Mudbugs Claw Back at the Bulls

Oct 20, 2018

The Shreveport Mudbugs (7-5) came back from an early hole and prevailed in a wild one winning 5-4 against the Amarillo Bulls Saturday night at the Amarillo Civic Center.
Amarillo struck just 1:35 into the contest when Logan Jenuwine took advantage of the Bugs unable to get the puck out of the zone and shot in his 8th goal of the season. The Bulls held that 1-0 edge after one period of play and out-shot the Bugs, 9-7.
After trailing 2-0, the Mudbugs went on a fury and it began with Billy Feczko who was able to tap in the rebound in front for his first goal of the year at 8:42 giving the Bugs life at 2-1. Shreveport sizzled after that as Ethan Harrison raced down the ice and ripped in his fourth goal of the year at 12:46 tying the game up, 2-2. The Bugs then got a lucky bounce in front and Matthew Smoliga fired home his first goal of the year into a yawning net at 16:59 giving the Robertson Cup Champs their first lead of the game at 3-2. Amarillo came back just 49 seconds later and tied it at 3. The wild and crazy 2nd period wouldn’t stop there as Billy Feczko picked up his third point of the night roofing a brilliant shot from the point for his 2nd tally of the game at 19:10 giving Shreveport a dramatic 4-3 lead after two periods of play. The Bugs out-shot the Bulls, 20-17 after two.
Shreveport carried that momentum into the third period when Ethan Harrison stole a pass in the offensive zone and buried home his 2nd goal of the game just 28 seconds in to give the Bugs a 5-3 lead. Harrison’s goal proved to be the game-winner as Amarillo scored later on in the period, but the Bugs held off a late surge from the Bulls to win 5-4.
Maiszon Balboa was good when he needed to be making 23 saves to capture his second win in net.
Shreveport has now won 13 of their past 14 meetings against Amarillo dating back to the 1st year of the NAHL-era Bugs squad.

The Mudbugs will make their first trip of the 2018-2019 season to Odessa, Texas to take on the Jackalopes for a two-game set. Game one will be next Friday night with the puck drop scheduled for 7:05 p.m. from Ector County Coliseum.