Game No. 15 - Bucks vs. RiverKings

Rookie forward Darryl Smith was out for warmups, with something covering his stitched-up ear, and I didn't notice defenseman Adam Rivet out there, but he is on the lineup sheet. Mike Gooch, on the other hand is not, and is probably a healthy scratch for tonight.

As always, you can follow the game here, or here...

Starters: Bucks - Jeff Bes (F), Sebastien Centomo (G), Serge Dube (D), Jaye Judd (D), Rick Kozak (F), Darryl Smith (F); RiverKings - Kevin Beech (G), Bobby Chaumont (F), Louis Dumont (F), Derek Landmesser (D), Joe Markusen (D), Matt Summers (F).

First Period: Putting both No. 19's on the ice was an interesting, though expectable, choice. Summers might have glared some holes through Kozak's sweater. I think he got more cheers than the Bucks players did coming onto the ice. ... Summers just sent a beautiful centering pass to Markusen, who was taken down by Kozak, who is now in the penalty box for hooking...32 seconds into the game. ... And now the RiverKings lead 1-0 at 1:57 in the period, as Centomo was drawn out of the net to try and grab a rebound that his defenseman should have cleared. No. 87 Darrell Stoddard scored the goal as I was staring at his jersey thinking about the fact that I'd never seen another No. 87 in the CHL. Trust me; I'd notice. Stoddard was born in 1982, so I wonder why he wears that number. Oh, and Garrett Larson had the assist on that power-play score. ... Bucks get their first power play as Summers is being sent to the box for holding at 7:12 in the period. ... There are some girls in the crowd holding up signs to spell out "Summers" and also have a big sign bearing his name and covered in hearts in the hallway through which opposing players enter the ice. ... Alex Goupil got a breakaway right after the advantage ended, but because the RiverKings' bench is on the same end as their net for this period, they were able to get out and stop him in time. ... Beech is doing a pretty fantastic job so far. He's so tall it's funny to watch him crouch in his net. ... Dang, I really need to stop jinxing people. Kozak just tied it up by flipping the rebound from a shot by Smith over Beech's right shoulder into the top shelf. Score is 1-1 with 11:26 to play in the period. ... I was starting to think that Mark Lemelin had somewhere to be tonight as time was winding down with only one penalty on each team, but a hooking call against Larson just put the Bucks on the power play for the remainder of the first period and 45 seconds in the second. ... Well, scratch that, as Kozak just scored another, this one on the power play, with 54.7 left on the clock. Smith and Bes are getting assists, but that time, Kozak sent his own rebound past Beech to give the Bucks a 2-1 lead. A few minutes ago, the RiverKings had a decent chance at the other end but were shut down by Centomo. ... I really wish the CHL kept faceoff stats because Dixon has been pretty awesome in that regard this season ... End of the period, Bucks lead 2-1. ... So far, Smith hasn't gotten an assist on that first goal; hopefully they give it to him, because he definitely had one. ... I completely forgot to bring a stuffed animal for the "Teddy Bear Toss," but it looks like plenty of other people remembered. Poor things are getting caught on top of the glass everywhere. ... I'm pretty sure I just overheard Bryan Benway say that the New Year's Eve fireworks will be done indoors this year...though that takes away the risk of them being postponed due to crazy winds, it's also kind of scary.

