STEELHOUNDS Weekend preview

On deck: The Youngstown SteelHounds begin a three-game series with the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs tonight at the Chevrolet Centre. Game times are 7:05 p.m. today and Saturday, and 4:05 p.m. Sunday.

Division picture: The SteelHounds (20-11-2, 42 points) have lost four straight games (0-3-1) and will look to gain ground on the Mudbugs (23-7-3, 49 points), who have won a franchise-best 13 straight games to move into first place in the Northeast Division.

So far: The Mudbugs have defeated the SteelHounds in their last four meetings, most recently a 5-2 win in Louisiana on Jan. 8. Bossier-Shreveport is 4-1-1 against Youngstown this season. The SteelHounds are one point ahead of the Mississippi RiverKings (20-12-1, 41 points) for second place.

Reversal: Bossier-Shreveport started the season 0-5-1 before going on a hot streak that has them seven points ahead of Youngstown. “I think it took a while but our players have responded to the systems that we are using here to be successful,” Mudbugs coach Scott Muscutt said. “We are committed to defense first and that was something that we did not focus on at the beginning of the season.”

Strength in goal: The Mudbugs arguably have the best one-two punch of goaltenders in the Central Hockey League. John DeCaro played in Wednesday’s Central Hockey League All-Star Game and has a league-leading five shutouts. Ken Carroll has won his last 10 starts and has the league’s best goals against average at 1.81. Carroll also holds the CHL record for most shutouts with 24. Youngstown will rely on goaltender Andy Franck to help right the ship. Franck started for the Northern Conference in the All-Star Game and has an 11-4-1 record. The Lakewood native was with the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League from Nov. 28-Jan. 8, going 7-1-1 for the top affiliate of the Boston Bruins. The SteelHounds were 7-7-1 in Franck’s absence. Franck returned to the lineup last weekend but suffered two losses against the Mississippi RiverKings.

Game plan: “We have to go back to our foundation and keep things simple,” SteelHounds coach Kevin Kaminski said. “Teams have highs and lows and when we had that great road trip [12-1-1 on a 14 game road trip to start the season] I think some of the teams we were playing like the Mudbugs just had not came together as a team like they have now.” Youngstown will look for the offense to come from Kirill Starkov and Eric Przepiorka. Starkov, a rookie, has nine points in his last seven games and has six goals and six assists. Second-year pro Przepiorka has been one of the Hounds’ stronger point-getters with 37 points coming from 17 goals and 20 assists. Chris Richards and Petr Pohl lead the SteelHounds in scoring with 38 points. “We need to take two of three from these guys this weekend,” Kaminski said. “We’re at home, we won’t see these guys again until the playoffs and we need to take advantage of playing at home in front of our fans.” The Hounds have won 23 of their last 31 games at the Chevrolet Centre.

Promotions: The annual food drive for Second Harvest Food Bank will be conducted tonight and Saturday. The Hounds will also wear special military jerseys that will be auctioned off after Saturday night’s game. Sunday is “Dollar Hot Dog Day.”