Game No. 11 - Bucks vs. Thunder

Okay, I'm 1-for-2 on goalie predictions. The Bucks will not see Tim Boron, as Krister Toews has led the Thunder onto the ice, but Ryan Gibb will be starting for the Bucks. These Thunder sweaters are going to make some people's jobs very difficult tonight.

Starters: Bucks - Jason Dixon (F), Gibb (G), Alex Goupil (F), Adam Rivet (D), Bobby Russell (F), Vincent Zaore-Vanie (D); Thunder - Matt Byrnes (F), Greg Cassista (D), Jordan Hack (F), Chris Tarkir (F), Jason Tessier (D), Toews (G).

First Period: Appropriately enough, Goupil took the first shot of the game about 40 seconds in, and now we have our first penalty at 1:30 in the period as Bryan Nathe has been called for slashing. Somewhere around that call, Jeff Bes broke his stick, but I don't think the two were related. ... The only result of that power play was the Thunder taking their first shot and Gibb making his first save at the LEC. ... The Bucks just got caught with too many men out, and Joey Olson is serving the penalty. ... Darryl Smith just got a nice shorthanded chance out front of Toews and appeared to be tackled by Luke Hunter after taking a shot that got blocked. ... Ryan Salvis just got a decent breakaway and couldn't quite get a shot off but did draw a penalty, and Pascal Bedard is now in the box for hooking. ... The puck just rolled across the goal line behind Toews' viewpoint but didn't make it past the line. ... The Bucks seem a bit hesitant to take shots on the power play, even with both D-men back at the blue line, and when they do take them, Toews is stopping them. ... Bucks get another power play as Scott Rozendal has been called for high sticking. ... Troy Okufany and Bes just got into a shoving match in front of the net, drawing some words from Rick Kozak. Oh boy. ... And now Kozak is in the box for cross checking. ... Thunder have scored the first goal with everyone back at full-strength and 6:26 to play in the period. I don't think you can fault Gibb for that one; Hack knocked it in off the rebound of a rebound with four Thunder closing in on the net and the rest of the Bucks not really involved in the situation. Brad Thompson has the only assist so far, having taken the second shot on that try, while Jason Duda took the first and may get an assist soon enough. Shot total for the Thunder reads five, but hopefully that will get at least three added to it, plus however many they take in the rest of the period. ... End of the period, Thunder lead 1-0.

Second Period: The period started with 6:13 of penalty-free hockey, with just a couple stoppages, all on shots or icing calls. Olson is now serving another too many men penalty that Ruskowski clearly did not agree with, as I could hear him yelling at the ref all the way up in the press box. ... Goupil is headed to the box for hooking. This probably isn't the way he wanted this game to go. Ruskowski looks to be silently fuming behind the bench. ... The Thunder have finally been penalized in this period, and two-fold, as Bryan Nathe went in for roughing, then Byrnes followed 34 seconds later on a tripping call that brought Kozak to the ground. ... Toews is on fire tonight, seriously. The Bucks had taken two shots in the first 16 minutes of the period, and two more in the following minutes, then fired off about seven or eight during that 85-second 5-on-3, and he stopped them all. ... Period is over; Thunder still lead 1-0.

Third Period: Rivet is in the box for tripping. I'm curious as to whether or not Ruskowski thinks these penalties have been unnecessary ones, especially the too many men ones. ... Before I make this statement, I want to clarify that I am not, nor can I be, a Bucks fan. But I also am not a Thunder fan, clearly. However, I feel for Toews right now. The Bucks finally scored on their 32nd shot of the night...as Toews was out of the net, trying to clear the puck. Instead, he passed it right to Goupil, who sent it to Russell, who easily scored. Ouch. ... And now Russell has been called for tripping, giving the Thunder their sixth power play. ... There was just a big shoving match behind the Bucks' net after Gibb made a save. Igor Agarunov, Devin Featherstone and Steve Weidlich were the Bucks involved, but I'm not too sure about the Thunder players due to those ridiculously difficulty of reading the numbers off their sweaters. ... Bucks lead 2-1 at the 8:38 mark as Weidlich slapped a shot from the right circle past Toews...or possibly between his legs...during the Bucks' seventh power play. Featherstone, who had been in a pile with a Thunder player on the other side of the ice just seconds earlier, gets the assist. ... Apparently I failed to mention the Thunder's first penalty of the third period, a tripping call against Bernier at 9:44, setting up that power-play score. Bedard was then called for hooking at 13:44, but nothing doing on that one. ... Wichita is getting awfully feisty with 2:31 to play. ... Thunder net is empty with just under a minute to go...but no dice.

Game Over: Bucks 2, Thunder 1. Shots - Bucks 38, Thunder 21. Bucks improve to 7-4-0 (14 points), while the Thunder fall to 3-5-1 (seven pts.). Time to interview Ruskowski then rush back to the office due to high school football playoffs, which will also keep me from attending tomorrow night's game.