The Shreveport Mudbugs (24-11) scored four times in the 2nd period to cruise past the Corpus Christi IceRays, 5-1 Friday night at the American Bank Center.
Shreveport opened up the scoring at 12:13 of the 1st period when Sam Miller threw the puck in front and it was Jacob Smith who tipped home his eighth tally of the year. The PP goal gave the Bugs an early 1-0 as Miller earned the only assist on score. SOG were tied 10-10 after one period of play.
The Bugs extended their lead early in the 2nd period when Carson Nichols sniped in his sixth goal from the LW circle to give Shreveport a 2-0 edge. Ryan Waltman earned the assist. The road team wouldn’t stop there as Gio Procopio tipped home his fifth goal of the year as Dawson Sciarrino threw it in front from the slot. The goal gave the Bugs a 3-0 lead at 7:31. Shreveport continued their hot play against the IceRays as Timofei Khoklachev buried home a one timer from the RW circle for his ninth goal of the year to make it a 4-0 advantage for the Bugs at 9:12. Anton Rubstov and Jacob Smith earned the helpers. The Bugs would put the icing on the cake as Sciarrino blasted home his ninth tally from the slot to make it a 5-0 contest. Brent Keefer earned the only assist on the goal. Corpus Christi would score a goal at 16:30 breaking up a shutout bid from Maiszon Balboa. The Bugs led 5-1 after two periods of play and surprisingly only led in SOG, 21-20.
There would be no scoring in the 3rd period, but a big fight erupted between Jack Smiley and Erik Bargholtz. It was a good fight between the two guys as it was the only highlight of the final period.
Balboa earned his 12th win of the season making just 19 saves on the night.
Shreveport is now 10-0 against Corpus Christi this season.
The Bugs and IceRays will continue this three-game series tomorrow night at the American Bank Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.