Mudbugs Hockey Blog

The Mudbugs rallied with a pair of goals in the 3rd period to even up the score at 3-3. Travis Clayton finished the job at 3:59 of the overtime period in heroic fashion. The win increased their home win streak to 5 games.  Goalie John DeCaro made his 2nd straight start finishing with 38 saves for his 14th win of the season.

The game was high tempo throughout, with the appearance of a playoff game.  With the score 3-1 Colorado to begin the 3rd,  it became imperative the Mudbugs score the next goal to have any chance of a win against one of the top teams in the league.

Bing-Bam-Boom, two goals and the score was tied, which led us to a thrilling overtime victory capsulated by an end to end rush by Travis Clayton.  Then POW! The roof came off of the place with sound that was pleasantly deafening. It was in my opinion the most exciting home game, if not the best, all season long.

Mudbugs defensemen Scott Kalinchuck opened the scoring with his 3rd of the season at 9:51 of the first, as he wristed a shot that found the short side past a surprised Mike Mole for the 1-0 lead. Mark Johnson and David Rutherford picked up the assists. That would be the only tally of the period. Shots on goal after 20 minutes favored the Eagles by an 11-9 margin.

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The Bossier Shreveport Mudbugs scored 4 unanswered goals, which included a penalty shot marker on their way to their 4th straight win on home ice.  Four players finished with multiple points, three on the Mudbugs side and one on the Killer Bees side of the stat sheet.

If you came to game looking for great goaltending, then you came to the wrong game.  Neither Mudbugs John DeCaro or Killer Bee Andy Franck were at their best. However, after a rough start, DeCaro finished strong enough to earn his 13th win of the season.

But, if you came to the game looking for offense,  you were greeted with 6-goal horns and 3- oh! @&^%$’s. It was a tight, fast paced game for both clubs, that had it’s moment of drama as the teams went back and forth matching each others success on the scoresheet.

All that would end as the turning point in the game came at 19:51 of the period when Shawn Limpright was brought down on the breakaway. The referee pointed to center ice, and we had ourselves one of the most exciting aspects of the game to witness, a penalty shot. Click here for video of the goal.

Limpright grabbed the puck at center ice, skated in on Killer Bee netminder Andy Franck and fired the lightning wrister into the netting as the crowd went wild.  It was a thing of beauty, and just the boost the Bugs and their fans needed.

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The Mudbugs began their 5 game homestand off on the right skate (foot).  Joe Blaznek started off a three goal 2nd period outburst that proved to be too much for the Texas Brahmas to overcome.

David Rutherford extended his point scoring streak to 5 games, with the game winner. While netminder John DeCaro finished with 28 saves, earning his 12th win of the season. Neither team had any success with the man-advantage, partly because there was only 8 minor infractions whistled between the clubs.  It was an unusually quiet night for such arch rivals.

Texas was first to crack open the scoring with Jason Deitsch forcing a turnover at the Mudbugs blueline and fired home his 7th of the season at 4:05 of the opening period. The two teams traded scoring chances throughout the rest of the frame, but the goaltending stood tall at both ends of the pond. The Brahmas held the edge in shots 17-10 in that period.

The Mudbugs came out in the 2nd and quickly took control of the game by scoring three straight on their way to a 3-1 lead.  Joe Blaznek started things off with his 1st shorthanded goal of the campaign, and 14th overall at 2:14 of the period after he swiped the puck, then headed downtown on a breakaway firing home the gametying goal.  Travis Clayton and Shawn Limpright picked the assists.

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The Bossier Shreveport Mudbugs remain winless in three tries against the Allen Americans so far this season.  Forward Justin Bowers assisted on all five Allen goals, while goalie Chris Whitley stopped 33 of 34 shots.

David Rutherford was the lone Mudbug scorer early in the contest with his 4th goal of the season and 6th point in his last 4 games.  The helpers went to Clay Plume and Scott Kalinchuk at 6:37 of the opening period.

The Americans Jordie Benn tied the contest at 9:31,  just :02 after Mudbugs Simon Mangos stepped out of the box to join the play. Although technically not a powerplay goal,  it played out that way just the same.

The Americans took the 2-1 lead with just under eight minutes to play in the period on a goal by Bruce Graham. The period would end with Allen outshooting Bossier Shreveport 12-8.

