NewsBreak Original

It’s an adage by coaches that you hear all the time about persevering through it all to get to the goal. You’ve got to claw and scratch whatever to achieve what you want. If you want it bad enough you’ll push through the pain. Injuries come in all kinds through sports. With injuries, patience brings a double impact to perseverance. Watching on the sidelines may allow you time to heal and get better but a mind trick occurs by watching opportunities pass you by and others take your slot. Being an athlete does not just take a physical toll on the body but can cause mental exhaustion. How bad do you want it and at what point is the breaking point the focus?

The Oklahoma Warriors continued to be a thorn in the Shreveport Mudbugs.  Not only did they break the six-game winning streak, but now have a 5-1 record against the Mudbugs for the season.   The sweep by the Warriors stopped an opportunity for Shreveport to move within one point of second place but dropped them down to fourth place now.   The Mudbugs’ offense produced seven goals for the weekend.  The problem was the defense gave up 11 goals over the weekend.  The Mudbugs now have to get past last weekend and look forward to a series that is amped up with Odessa.  Shreveport will be facing a team in sixth place that is trying to save their season for a playoff spot and has been 6-4 in their last ten games.  “We didn’t take care of business this weekend,” said Coach Jason “Soupy” Campbell.  “Even if we would have won both games this weekend, both games would have been big, but at least we would have had a little bit of a cushion.  We didn’t do it so now we have a little more pressure on us. We don’t want to just focus on the win because then we are going to be focusing on the wrong things to get there.  It’s a big weekend for us.  We’re hanging on to that fourth spot and these guys are chasing us.  We’ve got to have a good week of practice so we can execute well this weekend and hopefully we put ourselves in a good position to prepare for the first-place team in the division.”

The Shreveport Mudbugs are currently the hottest team in the NAHL. The Mudbugs have won six consecutive and 11 out of the last twelve. They currently hold the longest winning streak in the NAHL. How have they done it? How about 23 goals over the last four games. That’s an average of 5.75 goals per game. Shreveport has moved into third place and is threatening to close into second place where this coming weekend’s opponent the Oklahoma Warriors currently reside. The Warriors have a five-point lead on the Mudbugs in the South Division. A two-game sweep of the Warriors and Shreveport will be one point away from second place.

The Mudbugs ended the 2022 year with fireworks by exploding 12 goals against the Corpus Christi Ice Rays. This made Shreveport winners of the last 9 of 10 and moving into third place and within 5 points of second place. The boys will now get an eight-game homestand starting next weekend.

Our beloved Mudbugs are getting to spend the holidays with their families in a much-deserved Christmas break. Shreveport swept the Corpus Christi Ice Rays last weekend and moved into a tie for third place with the New Mexico Ice Wolves. The boys have one more road trip next weekend to finish out 2022 as they will make the return trip to Corpus Christi. Shreveport will then get to have a four-week homestand in January. Since there is no hockey this season, check out these 12 (really 13) days of Mudbugs Christmas.

The Mudbugs had their first home stand in 41 days. The local boys are in fear of melting the ice as they have been hot winning 5 of the last 6. They have now moved up in the standing to fourth place at 26 points. The 7 goals scored over the weekend are the most for a home series this season.

The first week of the four consecutive weeks on the road was not kind. Shreveport suffered their first shut out since the NAHL Showcase. Saturday saw a three-goal lead slip away to a loss in overtime and a resulting sweep by the Warriors.

The Mudbugs better get used to Willie Nelson because they will “On The Road Again” for the next four series. The boys had one last homestand before the annual extended road trip and split with the New Mexico Ice Wolves. Local history was made this past weekend as the first goal was scored by a second-generation Mudbug. Kason Muscutt netted his first goal in the NAHL on Saturday night. His dad is a local Mudbug legend and current Mudbugs General Manager Scott “Musky” Muscutt.

The zero in the loss column proved it was not intimidating to the Shreveport Mudbugs as they swept the Amarillo Wranglers on the road. For the fourth consecutive weekend, the Mudbugs put points toward the standings. The four points pushed the Mudbugs into fourth place with 12 points.

The Shreveport Mudbugs had a third consecutive weekend where they came away with points in the standings. Those two points were paid with a physical weekend with tensions high on both nights. Unsportsmanlike conducts were called more times than tripping, high sticking, boarding, or hooking over the series. The Mudbugs currently remain in sixth place.

The Shreveport Mudbugs have been close to getting a number added in that win column at home. It was apparent this weekend as they fell in over time on Friday to the Oklahoma Warriors have but turned things around Saturday weekend with their first home win had helped them in the standings as they grabbed 3 out of a possible 4 points. They moved to sixth place in the South Division.

The Amarillo Wranglers spoiled the home opener with a 4-1 win over the Mudbugs at George’s Pond. Amarillo started early with a goal in the first five minutes by Chase Davis. Shreveport received a power play but the Wranglers survived. Shreveport gave two late first-period power plays but didn’t give any other goals in the first period. Amarillo took a 1-0 lead after the first period. Amarillo outshot Shreveport 6-5.

The Shreveport Mudbugs made their annual beginning of the season showcase in Blaine, MN. Having to fill multiple spots on the roster, the Mudbugs finished the week 1-3 and tied for 7th in the South. The South Division proved to dominate again posting a 20-11-0-1 record overall in the showcase.

The Shreveport Mudbugs are getting ready for the next season and the current roster of players has been actively trying to secure their future. The NAHL Draft occurred on June 15. Shreveport’s first pick with the 19th pick selected Ryan Burke. Burke is from London, Ontario, and played with Navan in the CCHL where he scored 27 goals and had 37 assists.