Starters: Bucks - Sebastien Centomo (G), Jason Dixon (F), Alex Goupil (F), Jaye Judd (D), Joey Olson (F), Adam Rivet (D) ; Killer Bees - Christian Boucher (G), Nic Dumoulin (D), Aaron Lee (F), Zak McClellan (F), Jesse Perrin (D), Evan Rankin (F).
First Period: It took a while for this to get figured out for some reason, but the Bucks are getting the first power play of the game at 1:14 in the period as Lee is being sent to the box for high sticking. Okay, wait, Lee is being joined by one of his teammates. Apparently it was a double minor. And Rick Kozak is in the box for the Bucks serving a too-many-men penalty. But they do still have a power play. ... They didn't score on the power play, but they did not much later, as Jeff Bes sent the Bucks' third shot in a matter of seconds past Boucher. Funny how that chasing rebounds things works out. Kozak had the primary assist, and Darryl Smith gets the other one. It should be noted that Boucher made a pretty incredible split save just a little bit before that goal; his defense just didn't do a very good job clearing the puck after the fact. ... It's weird how players always seem to shoot it wide when they have an open net. Centomo was just pulled out into the front right of the crease on a save, then Brian Bicek missed the net wide to Centomo's left. The Bees took another shot seconds later, and Centomo almost let it slide in but tied it up just before it crossed the line. Both teams have come out pretty aggressive offensively tonight. ... Of course things started getting caught up in the neutral zone once I said that. Daryl Moore just got sent to the box for hooking, though, so we'll see if the Bucks can get anything started on their second power play of the game. ... Grant Goeckner-Zoeller just hooked Dixon to stop him on a scoring chance, so the Bucks will have a 5-on-3 for 47 seconds, then continue on the power play for 1:13. ... The Bucks got a few shots off during that 4-minute advantage but probably not as many as Coach Ruskowski would have liked to see. He has described their power play on off nights as "pass, pass, pass, bad pass, then they clear it," and that try didn't differentiate too much from his words. ... Forgot to mention this before, but rookie defenseman Ryan James Hand is the Bucks' scratch tonight to make room for the return of Serge Dube. I'll assume he's a healthy scratch unless I find out otherwise. ... Smith just took it from center ice and beat Boucher on a breakaway to snap his fairly short Joy-induced goal drought. He had two Killer Bees chasing him, but he was too fast for them and for Boucher's glove. That was something you would expect to see from a team that was shorthanded; nice goal. Not sure if they're giving out assists. ... Okay, sorry; I had to upload my photographer's pictures of the game and missed a roughing penalty against Dixon with 45 seconds to play in the period. Killer Bees didn't score in that period, but will start the second with 1:15 more of the advantage. Bucks lead 2-0 and 10-6 on shots at the end of one.
Second Period: The Bucks (well, mostly Centomo) killed off the end of that power play to open the period, and now these teams are 4-on-4 as Kurtis Dulle and Kozak earned simultaneous slashing penalties at 2:28 in the period. ... The Killer Bees are on the board now, as Jesse Bennefield got the puck past Centomo on a breakaway similar to Smith's score in the first. No assists yet. Bucks lead 2-1. ... Bennefield just ran off on another one, but this time he got tripped up and slid into Centomo following his shot, eventually taking the net out. Centomo had made the save, but now he gets a penalty shot. ... It's tied now, as Bennefield went five-hole and took care of that one. Shots are even at 13. This game sure changed a lot in the first five minutes of the period. ... Oh boy. I'm afraid to even look at Ruskowski right now, as the Bees have taken a 3-2 lead on Stephen Burns' first professional goal. I'm not sure if the defense is on vacation or what, but Centomo was fairly doomed on that one. That's three goals in 2:14, by the way. ... The Bucks finally seemed to get the memo about shooting more, but none of the shots were very high quality, so the score remains 3-2 in the Killer Bees' favor after the puck spent a while in the Bucks' offensive zone. ... Smith just thought he had tied it up by knocking in a rebound, but there must be some sort of electric fence over the goal line, because the puck didn't cross. ... Okay, Goupil broke the fence. He just slapped one from between the circles past Boucher on an assist from Dixon. It's 3-3 at 14:21 in the period. Oh, and the Bucks were on a power play because of a slashing call against Dumoulin, so they are now 1-for-4 on the advantage tonight. ... There are bodies flying all over the ice, mostly as a result of incidental contact and random self-induced tripping. Kind of weird. Meanwhile, the Killer Bees are on their second power play of the game thanks to an interference call against Devin Featherstone. It's funny that happened because I was just about to remark about them only allowing one power play so far when discipline had been so much of a focus heading into the game. Whoops. ... Not long after the power play expired, Dumoulin knocked one in to give the Killer Bees the lead back. Robin Bouchard had the assist on that one. Killer Bees lead 4-3 with a little over a minute in the period. ... The Killer Bees will take that lead to the dressing room, as the score is 4-3 at the second intermission. They outshot the Bucks 16-10 in the period and now lead 22-20 on shots in the game. ... Apparently my fear that these intermissions are longer than usual is warranted, as these ridiculous "re-enactments" necessitate more than 20 minutes per break. I had no idea the Christmas story involved the devil in a Killer Bees' sweater.
