Warriors Take 2-0 South Division Final Lead with 5-1 Win over Mudbugs

May 7, 2023

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Warriors took a 2-0 South Division Final lead over the Shreveport Mudbugs after scoring five straight goals in Game 2 Saturday at Blazers Ice Centre.

Shreveport opened the game’s scoring with under 10 seconds remaining in the first period to take a 1-0 lead into intermission.

Oklahoma came out with an answer in the second period to tie it. While on the powerplay, William Lawson-Body received a pass from Joey DelGreco up top and sent it across the crease for a Drew Sutton one-time goal at 5:13. Despite outshooting the Mudbugs 18-13 through 40 minutes of play, the Warriors were forced into a knotted third period.

The Warriors took control of the game and broke out for four more goals in a seven-minute-20-second-span in the final frame. DelGreco sniped a point-shot from Sutton with Oklahoma on another powerplay for the eventual game-winning goal at 11:18. Lawson-Body provided further insurance with a third straight Warriors powerplay goal, from Sutton and Max Dronen, to make it 3-1 with seven minutes and 10 seconds remaining. Brendan Williams would ice the game with an empty-net goal from his own zone five minutes later, but that wouldn’t be all from Oklahoma. Mikko Liukkonen stole a puck in offensive ice and dished to Owen Carlile, who created a lane to the net and scored his first goal of the postseason to finalize the 5-1 score and cement a dominant 2-0 series lead for the Warriors.

Oklahoma and Shreveport will play Game 3 of the Best-of-5 South Division Final in Shreveport, Louisiana, Friday May 12.