The Lone Star Brahmas made sure that the Shreveport Mudbugs earned every ounce of the 4 points they gained in the standings over the past weekend. Both games had the Mudbugs had to come back and tie and finish out in a shootout. Couldn’t have written a better western. The Mudbugs now have a game over Odessa in the fourth spot and three points off from third place Wichita Falls. The Mudbugs have 11 games remaining in the regular season.
Mudbugs 3, Lone Star 2 (SO), Friday
Lone Star put the pressure early on the Mudbugs. Davis Goukler was sent to the penalty box on a slashing call but the Mudbugs survived the power play. Lone Star scored first about midway through the first period on a Matt McQuade goal. Lone Star took a 1-0 lead into the second period. Lone Star blasted Shreveport 14-5 shots
Goukler made a second trip to the box on a kneeing charge this time. Shreveport held off the one-man advantage once again. Just 13 seconds back at full strength, Lone Star dug a 2-0 hole for the Mudbugs from Arthur Turansky. Turansky would take his turn in the penalty box but the Mudbugs couldn’t score on the power play. Likewise, Mudbugs held on to the man advantage when Evan Mitchell headed to the sin bin for charging. Tempers eventually flared at the end of the second period with Mudbug Logan Heroux and Brahma Ben Zimmerman coming to blows. Garrett Steele got in the action and received a misconduct for removing the opponent’s helmet. Mudbugs headed into the second intermission down 2-0. The Brahmas outshot the Mudbugs again 10-4.
Halfway through the final period, Mudbugs got a power play with a cross-checking penalty by Bauer Swift. A minute into the power play, Connor Gatto scored with assists from Burke Simpson and Logan Valkama. Fresh back to full strength the Brahmas were sent back to the penalty box with hooking by Matt Quade. The Brahmas maintained their 2-1 lead. Looking grim for the Mudbugs a last effort with 16 seconds remaining, Burke Simpson and Timofei Khokhlachev assisted Austin Brimmer to send the game to overtime at 2-2.
In overtime, Shreveport outshot Lone Star 2-1 but no goals to head to the shootout.
Brahma Logan Tobias scored the first goal. Austin Brimmer saved the Mudbugs and allowed the shootout to continue. In the sixth round, Arthur Turansky scored for the Brahmas. Jack Mack matched for the Mudbugs to continue. Gunner Moore in the ninth round sealed the comeback win for the Mudbugs.
Mudbugs 3, Lone Star 2 (SO), Saturday
Mudbugs gave the first opportunity for a power play when Evan Mitchell went to the box for slashing. Shreveport held off the Brahmas from scoring. Shreveport’s turn came next when Artur Turansky was called for checking from behind. Nicholas Niemo broke away and scored the shorthanded goal for the Brahmas. Brahmas struck quickly when Turansky netted a goal and as Yogi Berra would say “It was deja vu all over again.”. Lone Star had taken the 2-0 lead after the first period although Shreveport slightly outshot 6-5.
Shreveport regrouped at intermission and battled back. Six minutes into the second period Jake Mack found the back of the net. Jacob Onstott and Logan Valkama were credited with the assist. With a little less than three minutes left, Aidan Torres received a 10-minute misconduct on checking from behind. Mack took advantage and netted his second goal with help from Evan Mitchell and Logan Valkama. Shreveport had once again comeback and tied the Brahmas.
The defense held the game scoreless in the third period. The Brahmas received a power-play opportunity when Khokhlachev was called for hooking. The Mudbugs held back the one-man advantage and maintained the 2-2 tie to go to overtime.
Overtime in the NAHL is played with 3 on 3 skating for 5 minutes. The Mudbugs put the fans on edge as Khokhlachev went to the penalty box on a hooking call with 2:21 left in the overtime. The Mudbugs had to fight off a 4 on 3 situation until 21 seconds left in overtime. The Mudbugs survived and pushed the game to a shootout for the second consecutive night.
Johan Rosenquist scored the first shootout goal for the Brahmas to take the early lead. Devon Bobak stopped the Logan Tobias shot to keep the shootout at 1-0. Logan Valkama evened the shootout at 1-1. Bobak stopped McQuade’s shot. Austin Brimmer won the shootout for the Mudbugs
Shreveport has only 11 games remaining for the regular season and the playoff path goes through Albuquerque one more time. The Mudbugs will have to travel 14 hours to face the South Division leading New Mexico Ice Wolves. Meanwhile down in Odessa, a weekend series between Wichita Falls Warriors and Odessa Jackalopes could have serious implications on the Mudbugs playoff spot. If the Mudbugs win both games against New Mexico and Odessa wins both games, Shreveport could move into third place. If Mudbugs lose both games and Odessa wins both games, Shreveport could be on the outside looking in at fifth place. A lot is on the line with the road trip to New Mexico. We could be in for a long fight for the playoffs.
First Line
| Player | Position | Stats |
| Evan Mitchell | D | 1 A, 1 SH, -1 |
| John Hallard | D | 2 SH 0 +/- |
| Austin Brimmer | F | 1 G 7 SH 2 SOG 0 +/- |
| Jake Mack | F | 2 G 3 SH SOG 0 +/- |
| Devon Bobak | G | 2 wins, 51 saves |
Second Team
| Player | Position | Stats |
| Gunner Moore | D | 3 SH SOG 0 +/- |
| Trenten Heyde | D | 2 SH 0 +/- |
| Logan Valkama | F | 3 A, 4 SH, 0 +/- |
| Connor Gatto | F | 1 G 5 SH -1 |
South Division Standings
| W-L-OTL-SOL | PTS | |
| New Mexico | 34-13-1-2 | 71 |
| Lone Star | 29-11-5-5 | 68 |
| Wichita Falls | 26-15-5-3 | 60 |
| Shreveport | 26-18-1-4 | 57 |
| Odessa | 25-20-1-4 | 55 |
| Amarillo | 24-23-1-2 | 51 |
| Corpus Christi | 23-25-2-0 | 48 |
| El Paso | 13-33-2-2 | 30 |
This post may contain affiliate links which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through links. I will only recommend products that I have personally used! Learn more on my Private Policy page.