The Shreveport Mudbugs (22-11) stayed a step ahead of the Corpus Christi Ice Rays winning 4-2 Friday night at George’s Pond in Hirsch Coliseum.
The Bugs opened up the scoring at 19:33 of the 1st per. as Rayn Waltman stole the puck behind the net and flipped it in front for Anton Rubstov to fake out the goalie and punch in his fourth goal of the year and give Shreveport the early 1-0 lead. Mudbugs led in SOG, 15-5 after one period of play.
Shreveport added to their lead early in the 2nd period when Sam Miller ripped home his team-leading tenth goal of the year from the point to give the Bugs a 2-0 edge at 2:24. Tim Khokhlachev earned the only assist. After Corpus Christi got on the board, the Bugs responded at 19:17 when Ryan Waltman slipped a perfect pass through to Brent Keefer to faked out the goalie and scored on the backhand for his second goal in as many games giving Shreveport a 3-1 lead. Waltman and David Breazeale earned the assists on Keefer’s tally. Bugs led in SOG, 22-17 after two periods of play.
The Bugs added to their lead as Timofei Khokhlachev knifed in his eighth goal of the year from the slot at 8:16 of the 3rd per to make it a 4-1 contest. Corpus Christi would get a goal back, but that’s the closest they would get in the game.
Maiszon Balboa made 23 saves to earn his 11th win in net .
Shreveport goes to 8-0 against Corpus Christi this season.
The Mudbugs and IceRays will conclude their series tomorrow night at George’s Pond in Hirsch Coliseum. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:11 p.m.