Serge Dube from Laredo and stalwart rearguard Quade Lightbody from Bossier-Shreveport, and highly skilled rookies in Adam Rivet from the Bucks and Dale Lupul from the Mudbugs.

Special Teams: Special teams are key to playoff success, and the Laredo boasts both the top power play (27.6%) and penalty killing (93.4%) units entering the Finals. Five of playoff goal leader Chris Grenville's 12 scores have come with the man advantage, while James Hiebert's four goals in eight games have also come with an extra attacker. The Mudbugs specialty teams both rank second to Laredo, converting 19.44% percent of their opportunities with the man advantage while killing off 85.92% of their opponents chances. Bossier-Shreveport leads the post-season with three shorthanded goals (Laredo has a pair), and five of C Brett Smith's six post-season scores have come on the power play.

Goaltending: With reigning CHL Goaltender of the Year Ken Carroll sidelined late in the season, rookie David Cacciola has filled in admirably, starting every playoff game for Bossier-Shreveport. With Carroll now recovered, he may not get a chance back between the pipes, as the rookie has fashioned a remarkable 8-2 record (including a shutout) along with a 1.55 GAA and a .957 save percentage. Laredo has their own rookie netminder as well, with Harvard graduate Dov Grumet-Morris earning the bulk of the playing time, entering the Finals with a 5-2 record (and a shutout) as well as a 1.95 GAA and a .932 save percentage. Veteran David Lemanowicz (3-1, 2.26, .929 for Laredo) waits in the wings along with Carroll should either of the first year pros struggle.

Key Regular Season Statistics

Team Record Home Away GF GA PP% PK% PIM's

Laredo 43-15-6 27-4-1 16-11-5 3.70 2.44 16.5 84.2 24.06

Bossier-Shreveport 41-15-8 21-7-4 20-8-4 3.48 2.66 17.7 86.1 22.77

Key Playoff Statistics

Team Record Home Away GF GA PP% PK% PIM's

Laredo 8-3 6-0 2-3 4.27 2.27 27.6 93.4 20.45

Bossier-Shreveport 8-2 6-0 2-2 3.20 1.70 19.4 85.9 23.20

Key Head to Head Statistics

Team Record Home Away GF GA PP% PK% PIM's

Laredo 1-2-0 1-0-0 0-2-0 1.66 2.33 06.3 87.5 22.66

Bossier-Shreveport 2-1-0 2-0-0 0-1-0 2.33 1.66 12.5 93.7 24.66

2005-2006 Head to Head Results

Date Result

12/03/05 Bossier-Shreveport 1 @ Laredo 3

01/13/06 Laredo 0 @ Bossier-Shreveport 3

02/11/06 Laredo 2 @ Bossier-Shreveport 3

Regular Season Leaders Laredo Bossier-Shreveport

Points Bes (88) Manning (76)

Goals Grenville (35) Sheppard (38)

Assists Bes (61) Manning (61)

+/- Dube, Rivet (+39) Minard (+26)

Penalty Minutes Hiebert (275) Wildfong (272)

Power Play Goals Grenville (12) Sheppard (17)

Shorthanded Goals Kouba/Cullaton (4) Smith (5)

Game Winning Goals Grenville/Dube (6) 4 Players Tied (6)

Wins Lemanowicz/Grumet-Morris (18) Carroll (20)

Goals Against Average Grumet-Morris (2.03) Carroll (2.31)

Save Percentage Lemanowicz (.928) Cacciola (.926)

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Central Hockey League Stories from April 25, 2006


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.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central