The Shreveport Mudbugs (5-2) withstood getting out-shot 43-25 in the game because of great goaltending and timely tallies to upend the Amarillo Bulls, 2-1 Friday night at the Amarillo Civic Center.
Amarillo dominated the first period pestering Maiszon Balboa with shot after shot, but the Colorado native stood tall making 16 saves. The Bulls led in SOG, 16-7 after one period of play.
Both teams battled in the second period and the Bugs came out blazing putting a few good scoring opportunities on net. The Bugs failed to cash in though and Amarillo came on strong in the latter half of the period, but Balboa made more nice stops to keep the game scoreless. Amarillo led in SOG, 23-11 after two periods of play.
The game stayed scoreless until 16:41 of the 3rd period when Rais Francis was able to squeeze in a tricky shot from the LW circle as it beat the goal from the short side to give the Bugs a 1-0 lead. Carson Nichols earned the only assist on the game’s first goal. The game wasn’t over though as Ryan Dickinson committed a penalty and the Bulls pulled their goalie to go on a 6-4 PP advantage. It was Lauri Sertti who was able to power home his first goal of the year at the point through traffic at 19:39 to dramatically tie the game, 1-1.
The game went to OT, but neither team was able to score sending the game into the shootout. Sam Miller scored the only goal in the shootout session as Balboa stopped all three shots that came his way.
Balboa made 42 saves on the night to go to 4-0 on his personal record to begin the 2019-2020 season.
The Bugs and Bulls will conclude their two-game series tomorrow night at the Amarillo Civic Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.