RiverKings

Man i hate to lose to this team. I thought right out of the gates we were all over them, we were getting the puck deep and cycling the puck well. KC made some big saves throughout the game, keeping it close. Again i thought that we took some bad penalties, and in the end it cost us the game. They scored a 5 on 3 goal from Woollard that tied the game at one. We scored next on a great 3 on 2 by pegs and ori to go up 2 to 1. That line of pegs, ori and Ty are playing great hockey for us. Pegs and Ori move the puck very well together and Ty is in great position in order to shoot the puck, and man can he shoot. The river kings second goal was a weird goal. I think one of there wingers was driving wide with the puck and the other winger was driving to the net. The outside winger shot the puck and KC made the save. The puck went off KC's blocker and into the chest of the player that was driving the front of the net. Because of the forward motion of the player the puck was put in with his chest making the score 2 to 2. The third goal that they scored was a break down the the d- zone. We left there best scorer open in the slot and gave him time to shoot the puck. When he got the pass from the corner he wasted no time and shot it low blocker for the game winner.

I have one thing to say and it may be off topic but i need to say it anyway. A lot of people have been coming up to me and asking me if we are going to get a tough guy, someone who can kick some a**. So i decided to look up the definition for tough and it says " It is characterized by severity or uncompromising determination" to me this sounds like our team, but one guy stands out for sure and that is Smitty. Last night he through down with a guy that was 6'5 240 pounds. Smitty is 5'8 175 if that's not tough, then i don't know what is!

Until next time don't hate the player , hate the game!!!!!

The Past Three Games

Sorry i have not been posting , my family has been down for the past 3 weeks.

Over the last 3 games i feel that our goaltenders and defence have played there best hockey. Its great to see JD and KC play well, nobody is as hard on them self's as they are. They compete all the time and are always trying to improve there game. When you have to guys like that the whole team feeds off them.
The defence have also played great hockey in the last couple of games. I think Ortzs is starting to understand how our d-zones works and how important his role is. Miller is playing strong and simple just the way he needs to play. He takes the body real well and passes and shoots the puck hard. Quad always plays steady, he is the glue that holds our d-core together., he fights, hits and plays great position. Lulps is starting to play his game, he is so strong and has a great shot. I even think that when he wants he can skate, he kind of reminds me of Bergy.
We finally got our p-k working and all that took was using the systems, and believing that your work.
We still have a long way to go ,but i think that we are on the right path. Until next time take care comb your hair!!!!!

The first weekend

I want to first start off by saying how honored I am to be writing this blog as the Mudbugs Newest Captain. I have decided to do something a little different this year with the "Captain's Blog," I have decided that it is going to be the captain, and two assistants' blog. I feel that it would be nice for the fans to gain a few different perspectives about the games.

Friday Night:
The room was full of energy. It has been a long time coming for the 20 players training all summer, looking forward to this first game. When you first step on to the ice, all of the butterflies and nerves dissipate as soon as that first puck drops. Then it all comes back to you, why you are here....For the Love of the Game.

I felt that we came out pretty strong. As the first period went on, I felt that we loosened up a little more and all the butterflies were going away. We stuck to our game plan, which was to get the puck deep, and initiate contact with their defense men. One of our strongest attributes is our cycle, which creates a lot of scoring opportunities. I felt that we had a lot of chances that we did not finish. Sometimes that comes with new combinations of lines. I felt our defense men had a strong first period, especially when we were short 2 defense men. Our defense mens first passes were always on the tape and very strong. I felt that we were all coming out together as a unit, which contributed to our offensive chances. Our goal tending was steady. JD made some big saves early. One strength of JD's is his size, which helps him to have good positioning in the net. The first Mississippi goal was scored on the power play. It was scored from a pass coming from behind the net, which then went to the side of the net and was tipped in by one of the Mississippi players. It was a goal that 99 out of 100 times, JD would stop. The second goal was a breakdown in the defensive zone. Again, scored by a Mississippi player going around the net and throwing it out into the slot, hitting their own player and squeaking by JD. The best thing about these goals are that the problems that led to them are fixable. Our defensive game is always one of the best in the league, and we know that is something that we need to work on everyday in practice.

Until next time....peace, love and chicken grease.

LOOKING BACK AT GAMES 1 AND 2

THREE STARTS FROM GAME 2
1. Jason Williamson
It was awesome to see him score the game-winner. His family is down and he hasn’t got a lot of credit all year. He’s been an unsung hero and he’s kept working harder and harder and gained more confidence. He really complements the Abbott brothers well and has adjusted to the way Musky likes to play hockey. He hits everything in sight and does a whale of job for us.

