Brian Foster stops Greg Hogeboom's shot early in the first period

Brahmas stymied by Bossier-Shreveport

Mudbugs take early lead, win 4-2

One can always expect an exciting contest when the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs (and their fans) come to town. Unfortunately, it was those very fans who benefited most from the excitement as the visitors took an early lead and held on to win the game, snapping a two-game losing streak at the end of a three-in-three weekend. With the win, the Mudbugs improve to 4-2-0 while the Brahmas fall to 1-2-1.

The game started poorly for the home team as Brett Smith scored on the Mudbugs’ first offensive rush of the game, burying a pass from Joe Blaznek past Wayne Savage just 27 seconds into the first frame to take a 1-0 lead.

Smith was called for Slashing at the 2:16 mark, giving the Brahmas' special teams their first power play of the game but they were unable to convert on the man-advantage.

Smith later got into his first fight of the season, taking on Dan Riedel after the newest Brahma violently checked him into the boards in front of the visiting bench at the 11:56 mark. The fight was a draw and Riedel was assessed two minutes for Board Checking as well as a Fighting Major. Smith drew a Fighting Major as well, coupled with a two-minute Fighting (Instigator) and a 10-minute Fighting (Instigator) Misconduct and an early trip to the visiting locker room..

An Elbowing call on Brahmas defenseman Kevin Kraus put the Mudbugs on their first power play of the evening and with 56 seconds left in the period, Travis Clayton directed a centering feed from Shawn Limpright past Savage to take a 2-0 lead. Steven Crampton also received an assist on the play.

The Brahmas narrowly led the shot count 9-8 after the first 20 minutes of play.

Brian Foster looks on helplessly as the puck flies past him.

Texas drew back within one at the 10:26 mark of the middle frame when Jason Deitsch stole a puck outside the Mudbug line and beat Brian Foster just inside the post to the glove side to make it a 2-1 contest.

Bossier-Shreveport answered just 11 seconds later with David Rutherford’s blast from the high slot beat Savage to regain the two-goal edge at 3-1. Justin Aikins and Jeff Martens were credited with the assist.

The second fight of the game took place less than a minute later when Martens squared off with the Brahmas' Tyler Allen after being held by the rookie forward. Both received Fighting Majors and Allen was also given two minutes for the Holding call.

There would be no further scoring in the period. The Brahmas led the shot count again, this time 9-6 and 18-14 through 40 minutes.

The Brahmas came out on the attack to start the final frame, out shooting the Mudbugs 13-4.

They closed the gap to one on Jesse Dudas’ unassisted goal which capped an end-to-end rush at the 15:15 mark.

Matt Pierce introduces his right fist to David Pszenyczny's head

There were two more altercations in the third period - Steven Later and Mitch Love locked horns at the 12:33 mark and then Matt Pierce took on David Pszenyczny at the 17:14 mark of play.

With Wayne Savage pulled in favor of the extra attacker late in the frame, the Brahmas made a solid effort to score again to force the game into overtime, but a loose puck picked up by an unopposed Shawn Limpright’s whose empty net score at the 19:57 mark sealed the win for the Mudbugs.

Brian Foster is now 1-0 in his pro career after returning from Rochester of the AHL to start for the Mudbugs in goal, while Wayne Savage drops to 1-1-1 after making 14 saves on 18 shots faced. Texas out shot Bossier-Shreveport 31-18 in the contest.

The Brahmas went a dismal 0 for 7 on the power play. The Mudbugs went 1 for 6. Texas was assessed 34 minutes on 11 infractions. Bossier-Shreveport received 46 minutes on 13 infractions.

The 3rd Star of the game went to Matt Pierce, who was a -1 with two shots and five penalty minutes. The 2nd Star was earned by Jesse Dudas, who had a goal and was a +2 on three shots. The 1st Star was awarded to the Mudbugs' David Rutherford, who scored the game-winning goal and was a +1 on four shots on the evening.

Referee: Geoff Miller; Linesmen: Jean Minard, Bill McGoldrick.

You can view the box score here and the Game Live broadcast here

You can read the Brahmas press release here

You can view my photos from the game here

The Brahmas will take to the road next weekend for a two-game series against the Arizona Sundogs on Friday and Saturday; both games have a 9:05 pm CST start time and can be seen on CHL TV.

Photo Credits: Robert Keith