In the regular season finale, the Shreveport Mudbugs (28-22-3-6) used a trio of 2nd period power play goals to rumble past the Rhinos, 4-2, on Saturday night at George’s Pond.
After a scoreless 1st period, the scoring started on a Duke Erhard power play tally, his 21st of the season, at the 15:07 mark of the 2nd period. Grayson Gerhard picked up his 37th assist, along with John Berndt’s 31st. Grayson Gerhard added his 2nd point of the night, an unassisted power play tally, at the 7:25 mark of the middle frame. John Berndt continued his offensive hot streak, earning his 7th point in 5 games, with a power play goal with 2:39 on the clock in the 2nd, with Hoglund earning a helper, putting the Bugs up 3-0 into the break.
In the third, Evan Hoglund got back on the scoresheet, his 2nd point of the night, scoring his 17th goal of the year, also on the man advantage, at 14:29 of the 3rd. Jacob Solano made things interesting for the Rhinos in the final frame, scoring 2 goals in the frame at the 7:25 and 5:13 marks, also on the power play, to pull the Rhinos within 2. El Paso then pulled their goalie late, but were not able to score another, and the Bugs take the victory by a score of 4-2 to even the season series against the Rhinos.
Ethan Phillips earned the win in net, picking up his 4th victory in his last 5 starts. He improves to 10-6-2 on the campaign, stopping 21 of 23 El Paso shots in the effort. Corpus Christi picked up a win in their finale against the Oklahoma Warriors, meaning the Bugs will finish the regular season in the 5th spot in the NAHL South at 65 points.
The Bugs are back at home at George’s Pond on April 10-12 for the 1st round of the Robertson Cup Playoffs, hosting 4th-seed Corpus Christi in a best-of-three matchup. Puck drop for Friday’s tilt is slated for 7:11pm. Tickets are available by calling the box office at (318) 636-7094 or by emailing info@mudbugshockey.com. The game is also available for streaming on NATV or by free audio broadcast on the Mudbugs YouTube channel, with pregame coverage hitting the air at 6:50pm.