Second Period: Do Summers and Kozak really have to be right next to each other for every opening faceoff? Dramarama. ... I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Coach Ruskowski is not going to be thrilled by his team's physicality in this game. Other than Kozak, they're getting pushed around pretty badly out there. ... It seems the RiverKings are so prone to the "rough stuff," two of them just decided to take each other down. Okay, it was obviously an accident, but yeesh. ... This whole Margeson-Markusen thing is throwing me off whenever I hear either announcer say either name. Stephen Margeson is also a D-man, by the way. ... Steve Weidlich has been called for elbowing Dumont to put the RiverKings on their second power play of the game 5:01 into the second period. ... A hooking call against Jeff Nelson 35 seconds into the power play has made it 4-on-4, then a brief advantage for the Bucks. ... Honestly, with the way his own teammates block his eyeline sometimes, I do not know how Centomo makes some of those saves. ... To spite me for saying that, the Bucks just turned the puck over in their own zone to give Matt Pierce an open chance, but Centomo stopped that, too. ... Smith just had a wide open chance but was knocked off his feet before he could get a shot off. No penalty there, but Vincent Zaore-Vanie got called for one seconds later at the other end and is now in the box for interference to even things out again then put the RiverKings on the power play for 1:50. ... That was killed, and now the Bucks are on their own power play due to a hooking call against Nelson. ... Chaumont has just tied it up with a shorthanded goal, scored on a lazy breakaway slap shot from the circle. That was something Centomo couldn't have been expecting but still made a great effort to stop. He guessed wrong, though, and Chaumont netted it above Centomo's right shoulder. ... Joey Olson was just called for slashing after getting tangled up with Summers, putting the RiverKings on another power play. ... One of the RiverKings just fired the puck into the stands to avoid letting Smith get a good chance on a semi-breakaway, and he hit a fan hard enough that some ushers have flocked over to him. ... Summers is trying his best to at least set up a goal out here, but his teammates are wasting his centering passes like nobody's business. ... The Bucks have been outshot 11-5 so far this period but have been put on a power play for the remainder (1:35) of it thanks to a hooking call against Landmesser. ... The Bucks have taken back the lead as Bes knocked in a nice pass from Smith, who has finally gotten an assist on that first goal. The score came with 41.7 seconds to play in the period and is Bes' third goal of the season. ... Now the RiverKings will be on the advantage for the rest of the period, with Kozak going to the box for hooking again. ... Bucks lead 3-2 heading into the second intermission, but I'm not sure if I should think that last-minute goal will give them momentum heading into the third after the way they started the second. ... It seems "Killer" stays out on the bench until all of his players are off the ice, which is something I would totally do obsessively if I were a coach. Random, I know, but that's something that I notice about coaches for that reason. ... Shots are back to almost being even, with the RiverKings leading 17-15. ... Dube had the second assist on that first goal, and they have yet to give out a second assist on the last one.

Third Period: The RiverKings didn't even get a shot off during the end of that power play to start the period, so it's back to 5-on-5 with the Bucks up 3-2. ... Whistles have yet to be blown this period, but Pierce just stopped play at 3:04 by tying it up once again on a shot that seemed to climb up Centomo's jersey and drop over his shoulder into the net. ... Kozak and Stoddard each just got sent to the box for holding, creating a full two minutes of 4-on-4 hockey, barring any other penalties in that span. ... RiverKings just took the lead on their fourth shot in a matter of seconds (Centomo had blocked two and gotten some help from the post on one). They are up 4-3 with a bit over 14 minutes to play. Dane Marshall scored that one. ... And now there are two Bucks in the box, making it 4-on-3. Zaore just joined Kozak on a hooking call, which will put the RiverKings on a power play for the full two minutes. ... I'm pretty sure they just put a mother and son on "Beso Cam." Awkward. ... The physical beatdown the RiverKings have been putting on the Bucks all night seems to have taken its toll, as their play seems a little sluggish at this point. Not a good sign for a team that's down a goal with just over nine minutes in the game. ... One of the RiverKings' players just took out Beech and his net in what could have been an attempt to keep the Bucks from having a chance to score, but genuinely seemed like an accident and is being called one by the refs. ... Summers and Olson have been on each other all night, and it seems both just came close to knocking the wind out of themselves by slamming into the glass between the benches together on their way off the ice. ... I'm not entirely sure why, but Ruskowski has changed up the lines to put Russell up with Bes and Kozak and Olson out with Jason Dixon and Goupil. Not so much on the power play, though, as Smith is centering it as usual. They got one on a cross-checking call against Jeff Alcombrack with 5:26 to play in the game. ... Just as I was wondering if the Bucks would score in the final minute like they had in the first two periods, Chaumont made that question a little less relevant with his second goal of the game on assists from Summers and Nelson, meaning Summers will keep his point per game average intact. Bucks are down 5-3 with 1:24 to play. ... Pulling Centomo for the final 35 seconds or so didn't do much for the Bucks.

Game Over: Bucks lose 5-3, fall to 10-5-0 (20 points) on the season, while the RiverKings improve to 9-7-0 (18) heading into Hidalgo for a game against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees. Especially with no ice for practice before they leave tomorrow, this was not the way the Bucks wanted to end this homestand.

NHL Scores: Blues 1, Predators 0 (SO); Thrashers 6, Maple Leafs 3; Flames 6, Kings 2.