As you know if you read my game story, Coach Ruskowski was indeed not happy with his team's physical play, but there were plenty of other things that upset him, too.
Obviously when a coach stresses having three lines that can score as much as Ruskowski does, and only one of them scores on a consistent basis (at least lately), he's going to have a problem with that. The fact that the third line has not scored at all certainly doesn't help.
Seeing the defense get beaten so many times was also a problem, and I'm sure Sebastien Centomo didn't appreciate it much, either, as those defensive mistakes gave him his second 5-goal game since joining the Bucks.
Though the third period is where the RiverKings won it on the scoresheet, their efficient, physical play was something they established much earlier and what eventually doomed the Bucks, who finished the homestand 5-2-0 and are 8-3-0 at home so far this season.
Because there is no ice today and the team leaves at 2 p.m. on its trek to Prescott Valley, I had to stop by the LEC before they started watching tape this morning to talk to Ruskowski and a couple players for my preview of the weekend series against the Arizona Sundogs, which will run in Friday's paper.
Prior to the Bucks' next game, the Texas Brahmas will have a chance to take over the Southeast Division and Southern Conference leads with a game against the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs tonight.
The Brahmas currently stand one point behind the Bucks (10-5-0, 20 points) at 9-4-1 (19 points) and could create a tie atop the standings with an OT loss or take over completely with a win. The Odessa Jackalopes (8-5-2, 18 points) will also get a chance to tie the Bucks for the conference lead as they face the Corpus Christi IceRays tonight.
Fresh off that big third period last night, the RiverKings will be in Hidalgo to take on the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, who are 1-3 in their last four games, tonight.
Other CHL games tonight have the Tulsa Oilers at the Wichita Thunder, the Amarillo Gorillas at the Oklahoma City Blazers, the New Mexico Scorpions at the Arizona Sundogs and the Rocky Mountain Rage at the Colorado Eagles.
In the NHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins are at the New York Islanders, the Boston Bruins are at the Buffalo Sabres, the Atlanta Thrashers are at the Washington Capitals, the Philadelphia Flyers are at the Carolina Hurricanes, the Phoenix Coyotes are at the Columbus Blue Jackets, the New York Rangers are at the Tampa Bay Lightning, the New Jersey Devils are at the Florida Panthers, the Montreal Candiens are at the Detroit Red Wings, the Dallas Stars are at the Minnesota Wild, the St. Louis Blues are at the Colorado Avalanche, the Los Angeles Kings are at the Edmonton Oilers, and the Chicago Blackhawks are at the San Jose Sharks.
Wow, that's a lot of games. While I'm on the NHL topic, I must share my favorite picture from last week...
It was only rivaled by this Photoshop, which I will close with for now: 
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