Third Period: The top line is out to start this one, with Dube and Mike Gooch (who are fairly offensive-minded) on defense. This is just a guess, but with what is usually a power-play unit on the ice, I think Ruskowski wants a goal. ... Well, they didn't get it, but Adam Rivet did, as he snuck one around a sprawled-out Boucher following a couple botched chances on the Bucks' end. Let's see if this gives them some momentum. Game is tied 4-4. ... Watching the replay of that, it was nice to see Rivet actually take the puck from just outside the circle and go for the goal himself. Passing is all well and good, but I'm sure Ruskowski was glad to see someone take the initiative and actually go for it. ... Are the corn collectors tinier tonight than usual? There are some kids out there who look to be toddlers. Super cute. ... These teams have both missed some absolutely amazing chances tonight, and the Bucks just did it two more times, missing open-net chances on two straight drives. The fact that I can hear the crowd screaming in sync with me shaking my head is a sure sign that there are more people here tonight than usual this season. We'll see how tomorrow works out, with that whole Cowboys' game thing. ... Bes has gotten the Bucks the lead back, as he just flipped the puck over Boucher into the top shelf for his second goal of the game at 8:56 in the period. I just realized how late it is; I may not have time for postgame interviews for the first time this season. Lame. ... Three of the Bucks' goals tonight are currently listed as unassisted. I wonder how many will have assists when everything is said and done. That isn't to say those given assists don't deserve them, just that the scorekeeping in this league is an interesting business. ... Kozak is in the box for charging with 5:34. First penalty of the period and the Killer Bees' third power play of the game. ... Lee just scared someone walking around the stands half to death as he fired the puck out of play in the direction of her head. If she had been paying attention to the game, it may not have been nearly as alarming, but she was pretty terrified. ... The Killer Bees just pulled Boucher, but the puck thwarted their efforts by getting caught in Kozak's pads and halting play. Just under a minute to play. ... Bes was thisclose to the hat trick with what could have been an empty netter, but he chose to pass it to Russell and no dice.
Game Over: Bucks win 5-4, improve to 17-6-1 (35 points) and thanks to the IceRays have grabbed a couple points on the Odessa Jackalopes (18-6-2, 38 pts.) and kept Ruskowski in the running for All-Star co-coach. ... The Bucks now lead the Texas Brahmas (13-8-3, 29 pts.) by eight points in the Southeast Division and have 11 and 12 over the Killer Bees (11-10-2, 24 pts.) and IceRays (10-10-3, 23 pts.), respectively. Tomorrow night's game against the IceRays should be an interesting one, considering the way things have gone for each team of late.
Three Stars: No. 3 Rivet, No. 2 Smith, No. 1 Bes. Too bad I don't have time to talk to any of them.
Other Scores: IceRays 2, Jackalopes 1; Gorillas 7, Rush 5; Thunder 2, RiverKings 1; Mudbugs 4, Oilers 3 (SO); Brahmas 4, Sundogs 2; Eagles 4, Scorpions 3.
NHL Scores: Devils 5, Senators 1; Sabres 5, Kings 0; Wild 4, Islanders 1; Blackhawks 3, Flames 2 (OT); Ducks 3, Oilers 2 (SO).
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