Mudbugs Put the Eagles on Brink of Elinmation

From the Central Hockey League: www.centralhockeyleague.com

Travis Clayton and Shawn Limpright each finished with a goal and an assist as the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs defeated the Colorado Eagles 3-1 to take a 3-0 series lead in the Northern Conference Semifinals Tuesday at the Century Tel Center. The Mudbugs will now have a chance to sweep the series on Thursday night in Game 4 and advance to the Northern Conference Finals.

Ken Carroll stopped 24 of 25 shots as the Bugs shut out Colorado until the final minute of regulation of all Eagles five power plays along the way. Dave Pszenyczny also scored for the 3rd consecutive game to help the Bossier-Shreveport built its first 3-0 series lead since the 2001 post-season.

Both teams had a few near-misses in a back-and-fourth first period in which the Mudbugs held a 9-6 shot advantage. On a late Power-Play Opportunity, Jamie Milam's point shot was deflected on its way through and Limpright knocked in the loose puck on the doorstep to give the Mudbugs a 1-0 advantage with just 22 seconds left in the first period.

Early in the 2nd frame, Clayton redirected a long wrist shot by Chirs St. Croix, sending it past Colorado netminder Mike Mole to make it a 2-0 Mudbugs lead. Pszenyczny extended the lead to 3-0 at 11:38, joining a rush as he exited the penalty box and getting a pass from Clayton before beating Mole on the stick side. The Bugs also killed Three Eagles powerplays in the middle period to take a three-goal lead into the locker room.

Colorado out shot Bossier-Shreveport 8-2 in the third period, but couldn't find the back of the net until Riley Nelson scored with 57 seconds left to break up Carroll's shootout bid and provide the final 3-1 margin.

Carroll is now 30-21 in his playoff career after his second win of the series, while Mike Mole made 17 saves and took the loss in his first action of these playoffs. Bossier-Shreveport converted 1 of 5 power plays chances while being out-shot 25-20 for the game.

The series now continue Thursday night with Game 4 as the Mudbugs try to complete the four-game sweep and advance to the third round of the CHL playoffs. Opening faceoff is set at 7:05 PM presented by Willis-Knighton Sports Medicine.


Special Group Tickets packages and Mudbugs single game playoff tickets are on sale now. For more info., call the team office at 752-BUGS or visit www.mudbugshockey.com . Individual tickets to all Mudbugs Home Games are available at the Century Tel Center main box office, through Ticket Master at 318-741-9700 or online at www.ticketmaster.com


Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs Lead Series 3-0

Game Boxscore

0-1 BOS: Shawn Limpright (PP) (Kyrzakos, Milam) 19:37 1st

0-2 BOS: Travis Clayton (St. Croix, Limpright) 2:44 2nd

0-3 BOS: David Pszenyczny (Clayton, St. Croix) 11:38 2nd

1-3 COL: Riley Nelson (EA) (Tobler, Mcgrane) 19:03 3rd


Game Stats

SOG: COL 25 BOS 20

PP: COL 0/5 BOS 1/5

PIM: COL 14 Minutes on 7 Penalties BOS 12 Minutes on 6 Penalties

Goalies: COL Mike Mole 17 SVS on 20 Shots BOS Ken Carroll 24 SVS on 25 Shots

ATT: 2882

3rd Star: Shawn Limpright (BOS)

2nd Star: Ken Carroll (BOS)

1st Star: Travis Clayton (BOS)