The Shreveport Mudbugs (11-11-4) were led by their Captain’s hat trick to a 4-2 win over the Wichita Falls Warriors and their sixth straight win overall Saturday night at George’s Pond in Hirsch Coliseum.
The Bugs struck first at 1:39 into the contest when Connor Gatto fed Garrett Steele in front who hammered home his sixth goal of the season to give Shreveport the early 1-0 lead. Davis Goukler continues to pick up points of late as he earned the secondary helper on the game’s first goal. Shreveport would strike again at 6:36 when Jake Mack redirected home his fifth tally of the year to push the lead to 2-0. Gunner Moore and Billy Feczko earned the helpers. Wichita Falls led in SOG, 9-5 after one.
The Bugs extended their lead in the 2nd period on the PP when Garrett Steele poked home a shot off his own rebound for his second goal of the game at 12:37 to increase the Shreveport edge to 3-0. Austin Brimmer and Gatto earned the assists on Steele’s seventh tally of the season. Devon Bobak made some big saves in the period as the Warriors led in SOG, 19-13 after two.
The Warriors got on the board at the 5:00 mark of the 3rd period when Joseph Harguindeguy shot in his fifth tally of the season from the far circle to make it a 3-1 contest. Wichita Falls would make it really interesting at 18:34 when Cade Lemmer would poke home his sixth goal of the year with traffic in front and the extra attacker on the ice to cut the deficit to 3-2. The Warriors wouldn’t tie it as Steele would tap in the EN for his 2nd hat trick as a Mudbug to help close out a 4-2 victory over the Warriors.
Bobak earned his sixth straight win in net making 30 stops on the night.
The Bugs will be off next week for Christmas break before beginning a two-game series with the New Mexico Ice Wolves for the first time this season at George’s Pond in Hirsch Coliseum. Game 1 will be Friday, Dec. 31st (New Year’s Eve) with puck drop scheduled for 7:11 p.m.