The Shreveport Mudbugs looked to be going down that dangerous path they were on earlier in the season where the goals were scarce and the losses piled up. They showed last weekend was only a detour on their final homestand of the past month as they swept Corpus Christi. The goals were abundant for the Mudbugs as they scored nine for the weekend, the most they’ve scored in a weekend series this year. The sweep pushed them past Corpus Christi in the standings to sixth place and within eight points of a playoff spot. Lukas Sedlacek and Burke Simpson saw two goals each for the weekend. Austin Brimmer also pocketed five points with a goal and four assists.
Mudbugs 5, Ice Rays 1 (Friday)
If there was any doubt about the offense struggles for the Mudbugs, they were eased in the first 1:36 of Friday’s game. Jonah Copre opened the scoring with an assist from Logan Gotinsky. The first power-play came for the Mudbugs came when Juraj Elias got a double minor for high sticking. Corpus Christi survived the 4-minute power play. The fisticuffs came halfway through the first period as Niklas Miller and Cole Helm came to blows. Both were given a major 10-minute penalty. Corpus Christi kept coming with the major penalties as Dominic Folgia received a gross misconduct for slashing. Folgia was sent to the locker room for the remainder of the first period. The Ice Rays survived the long power play, but not long afterward. Lukas Sedlack scored with the help of Evan Mitchell. Less than a minute later, Austin Brimmer struck with an assist from Drake Morse. Shreveport took a 3-0 lead after the first period. Shreveport’s defense held Corpus Christi to only 3 shots. The Mudbugs outshot 16-3.
Halfway through the second period, the Ice Rays received their first power play with Austin Brimmer’s head contact penalty. Shreveport held strong defensively. The Ice Rays slipped their first goal just about 30 seconds after the power play. Shreveport countered a little under two minutes later when Sedlacek scored another goal with an assist from Connor Gatto. The third time at a power play was a charge for the Mudbugs. Kevin O’Keefe was sent to the penalty box on a head contact charge. Gunner Moore netted the power-play goal with less than two minutes remaining in the second period. Burke Simpson was given the assist. Mudbugs would send the Ice Rays into the third period with a one-man advantage on a Logan Gotinsky interference call. . The Mudbugs extended their lead to 5-1 by the end of the second period. Shreveport outshot again 14-9.
The Shreveport defense held the score in the third period to take the 5-1 win.
Mudbugs 4, Ice Rays 0 (Saturday)
The Mudbugs fired back on Saturday night with another offense successful performance.
After a quiet scoreless first period with a power-play for Corpus Christi from a Jake Mack high sticking call, the Mudbugs lit the lamp three times in the second period. Each team received a power play at the beginning of the second but still no goals. Ice Ray Charlie Killian went to the sin bin on a boarding call. With 13 seconds left in the power play, Mudbug John Hallard scored the first goal of the game. Austin Brimmer and Lukas Sedlacek were given assists. Full strength didn’t help Corpus Christi as Burke Simpson scored just 31 seconds later. Brimmer was given the assist. Shreveport had built a 2-0 lead within a minute. Simpson struck once again with about five minutes remaining in the second period. Brimmer picked up his third point in the period with another assist. John Hallard also was credited with the assist. Niklas Miller was once again at the center of Ice Ray’s aggression. Braden Rourke was also given a roughing penalty. Just a few seconds later Shreveport was in the power play behind Nathan Butler’s penalty. Shreveport had taken a 3-0 lead heading into the final period.
Shreveport gave the first power play of the third period with a tripping penalty from Timofeo Khokhlachev. The Mudbugs maintained the clean sheet. The one-man advantage was short-lived as Corpus Christi sent Cameron Crolley to the penalty box on a cross-checking call about halfway through the power play. Both teams went to full strength with no goal scored. Cole Helm gave the Mudbugs another power play with another cross-checking call. This time the Mudbugs added the insurance goal from Connor Gatto. Gunner Moore and Austin Brimmer received the assists. The Mudbugs held strong for the 4-0 shutout and outshot Corpus Christi 24-19.
Shreveport will be tested in their next four series as they face the top two teams in the South Division over the next four weekends. The Mudbugs will make the 14-hour raid trip to Albuquerque to face the New Mexico Ice Wolves next weekend. January 28-29 will be back at George’s Pond to face the Lone Star Brahmas. Another homestand the next weekend as the New Mexico Ice Wolves will come to Shreveport. Rounding out the four-week test will be the Mudbugs heading towards Dallas to face Lone Star again.
First Line
| Player | Position | Stats |
| John Hallard | D | 1 goal, 1 ast, 4 shots, +2 |
| Gunner Moore | D | 1 goal, 1 ast, 3 shots, +2 |
| Lukas Sedlacek | F | 2 goals, 1 ast, 5 shots, +3 |
| Burke Simpson | F | 2 goals, 1 ast, 6 shots, +2 |
| Devon Bobak | G | 36 saves, 2 wins, shutout |
Second Line
| Player | Position | Stats |
| Jonah Copre | D | 1 goal, 5 shots, +1 |
| Evan Mitchell | D | 1 ast, 1 shot, +1 |
| Austin Brimmer | F | 1 goal, 4 ast, 5 shots, +3 |
| Connor Gatto | F | 1 goal, 1 ast, 9 shots, +2 |
South Division Standing
| W-L-OTL-SOL | PTS | |
| New Mexico | 22-10-1-1 | 46 |
| Lone Star | 18-9-4-2 | 42 |
| Odessa | 19-12-1-2 | 41 |
| Amarillo | 19-12-1-1 | 40 |
| Wichita Falls | 15-13-4-2 | 36 |
| Shreveport | 14-14-1-3 | 32 |
| Corpus Christi | 15-18-2-0 | 32 |
| El Paso | 13-17-2-1 | 29 |
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