Mudbugs Hockey Blog

The Rapid City Rush forced the Bossier Shreveport Mudbugs to a position they have not been thus far in the playoffs. The brink of elimination at 3 games to two in the Northern Conference Finals. The two teams will meet again for game 6 of the series back in South Dakota.

The Mudbugs hoped they were to be the team that breaks the pattern. Neither team has won two games in a row. Will the theme stay the same with a Mudbugs victory to stay in contention in game six?

A large part of game five for the Mudbugs was spent trying to penetrate Rapid City’s solid defensive scheme. The Rush shut down the passing lanes as well as the shooting lanes with precision. For the most part, whenever the Mudbugs did get any kind of forecheck going, the Rush where right there to outman and overpower the Mudbugs. They rarely got off a second shot. Let’s face it, the Rush played an almost flawless playoff game.

The Mudbugs came out in the first period and outshot the Rush 17-6. But as it turned out, the two teams traded goals in that period, so in essence nothing was gained. The Rush shut down the Mudbugs after that as they could only muster 16 more shots over the last two periods. Of the 16 shots maybe 3 of them were solid scoring chances.

Brendan Cook opened the scoring at 4:34 of the first for an early1-0  lead. The Mudbugs answered right back 1:09 later as Justin Aikins scored his 3rd of the playoffs from linemates David Rutherford and Tyrel Lucas.

After a scoreless second frame, Rapid City grabbed a 2-1 lead when Brendon Hodge’s go ahead goal and the eventual game winner at 4:06 of the 3rd period.  The Rush pushed their lead to 3-1 with a goal by Colt King at 13:03.

The Mudbugs pulled goalie Parker Van Buskirk in favor of an extra attacker in the final minutes of the game for a last desperate attempt to get on the board. Their attempt failed as the Rush stole the puck and headed down the ice on a two on nobody to seal the deal with their 4th of the night scored by Blaine Jarvis.

The loss was disappointing yes, but do consider the fact that they went up against a masterful and frustrating game plan in this game. The Mudbugs will have to win game six to take the series to a 7th and deciding game Tuesday night back in Rush territory. Gametime is at 7:35pm.

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