Mudbugs vs. Rayz Tuesday 11/20/07

Pregame Thoughts -
Has it really been a year since I have blogged a Mudbug game? This just seemed like the right time to come back. The Mudbugs are firmly entrenched in last place in the tough Northeast Division of the CHL. Not only are they in last place, they are 16 points behind first place Youngstown. The Bugs are only three points out of third place Texas, but the fact is that entering the 12th game of the season, they are looking up at the rest of the division. That sucks.

John Decaro starts in net for the Bugs tonight and he sports a 3-3-1 record this year with a 1.99 GAA, third best in the CHL. He will be facing the second lowest scoring team in the CHL tonight (Tied with the Mudbugs). I don't know about you, but that sounds exactly like what the Mudbugs need right now.

Corpus is 2-7-1 in the last ten games and have not even recorded a point in six away games this year.

All fans in attendance should start making plans for a Cherry Limeade at Sonic in the next week because on the road, Corpus has given up an average of five goals a game. All fans in attendance when the Mudbugs score five goals a game have a week to redeem their tickets at local Sonic stores for a free Route 44 Cherry Limeades. I love those drinks. They are perfect with Rum.

Corpus has two wins all year and both of them were in shootouts, at home. They are one of two teams to have defeated the Youngstown Steelhounds this year, beating them 3-2 on November 4th so I guess they have game, but it seems like something has been wrong with them on the road all year.

Joe Blaznek, formerly of Wichita skates for the Rayz. He is in typical Blaznek form too. He sports a -5 rating but is tied for the team lead with nine points. He also leads the team in shots. I am guessing he is probably missing Travis Clayton and Jason Duda right about now. Of course, Blaznek has a better tan that either of his former Thunder linemates.

I smell a 5-3 win for the Mudbugs tonight

posted at 7:15 pm CST

FIRST PERIOD THOUGHTS

Did you ever see the Bad News Bears, and they have that montage where the Bears are making all kinds of mistakes and can't seem to get anything going? Well that is Corpus on the power play, except they just scored a power play goal at the 2:43 mark of the first period. I take full responsibility on that goal. I jinxed the team.

Here is a question for Scott Muscutt: Is there a reason that you are not playing Zirnis, Ori, and Pegoraro on the same line like last year? Were they not the best line the Mudbugs had last year? Isn't that a great scoring line? Then you come back with Lloyd, Smith, and Brassard, and finally end up with a combination of Campbell, Godoy, Aikins, Labatte, and Lucas? Some times I don't understand coaches. Of course between us, Muscutt and I have a 278 wins as a hockey coach and they are all by him.

MY MAN TYREL. My favorite white hockey player whose name would seem to indicate that he is of a different race than what he actually is just tied the game at one after a sweet feed from Joe Ori. Good times.


The CHL could put together a whole team of players whose names are like Tyrel Lucas. We can call them the "Tyrel Lucas All-Stars"

Forwards -
Marcus Reszka from Amarillo
Cedric Bernier from Arizona
Tyrel Lucas from Bossier-Shreveport
Sheldon Wenzel from Mississippi
Kai Magnussen from Tulsa

Defense -
Mario Joly from Odessa
Jami Yoder from Rocky Mountain
Sheldon Wing from Tulsa

Goaltenders
Marco Emond from Colorado
Sebastien Laplante from Wichita

posted at 7:15 pm CST

Joe Ori is playing incredible hockey right now. He has scored over a quarter of the team's goals this year, leads the team with a +7 rating, and is tied with the team lead in points with 9. On top of that, you would be hard pressed to find a more exciting player on the break away this year. If he keeps this up, look for Ori to be in Boonefield, Colorado during the All Star break.

If anyone is looking for any last minute gift ideas for forward Brett Smith may I recommend a new chin strap to keep his hat on and a leash for his hockey stick. I swear he loses one or the other (or sometimes both) during every penalty kill. Maybe that is why the women like him so much, because he is constantly disrobing on the ice during games. I think he watched a little too much of the World Series this year and watched Manny Ramirez lose his helmet every time he ran the bases. Maybe it is Smitty being Smitty.

posted at 7:25 pm CST

I still haven't figured out Jake Ortmeyer this season. He is 6'3" tall and weighs in at 210 pounds. I have seen the guy and he is pretty impressive physical specimen (in a totally plutonic non-homosexual way), but he seems to play a lot smaller. He always seems to be in the right position but I think myself and a lot of fans were hoping for something more physical from the big defenseman from Omaha, Nebraska.

Wait, what the hell? He is from Omaha, Nebraska? How did that happen?

Not only is he a professional hockey player from Omaha, his brother Jed plays in the NHL for the Nashville Predators. I remember that guy because in January of last year while playing for the New York Rangers, he scored on a short handed penalty shot (yeah, read that last sentence again and fell my pain of being a Bruins fan) after coming back from a heart condition.

Here is video of the shot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FglxSmRmRvc

After one period we are tied at one. Corpus has outshot the Bugs 10-9. Steve Cruikshank has called three power plays during one period (doesn't he always hand out matching penalties?) and Corpus has scored on one of their two chances while the Mudbugs have taken an o-fer on their power play.

posted at 7:58 pm

SECOND PERIOD THOUGHTS

22 seconds into the second period and Captain Chris Brassard puts the Bugs ahead 2-1 with a sweet goal after an even sweeter feed from Brett Smith. That is his first goal since the home opener when he had a hat trick.

He won't be thinking about that goal though, Corpus goaltender Jason Tapp was taken out by his own defenseman Niko Tuomi behind the net. Chris Brassard was all alone in front of the net but whiffed on the shot. Ouch.

