SteelHounds suffer 5-4 defeat

Youngstown was rallying before time ran out against Bossier-Shreveport.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- It is interesting how quickly the tide can turn in a hockey game.
Take Wednesday night's Central Hockey League battle between the Youngstown SteelHounds and the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs at the Chevrolet Center before 2,751 fans.
When Jason Campbell of the Mudbugs scored his second goal of the game to give his team a 5-3 lead with 17:40 gone from the final 20-minute period, it looked like the SteelHounds were out of it.
But then up stepped rookie Mario Chinelli and he scored his second goal of the game with 19:26 off the clock to give Youngstown renewed hope, 5-4.
And then for the remaining 34 seconds, the SteelHounds were going for the tying goal to get into a game-deciding shootout and a possible win.
But Youngstown just plain ran out of time and the Mudbugs escaped with the 5-4 win, giving them a 17-1-1 record since losing to the SteelHounds on Jan. 3, 5-3.
Two more games this week
Youngstown (20-28-3) and Bossier-Shreveport (30-13-6) will return to the Chevrolet Centre for two more games Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
The SteelHounds had plenty of chances to capitalize on power-play opportunities to score, but failed to do so. And the Mudbugs' defense, including goalie David Cacciola, were the big reasons.
"Their defense is good. [Goaltender Cacciola] made some nice stops," said SteelHounds' coach J.F. Laforest. "But the big thing was that their specialty teams scored on the power play. They were 3-for-6 on power plays while we were 0-for-8."
Coach Scott Muscutt of the Mudbugs felt the same way. "Our power play teams capitalized and our penalty-killing [shorthanded] team did a good job," said Muscutt.
In fact, after the Mudbugs went ahead, 4-3, at 12:07 of the third period on Ryan Manitowich's goal, the SteelHounds had a 6-4 man advantage on the ice during a short stretch but failed to score.
Whereas, when Campbell gave the Mudbugs a 5-3 lead, it was on a shorthanded goal that also was unassisted, so both the SteelHounds' defense and offense failed at crucial times.
Cacciola had 33 saves while SteelHounds' goalie David St. Germain also played well with 33 saves.
The Mudbugs had a 38-37 edge in shots taken, but Youngstown had a 20-7 advantage in the final quarter, all for naught as the offense fizzled.
Chinelli, playing in only his 16th game, now has seven goals and three assists in his last nine outings.
'Hounds took 2-0 lead
The early tide of the game was in the SteelHounds favor as they jumped to a 2-0 lead on Chinelli's and Matt Hanson's goals.
But Campbell countered to cut the deficit to 2-1 after one period, and the Mudbugs tied it on Scott Sheppard's long, line-drive goal early in the second period.
The SteelHounds managed to go back on top by 3-2 on Jeff Christian's 46th goal of the season at 16:27 of the second period, but Chad Spurr retaliated on a 15-foot slap shot from the right at 17:54 to send the game tied into the final period.
kovach@vindy.com