The Americans then increased the score to 3-1 at 14:50 of the 2nd period by Christian Gaudet. Then while on the powerplay, the Americans went up by a 4-1 score on a goal by Nino Musitelli with less than five minutes left to play in the period. Shots on goal in that period favored the Mudbugs 21-8, and 29-20 over 40 minutes.

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Mudbugs forward Tyrel Lucas scored both Mudbugs goals, and John DeCaro stopped 30 of 31 shots as the Mudbugs earned their 20th win of the season.  Wichita fell short for the 22nd straight time this season. Ouch!

Tyrel Lucas is the hot crawfish lately, scoring two goals in Wednesday’s 7-0 win over Rio Grande Valley, and then another pair tonight.  He now has 4g, 2a for 6pts. in his last 3 games played.

The game was slow and uneventful, almost boring.  Was it because Mudbug fans were still buzzing about the seven goals they celebrated the night before?

It can be typical for teams to come off of a high emotional win one night and be flat as a pancake the next.  But as the old saying goes, good teams can usually find a way to win, and bad usually find ways to lose. The Mudbugs found a way tonight.  The Thunder did not.

Tyrel Lucas (2g) opened the scoring at 4:30 of the 1st when he forced a turnover and then slid the puck through the five hole for his 10th of the season.  The 1-0 lead held up until the 12:04 mark of the period. That’s when Thunder forward Brandon Kaleniecki slid a backhander past Mudbugs goalie John DeCaro, tying the score at one apiece heading into the first intermission. Shots on goal favored the Thunder 11-7 in that period.

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Eight different players picked up multiple points, while All-Star netminder Ken Carroll stopped all 32 shots he faced to earn his 32nd career shutout.  The Bossier Shreveport Mudbugs earned their 19th win and 42nd point to jump to 4pts. ahead of idle Mississippi in the Northern Conference standings.

The Mudbugs came into this game sitting in the bottom of the league on the PK. They were stellar on this night killing off all five PP opportunities by the Killer Bees, including a 1:42  five on three disadvantage. One of the many rewards on the night is they no longer own that unambiguous distinction of cellar dweller in the league in PK percentage.  The Bugs were 1-3 on the powerplay.

Great things began early in this lopsided affair as the Mudbugs scored first, last, and everywhere in between. Joe Ori (1g, 1a) netted the first goal of the contest completing a nifty passing play from linemates Joe Blaznek (2a) and Brett Smith (1g, 2a), just :21 past the drop of the puck. The goal was Ori’s 5th of the season.

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The Mudbugs have played more than half of this season’s schedule, 35 games to be exact. Are they any better as a team now than they were at the start the season?  Depends on what your expectations were from the start.

Despite all the turmoil and turnover this team has gone through since beginning their 13th season, I would venture to guess they may be at the same point they would have been despite the adversities. The Mudbugs have been a mediocre team after 35 games, with 29 games left to change that fact.

Let’s take a look back at some numbers on a month to month basis, beginning with October.

1. Out of the 6 games played,  3 wins came on the road, while the 3 losses came at home.  They would lose and then win, lose and then win, lose and then win.
2. Four out the six games were decided by one goal, with one technically being defeated by a two goal margin. However, the last goal was an empty netter in the final minute. Then there was the 6-1 drubbing on opening night by the Laredo Bucks.

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Despite a trio of Mudbugs finishing with multiple points, it wasn’t enough as the Colorado Eagles took every advantage of another slow start by the Mudbugs.

Eagles Ed McGrane setup two 2nd period goals, that held up for their 22nd win on the season. The Mudbugs dropped their 5th road game and 13th overall on the season.

Shawn Limpright (1g, 1a), Joe Blaznek (2a), and Brett Smith (2a) all finished with multiple point nights. Joe Ori and Travis Clayton tallied the other Mudbugs scores.

Starting slow in games has been an occurring  problem for the Mudbugs for quite some time.  How many games can they start picking things up over the 2nd half of a game before it will seriously bite them in the butt? Continue Reading »

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Since this is, and I quote “the ALL STAR Break”, I thought I would go over some things as to why it takes place, and why it should be scrapped.

First – the game itself was created to give fans a peek at what it would look like to see the best of the best on the ice all at one time. Second – it created a way for players to be recognized by their peers and their fans. To being chosen is of great importance to any hockey player as a measuring stick.

However, the format as to which players are chosen is flawed. The accolades of being chosen to be on the list and be considered an all star player in the CHL should remain and the game itself should be scrapped. Continue Reading »

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