Saturday, March 31, 2007

3/31 MUDBUGS VS. WICHITA GAME 2

BUGS WIN IN 2ND OVERTIME
Jason Williamson pitched a shot from Ryan Fairbarn 5:42 into the second overtime to give the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs a 2-1 victory in Game 2 of the Central Hockey League Playoffs. He was also assisted by Cam Abbott. Rookie John DeCaro was brilliant in net stopping 55 of 56 shots between the pipes. Wichita's Jon Harrell was the hard luck loser allowing just two of 38 past him. The victory evens the series at 1-1 in the best of seven series. Games 3,4 and 5 will be played in Wichita beginning Wednesday.

FIRST OVERTIME
Thanks to the four minute power play against the Mudbugs, Wichita outshot the Bossier-Shreveport 14-12 in the first overtime. There was plenty of pushing and shoving but no major fights broke out. John DeCaro and Jon Horrell continued to play exceptional in net as the score remained 1-1.

OVERTIME PENALTY
Joe Ori was whistled for high sticking and drew a 4:00 minute penalty at 8:22 into the overtime. Wichita's Troy Barnes was the recipient of the stick to the mouth. John DeCaro was brilliant in net against the power play, allowing nothing past him.

FANS GET THEIR MONEY'S WORTH
The 4,669 fans in attendance got their money's worth with an extra period. The two teams skated to a 1-1 tie in regulation after going scoreless in the final two periods. Bossier-Shreveport outshot Wichita 34-22, including 11-3 in the third period.

BUGS STEP IT UP
Intensity got a little higher from both teams in the second period. There were several minor skirmishes that didn't draw penalties. However, the Mudbugs outshot Wichita 15-3 and have outshot the Thunder 24-18 through two periods with the score remaining 1-1.

FIRST ROUND MULLIGAN
Both Laredo and Bossier-Shreveport will both advance to the second round of the CHL playoffs whether they win or lose their round series. It's a new CHL rule this year that was passed unanimously by the owners to generate more revenue. It may keep the top seeds around for one more round, but it's a joke. Even Mudbugs fans think it's a bad idea, according to a Times online poll. Apparently, the team that HAS to win has more incentive. Wichita upset the Mudbugs while Rio Grande Valley knocked off Laredo last night even though the winners were No. 6 seeds.

HOOLA HOOP QUEEN
Audrey Bergeron, daughter of pilates instructor Catherine Bergeron, got more than the usual applause during the first intermission. Audrey, a first grader at St. Joseph's Elementary, delighted the crowd with at least five minutes of hoola-hooping. She was accompanied by drummer Greg Clifford, a sixth grader.

CROWD BACK IN THE GAME
Bossier-Shreveport's crowd, mostly silent Friday night, came to life first period tonight--especially when Joe Ori beat Wichita's Jon Horrell to his glove side. Karlis Zirnis and Daniel Pegoraro dug the puck out of the corner and slid the pass to Ori just in front of the crease. That evened the score at 1-1 17:49 into the first period.

WICHITA STRIKES FIRST AGAIN
Darren McMillan provided the quick lightning strike for the Thunder 6:21 into the first period on a rebound power play goal. The Mudbugs got the game's first three penalties whistled against them--including two by Brian Sutherland.

PESKY PINCH HITS AGAIN
I hope it isn't bad luck for the home team, but for the second straight night Pesky Hill will be doing Roy Lang's Mudbugs game blog. Roy will be handling color commentary on 710 KEEL Radio along with play-by-play voice Justin Scholtes.

DECARO IN NET
Rookie sensation John DeCaro, All-CHL and Goaltender of the Year, is between the pipes tonight for Bossier-Shreveport. The 6-3, 210-pounder gets the nod over veteran Kenny Carroll, who had a tough game in the 5-1 loss on Friday night.

Friday, March 30, 2007

3/30 Game 1 BUGS VS. WICHITA

HORRELL IS SPECTACULAR
Wichita netminder John Horrell stopped 36 of 37 shots to help the Thunder manhandle the Mudbugs 5-1 Friday night at the Centurytel Center. The night didn't start well and it never got any better. Maybe tomorrow night?


TURN OUT THE LIGHTS
Wichita finally put the nail in the coffin on the Mudbugs early in the third period when Travis Clayton jumped the puck at mid ice. Clayton beat sprawled Carroll on a short-handed breakaway goal for a commanding 5-1 lead 2:07 into the third.

WICHITA CONTINUES TO SIZZLE
The Thunder continues to get the breaks and bounces in the 2nd period. Daniel Tetrault deflected the puck past Carroll at 17:10 for a 4-1 Wichita cushion.

OFF THE SNIDE
Bossier-Shreveport finally got off the snide with some great teamwork on the power play. Karlis Zirnis controlled the puck behind the Wichita net before feeding it to Ryan Fairbarn sneaking down the middle. Fairbarn slid the puck past goalminder John Horrell at 6:22 of the second period as the 'Bugs closed the gap to 3-1.

