The Shreveport Mudbugs upended the Lone Star Brahmas, 2-1 in game 2 highlighted by big goal scored from Roberts Baranovskis late in regulation Friday night at Georges Pond in Hirsch Coliseum.
The Mudbugs continued the pressure on the Brahmas to open up the contest out-shooting their opponent, 15-7 after one period of play. Mitchell Gibson and Jaxon Castor both made nice saves to keep the game scoreless after 1.
In the 2nd period, both teams got PP chances, but no goals were scored from either team. Lone Star came out strong in the period out-shooting the Bugs, 12-8 in the frame. The game stayed scoreless after two periods of play with the Mudbugs leading in SOG, 23-19.
Shreveport finally broke through the scoreboard when Jordan Fader tipped in his 2nd goal of the series off a blistering shot from Brendon Gysbers from the point. It was a PP goal at 7:29 to elate the home crowd and give the Bugs a 1-0 lead. The defending Robertson Cup Champions responded three minutes when Steven Ipri backhanded a shot past Castor after an initial save was made. The game was tied 1-1 at 10:34. The game stayed tied until Roberts Baranovskis used his speed to split the Lone Star blueline and slipped one past Gibson for the go-ahead goal at 16:42 to give the Mudbugs a dramatic 2-1 edge late in the game.
Castor made 23 saves to preserve the 2-1 win and earned his fifth victory in netof these playoffs.
Shreveport can advance to the final four in Minnesota with a victory next Friday night.
The series will now shift to the Nytex Sports Centre in North Richland Hills, TX for game 3 next Friday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30pm. Chet Yoder will have all the exciting play-by-play action starting with the MarkDuffield.net Coldwell Banker Gosslee pregame show at 7:15 on The Ticket 100.7FM/1340AM, steamed live on http://edge.mixlr.com/channel/rqdkr, and hockeytv.com.