2. Johnny DeCaro
He kept us in the game right off the bat. We would have never had a shot if it wasn’t for Johnny.

3. Jon Horrell
When the goalie is playing that well, you have to keep shooting the puck and hopefully one is going to go in. We actually passed up a couple of shots because we were thinking a little too much about “maybe I can freeze him and make a pass across.” The best play is to keep shooting and going for rebounds. We finally got one that hit our stick and Willie put it home.

Summary of Games 1 and 2
Of course the weekend didn’t go as planned. I couldn’t sit here and tell people that no one has though about, ‘well, what if we did lose, we’re still back in.’ Sure we have.
That first game was a wake-up call. If you play only as good as you have to, you’re going to slip in the next round. This whole year has been about playing consistent hockey. We have to elevate our game more than regular season obviously.
Wichita’s backs are against the wall and they are fighting for their lives.
But we won’t settle for just advancing. It’s not the way it has ever been around here and it never will be. It’s not Mudbugs hockey.
Ever since you’ve been in competitive hockey, you want to win every game. We’re competitors out there. Every time you step on the ice you want to do well.
When we didn’t play well Friday night it really hurt. We had to dig deep in the double-overtime game Saturday. It showed a lot of character on our part. It’s easy to get down and point fingers, but we stuck to our game plan. We didn’t go run-and-gun with them. Some times when you get tired, it’s easy to do that. We have three solid lines and I think that’s what got it done for us in overtime.
The turning point in Game 2, and hopefully the series, came while we were killing a penalty midway through the first period. They had a tough time handling us down low the whole game. We got the puck deep and the Abbott boys, they work so well together, it’s like an extra person out there.
We got three or four scoring chances off that penalty kill – when you get one scoring chance the crowd gets into it. When you get four, it shows you the guys were really working their tails off.
Wichita almost ended it in overtime when Travis Clayton was looking at an open net from the blue line, but Musky and Pegs saved that goal.
You can always hear your coach’s voice. I don’t care how loud the crowd is. Johnny picked up his head, slid across and Pegs deflected the puck into the corner. It didn’t get on net, but Johnny was on his way back to make the save. But you don’t want it that close.

APOLOGY IN ORDER

Friday was the worst game for me in a Mudbugs uniform. That was brutal. The loss obviously came as a shock to everyone in the dressing room Friday.

This morning, our dressing room mood was one of “Let’s get her going.”

We can’t sit back.

You’re either a splatter or a bouncer. A splatter hits the rock and falls apart. A bouncer, you hit the bottom and bounce back up. Last night, Wichita was desperate and we weren’t. We basically have to play desperate.

I predicted an unbelievable game today.

PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS

Make sure to come back to the blog after each game. I will post my personal Three Stars of the Game and I believe Roy will have audio interviews, too.

A quick look at the CHL postseason
Team we expect to see in the conference finals: Colorado. They always find a way to play their best in the playoffs and we should expect nothing less from the Eagles this year.

Darkhorse team: Oklahoma City. Every time we played them this season it was a tough game. They were playing extremely well at the end of the season.

Team to come out of the Southern Conference: Arizona. We never got to play the Sundogs this season, but from everything I've heard that are legit. They have goaltender Mike Wall, who played four games with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the NHL this season.

Players I'd like to see wear a Mudbugs uniform some day: Ryan Carter, Corpus Christi. This kid works his tail off, and from everything I can see, would fit into Scott Muscutt's systems nicely. He should be a huge help for the Rayz in the playoffs.

Riley Nelson, Colorado: I got to know him at the All-Star Game this year. He's a great guy. He's soft spoken and his numbers speak for themselves this year.

There's nothing wrong with Ohio

On our way to Youngstown we stopped in Pittsburgh to see an NHL game. The Pittsburgh Penguins played Nashville – the best team in the league. The Penguins won 4-1. Sid the Kid!
We paid $30 bucks a ticket, not bad. They were great seats.
The bus trip up here was fine, except there was no freakin heat on the bus, so we had to buy some little heaters.
Karlis Zirnis was loving it. Not so much.
I think he was remembering his days with Colorado, when they stayed in the Hilton.
We had a skate this morning. We’re going to eat now and then to the mall.
I’ve seen a few malls in my time. I’m sick of the malls!
We’ve got a big set against Youngstown this week starting tomorrow. They are on fire offensively.
We have to take the body on them and hit them and play tight against them. We can’t take risks because they have good sticks.
More about Youngstown later, I gotta go eat.
I’ll tell you about my Super Bowl Sunday. Let’s just say the bets didn’t work out so well.