CARROLL HAS ROUGH START
The 2006 Goaltender of the Year in the CHL had a first period he'd like to forget. Ken Carroll, who has a 2.04 goals against average and stops .939 percent of the shots against him, allowed 3 of 12 shots past him in the first 20 minutes. As the horn sounded to end the period, Carroll heaved his stick against the glass in frustration.

LUCKY BREAK FOR WICHITA
Wichita capitalized quickly for a 3-0 lead at 12:55 of the first period when Brian Sutherland deflected Troy Barnes' shot above the glove of Carroll. It appeared Carroll was waiting to stop the shot before the Sutherland changed the direction of the puck into the net.

WICHITA STRIKES AGAIN
The Thunder obviously didn't get stiff-legged on the bus ride from Wichita, KS. Tyler Hanchuck beat Carroll at 9:48 of the first period on the glove side for a 2-0 advantage.

PESKY IN FOR ROY
I'm Pesky Hill pinch-hitting for Roy Lang on the Mudbugs Game Night Blog tonight. Roy's busy doing color commentary on radio with play-by-play man Justin Scholtes on KEEL 710 AM.

THUNDER STRIKES FIRST
It didn't take long for Wichita to score. Travis Clay cracked one past Ken Carroll's right side on the power play just 55 seconds into the game for a 1-0 lead.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

3/13 BUGS VS. LAREDO

2-0 BUGS AFTER ONE PERIOD
The Mudbugs stuck early, and it was the identical twins that lit the spark once again. Chris Abbott knocked in a rebound from a Cam Abbott shot to beat Eric Marvin and give Bossier-Shreveport a lead 2:16 into the contest.
DeCaro made several key saves before the Mudbugs tallied again exactly 10 minutes later. Forbes MacPherson deflected a shot from the blue line by defenseman Jeremy Downs and the Mudbugs were up 2-0.
DeCaro got the start over Ken Carroll on Tuesday and was stellar from the get-go. He welcomed James Hiebert back to the Bucks by stoning him on a 2-on-1 early in the first period.

WILDFONG TAKES EXPECTED TRIP TO IR; FORBIE RETURNS
Dan Wildfong has earned two weeks off in order to make sure he's 100 percent come playoffs. Former Mudbugs captain Forbes MacPherson was activated off the IR to replace the current captain.

HIEBERT RETURNS TO BUCKS; DECARO STARTS FOR BUGS
James Hiebert is back with Laredo. Talk about your 11th-hour signee. This dude was signed just in time to be eligible for the playoffs. Actually, he was "assigned" by Manchester of the Amercian Hockey League. Umm, yeah right.
That's an interesting way to get around clearing waivers for Laredo.

John DeCaro will start in net for the Mudbugs. It's a bit surprising to me. Maybe Mudbugs head coach Scott Muscutt wants to see how DeCaro reacts to high-pressure situations. This is a good test.


Saturday, March 10, 2007

3/10 BUGS VS. OKLAHOMA CITY

WILDFONG GIVES MUDBUGS 2-1 OT WIN!
http://shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070310/SPORTS0303/70310015/1001/SPORTS

WELL CRUICKY, YA CAN'T BE PERFECT
I happened to be watching Steve Cruickshank when Jason Williamson took a run at an Oklahoma City player behind his back early in the third period. There is absolutely no way he could have called a penalty. I have no clue whether Williamson deserved a penalty, because, like Cruicky, I wasn't watching Williamson.

ABBOTTS DO IT AGAIN!!
It took more than 40 minutes to solve Sean Connors, but the Abbott brothers took care of that early in the third period.
Jeremy Downs a great pass to Chris Abbott, who moved in on Connors 2-on-1 with brother, Cam. Cam took the pass in the slot and poked it past Connors with a backhand 1:10 in to the third period.

STILL SCORELESS
The second period showcased more of the same stellar goaltending.
Connors faced another 15 shots and made an amazing kick save on a short-handed slap shot from Joe Ori midway through the period. He finished the frame with a pad save on a Chris Gustafson slapper to keep the game scoreless.
After two periods, the Mudbugs were outshooting Oklahoma City 31-14.
Note: Mudbugs defenseman Quade Ligthbody went down against the boards in the first period. He was standing on the Mudbugs’ bench, but never returned to the game.

GREAT NON-CALL BY CRUICKY
Chris Abbott zipped into the Blazers' zone midway through the second period, but his mind proved too much for his body. His final move around an Oklahoma City defender left him leaping in the air and falling to the ice. The crowd went berzerk, wanting a penalty, but folks, Abbott was never touched. Great non-call by Steve Cruickshank.

ZIP-ZIP AFTER 1
Both goaltenders were spectacular from the opening faceoff.
Connors made five saves in one early Mudbugs power play (10 in the first period) while Carroll stopped several Blazers chances from point-blank range.
The Mudbugs carried most of the scoring opportunities in the first period (16 shots to eight).
Referee Steve Cruickshank made his first visit to CTC in quite some time. He is scheduled to call Tuesday’s game against the Laredo Bucks.