On the faceoff, Mudbug Karlis Zirnis ran into Tapp and knocked the goaltender to the ice. Tuomi then cross checked Zirnis in the back. Brassard skated all the way across the ice and took on Tuomi in a brief fight where neither player really landed any blows.

Twenty seconds later Rayz forward Chris Shaffer took Joe Ori down behind the Mudbugs goal. Mudbugs Alternate Captain Quade Lightbody came to Ori's defense and cross checked Shaffer in the head as Ori lay motionless on the ice for over a minute. After all was said and done Shaffer gets to hit the showers early with a five minute boarding major and a game misconduct. Lightbody has a two minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. I guess busting a guy in the chops with your stick is unsportsmanlike.

posted at 8:13 pm

Jason Tapp has a 3.59 Goals Against Average. I have only seen him play 28 minutes of hockey, but I have already seen him go behind the net three times only to almost give up an empty net goal. I am willing to wager that his GAA would be a point lower if he would just mind his crease.

On a totally non-game related note, has anyone noticed that the big thing in football this year is that when a touchdown is made the players high five their asses? They jump up in the air and turn their butts and tap their teammate's rear end with theirs. Wouldn't you love to see hockey players do that? Wouldn't it be great to see Joe Ori jump up in the air and pirouette around to tap rear ends with a team mate and then make the landing? I think someone needs to do this. Not Quade Lightbody though. We need to save his legs.

posted at 8:22 pm

8:33 pm. Daniel Pegoraro. Penalty Shot. The crowd is on their feet. He skates back and soaks it in. Jason Tapp might want to stay home. Pegoraro skates up, makes a move stick side, brings the puck glove side, and takes it back across. Tapp slides across on his back, Pegoraro puts it backhanded at an open net and Tapp reaches up from his back to catch the darn puck. Sick move. Sicker save.

posted at 8:35 pm

You know what I learned tonight? That a penalty shot does not show up in Pointstreak's statistics unless it is a goal. No shot on goal, no save, no nothing. It is like it never happened. I had the same rule with relationships when I was younger, if I didn't score, it didn't count. Thank you, I will be with you all night.

That might be the second greatest thing I have learned this year. The most important thing I have learned this year is everything I have wanted to know about Youngstown Steelhound's Kurtis Dulle who was profiled in Cosmopolitan's November 2007 issue. He is listed as a semi pro hockey player. Wait a minute, this is professional hockey. Not semi-pro. Actually, I have seen Tulsa play, they are semi-pro. He plays for Youngstown now though, and they are mostly pro.

To quote Kurtis, "I'm athletic, a little shy at first, and goofy. I like to make people laugh." He is looking for, "a girl who has worked hard to accomplish things and wasn't spoonfed her whole life." Just half her life right? Some of these puck bunnies are rather young these days so half his life is probably correct.

On his first date he would, "take her horseback riding or canoeing - some activity that is new to her. I'd want to put her in a fresh situation." A fresh situation? Is that the same thing as making out in the produce section? How about macking in the bakery? Isn't that fresh? Canoeing? Horseback riding? Wow, he needs to quit watching the Massengil commercial reruns.

He loves boy shorts on a girl more than thongs. I kind of agree with that. There is something infinitely sexy about a woman in boxers.

I love the fact that we hear only parts of Bon Jovi but Jason LaFlame will play all of Poison's "Nothing But a Good Time". Great music man here at the CTC. Except for one thing, he didn't play "Sweet Caroline" tonight. Get on it Laflame.

The Mudbugs have outshot the Rayz 20-16 and lead 2-1 after two periods.

Posted at 9:06 pm

THIRD PERIOD THOUGHTS

What a weird period of hockey this has been so far. It is nothing but a dump and chase game. I just spent the last ten minutes alternately watching the game and checking out the rest of November's Cosmo. I am going to have some mad game this weekend.

Here is the difference between this year's team and teams of the past. The Mudbugs are ahead by one goal with 5:56 left to play in the game and 4,592 Mudbug fans are expecting something bad to happen. Have we held a one-goal lead all year? How are we choking in the third period? As a Red Sox fan, I felt the same way until 2004 when the Sox finally came through. I hate feeling like this, but I am just waiting for some little breakdown and watching the puck slide through Decaro's pads.

Posted 9:27 pm

FINAL THOUGHTS

I am not getting a Cherry Limeade for Thanksgiving, but as a Mudbug fan I am getting something better. A win where the team held a one point lead in the third period. I was talking to my father after the game and he mentioned something very interesting. In past years the Mudbugs have had three very distinct lines including one line that always caused match-up problems for the other team. Four years ago it was the "Triple C" line of Craig Soke, Chris Brassard, and Chad Spurr. Three years ago it was the "Hibernia Line" of Brassard, Brett Smith, and Ryan Manitowich. Two Years ago it was the Dan Wildfong, Blair Manning, and Scott Sheppard line. Last year it was the Ori, Pegoraro, and Zirnis line. Now all three lines are basically interchangeable. Perhaps that is the balance that the Mudbug system strives for, perhaps one line hasn't had a chance to stand out yet, or perhaps there isn't that one line in the cards for the Mudbugs. No matter what the excuse is, my dad was bored tonight.

In the end the only thing that matters is not the two goals scored, it is the two points the Mudbugs gained on their division rivals. This weekend the Mudbugs travel to Youngstown for two games against the Steelhounds. If the Mudbugs get two points it will be a good trip, if they get three is will be a great trip, but if they can keep their momentum, they could have an outstanding trip.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Posted at 11:11 pm