Monroe exploded for four first-period goals Saturday night on its way to a 7-0 Western Professional Hockey League victory over the Shreveport Mudbugs before 4,035 fans in the Snake Pit.

The win pulled Monroe (35-20-6, 76 points) within seven points of Eastern Division-leading Shreveport (38-16-7, 83 points) and kept it tied for Lake Charles for second place. It also knocked away the shield that had seemed to cover the net for the past couple of weeks.

"it was an awesome game," Moccasins goalie Clint Owen said. "You could tell from the start the boys were ready to play."

The Monroe fans feasted on real crustaceeans for several hours prior to the game, and the Moccasins picked apart the Mudbugs once the puck dropped.

All phases of the game clicked for the Moccasins. Owen stopped 34 shots for his first shutout. The defense kept the Mudbugs off-stride, and Monroe did not have a penalty. And the offense was hot.

Monroe forward Shawn Redmond had four points on two goals and two assists to lead the attack.

"It's huge," Redmond said of the win. "Shreveport is the top team in our division. If we want to make some noise in the playoffs, we have to play like that."

Monroe coach Brian Curran was pleased with the performance after a disappointing 4-1 home loss Friday to Lake Charles.

"That was a lot different team than yesterday, there's no question about that," Curran said. "We drove to the net well, we played well defensively and Clint Owen played well."

Owen repeatedly stoned the potent Shreveport attack while the Monroe offense clicked from the start.

"They played a good game," Shreveport coach Jean Laforest said. "Their goaltender played an especially good game. We had some scoring opportunities, but he made some great saves."

Monroe scored more goals in the first nine minutes of the game Saturday than they had in the past two games (two total goals).

Duncan Dalmao started the barrage with a nifty goal 2:18 into the game. As Shreveport attempted a line change, Dalmao picked up the puck near his own blue line and skated alone up the right side. He fired a shot from the right circle past Chad Lang for a 1-0 lead.

Lukas Smital made it 2-0 at the 6:58 mark of the first period following a nice stop by Owen. After Owen covered a point-blank shot by Shreveport. Monroe's Chris Rowland fed Smital with a crossing pass that Smital poked past Lang.

Monroe cranked up its power-play attack less than two minutes later. With the one-man advantage, Matt Cressman rebounded a Jason Smith shot to beat Lang. Smital also picked up an assist on the play.

Monroe leading scorer Dorian Anneck got in on the act for the fourth goal of the opening period at the 17:52 mark. Monroe's Redmond and Bill McKay battled for the puck with a Mudbug on the left-hand side of the goal while Anneck camped in front of the net on the right side. the pair of Moccasins won the battle, and Redmond fed Anneck for a chip shot.

Laforest said the combination of the Mudbugs being short of defensemen, Lang playing his first game in about a month and Monroe coming out hot didn't bode well for his team.

"they came out strong in the first period and we let in a couple of soft goals," he said.

Monroe kept up the offensive pressure in the second period, outshooting the Mudbugs 13-9. Redmond scored the only goal of the period, slapping a close shot past Lang at the 3:26 mark.

With Shreveport already down for the count, Monroe finished off the Mudbugs with two third-period goals. Redmond picked up his second goal of the game at the 9:25 mark, and Adduono added one 1:16 later. The big win was definitely a confidence booster for the Moccasins, who have nie regular-season games remaining.

"Shreveport didn't play well, but I have to give us a lot of credit because we dictated that," Curran said.