CRUICKY IN TOWN
Oh yeah, Steve Cruickshank is in the house. I guarantee a nominal amount of penalties tonight.

CARROLL VS. CONNORS ... BRAND OUT; CAM ABBOTT, GUSTAFSON IN
Ken Carroll is in net for the Mudbugs while Sean Connors sits between the pipes for Oklahoma City. If the playoffs started today, the Mudbugs and Blazers would be first-round opponents.
Good to see Cam Abbott out there in the pregame skate. He took 13 stitches in the chin after being hit with a slap shot midway through Friday's third period.
The news is not as good for defenseman Konrad Brand, who suffered an apparent knee injury when he crashed into the boards last night.
Chris Gustafson us active for tonight's game.

Friday, March 09, 2007

3/9 BUGS VS. YOUNGSTOWN (W 3-1)

BUGS WIN 3-1
http://shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070310/SPORTS0303/703100372/1001/SPORTS

3-ZIP
Karlis Zirnis knocks in yet another rebound to make it 3-0 early in the second period.

MUDBUGS UP 2 AFTER ONE.
The Mudbugs took a 2-0 lead late in the third period when Bossier-Shreveport’s incredible twins struck again, showing the unbelievable awareness that has endeared them to the home fans. Cam Abbott sent a no-look pass behind the goal line to Chris Abbott in the slot. A one-timer gave Roberts no chance.
Roberts played well early despite the two-goal deficit, but DeCaro was on top of his game early. Youngstown failed on three power-play opportunities in the first period. DeCaro did his part in the first 20 minutes with 14 saves.

BUGS SCORE 19 SECONDS IN
Basile contributes immediately; putting a shot on Youngstown's goaltender and watching Cam Abbott knock in the rebound. The goal gives the Mudbugs a 1-0 lead 19 seconds into the game.
Hard to imagine a better beginning.

BASILE BACK IN
Defenseman Jason Basile is back of "IR" and in the starting lineup tonight.
He still must sit in a couple of games in order not to be considered a veteran next year. Defenseman Chris Gustafson was put on emergency leave.

DECARO VS. ROBERTS TONIGHT
John DeCaro will be in net for the Mudbugs while Brad Roberts will have that duty for the SteelHounds.
Youngstown, winners of eight straight, enters tonight as the hottest team in the Central Hockey League. Their last regulation loss came at the hands of the Mudbugs a month ago.

Friday, March 02, 2007

3/2 BUGS VS. TULSA (W, 8-0)

Hed: Statement made
Lede: Mudbugs win 8-0 against Tulsa
By Roy Lang III
rflang@gannett.com
Not often are over-hyped events as good as advertised, but Friday at CenturyTel Center, the outcome was infinitely better than anyone thought it could be.
The Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs sent a loud, clear, ringing statement to the Tulsa Oilers and the entire Central Hockey League with an incredible, physical and dominating 8-0 victory.
“I felt like we had a bell to answer,” Muscutt said. “We answered it.
Leading up to Friday’s game, the Mudbugs – to a man -- vowed revenge for Tuesday’s loss at Tulsa. The ways in which Bossier-Shreveport redeemed itself on Friday were infinite.
N The Mudbugs (34-13-6) officially clinched a playoff berth.
N Thanks to Memphis’ loss at Youngstown on Friday, the Mudbugs took sole possession of first place in the Northeast Division for the first time this season.
N Rookie goaltender John DeCaro collected his first career shutout with 23 saves.
N Rookie Cam Abbott tallied a hat trick and two assists and fell short of the franchise record for points in a game by one.
N Defenseman Ryan Fairbarn collected a hat trick, too.
N The more than 6,000 fans were treated to free beverages at Sonic thanks to the scoring barrage.
N The Mudbugs tallied six power-play goals on a staggering 21 chances. Bossier-Shreveport amassed 32 shots on goal – on the power play alone.
N In an extremely rare event, Chris Brassard, a Mudbugs veteran forward, took Tulsa goaltender Bill Ruggiero up on his invitation to fight early in the third period. Brassard delivered a straight left to Ruggiero’s jaw during the skirmish.
N Tulsa head coach Butch Kaebel finally put a white towel over his head and waved it in the direction of referee Tom Sterns with 3:37 left in the game. He also collected a gold medal in the water bottle toss, sending the blue containers across the ice.
“We’re embarrassed by the performance,” Tulsa coach Butch Kaebel said. “But our hockey team has no choice but to have its heads up. It’s not November. We have to move forward.
“I don’t understand the refereeing tonight. We say we’re going to have CHL rules and then we call American Hockey League rules of NHL rules. It’s not easy for the guys, there are grey areas at this level.”Hmmm ... what do you think the message is?
Mudbugs head coach has put All-Star defenseman Jason Basile on the IR AND Forbes MacPherson in order to have 6-foot-3, 275-pound defenseman Konrad Brand available this weekend.
Come to your own conclusions.