The Shreveport Mudbugs (22-7-2) battled hard and rallied back to outlast the Oklahoma Warriors in the shootout, 4-3 to win their seventh game in a row in George’s Pond at Hirsch Coliseum Saturday night.
OKC got on the board at 3:15 when Max Vig created a turnover and shot in his third goal from the near circle to make it a 1-0. SHV responded at 15:06 while on the PK as Hayden Nichol snapped in his 11th tally of the year which was a rocket shot from the slot to even the score, 1-1. Alex Park picked up the only assist on the shorthanded goal. The Bugs would then take the lead after being denied a few times in tight, it was Lucas Deeb who slipped in his 11th goal of the campaign from the far side to give SHV a 2-1 lead. Deeb’s linemate Andrej Paricka earned the assist. The home team led in SOG, 14-12 after one.
OKC tied the game up at 15:09 of the middle frame as Drew Sutton took a perfect feed and slapped in his 12th goal of the year from the short side to make it a 2-2. The Warriors would take the lead off a tip in front from Carter Sproule to give them the lead back at 3-2 at 16:04. SHV responded on the PP quite quickly as Brayden Cook raced through the slot and smacked in his fifth goal of the season to even the score, 3-3 at 18:26. Hayden Nichol made the perfect pass and earned the assist.
The game stayed tied 3-3 after a hard-fought third period and OT session which sent the contest into a shootout. The shootout was decided in the fifth round as Ryan Burke waited the goalie out and fore-handed in the game-winning tally to help the Bugs outlast the Warriors, 4-3 for their seventh straight victory.
Nikola Goich officially made 22 stops which didn’t include the four saves he made in the shootout to earn his third win between the pipes.
The Bugs will resume their season-long homestand next weekend as they’ll host the Corpus Christi IceRays in George’s Pond in Hirsch Coliseum Game one of the two-game series will be next Friday with puck drop scheduled for 7:11 p.m.