The Shreveport Mudbugs (11-5) held off the New Mexico Ice Wolves, 2-1 to earn their fifth straight contest in New Mexico.
Both teams traded good scoring chances in a scoreless opening period which was filled with big hits though. Richie Parent made 15 stops to keep the game 0-0 after 1. SOG were 15-13 in favor of New Mexico.
The Mudbugs broke through at 17:20 of the 2nd period when Ryan Waltman skated all alone on a breakaway (shorthanded) and faked out their goalie and nudged in his second goal this weekend to give the Bugs a 1-0 lead. Carson Nichols and Ryan Dickinson earned the helpers on the only goal of the game at this point in the game.
The Bugs extended their lead thanks to Dawson Sciarrino’s dirty work down low which led to a perfect pass through the slot to Conor Witherspoon who smacked in his third goal in his last four game to give the Bugs a 2-0 lead at 2:06 of the 3rd period. That would be the game-winning goal as New Mexico got a goal at 16:36 from Emil Gabrielson to cut the lead in half at 2-1.
Richie Parent earned his fourth straight personal win in net making 34 saves on the night including big stops in the reigning to seal up Shreveport’s fifth straight victory.
The Bugs sweep a team on the road for the first time since the 2017-2018 season.
The Mudbugs will stay on the road and travel to Odessa, TX to take on the Jackalopes for a two-game series starting next Friday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. from Ector County Coliseum.