Game No. 35 - Bucks at IceRays

First Period: The Bucks got the first power-play chance of the game fairly early as Matt Smyth was called for holding 2:22 into the opening period. Nothing doing on that. ... Bucks get another chance here as Justin Quenneville has been called for high-sticking 6:57 into the game. They have outshot the IceRays 8-2 at this point. Kris Tebbs is in net for the IceRays, by the way, and Ryan Gibb did indeed get the call for the Bucks. ... No goals, but there has been a fight, as Ryan James Hand and Adam Powell dropped the gloves 11 seconds after that Bucks' power play ended. Video feed problems are still plaguing me, so I can't tell you who won that one. ... Just about two minutes after the fight, the Bucks have taken a 1-0 lead on a goal by Alex Goupil, who seems to be exceptionally prolific against the IceRays. Jeff Bes had the primary assist, bringing him within two of 900 for his career, and Serge Dube had the other. ... Things seem to be heating up, as five roughing penalties were just assessed simultaneously. The Bucks will get a power play out of it, as Nicolas Bachand, Chris Mei and Mark Tobin grabbed the majority of the PIMs. Rick Kozak and Erick Lizon will take up residence in the Bucks' box. ... Matt Miller has added to the Bucks' lead with his fifth goal in eight games with the team. Bobby Russell and Steve Weidlich had the assists on the score, which came at 17:55 in the period. Bucks lead 2-0. ... Goupil got called for a hook to give the IceRays their first power-play chance at 18:36 in the period, but Chris Richards negated it at 19:20 with a tripping penalty. The teams will finish the period 4-on-4 and start the second the same way, then the Bucks will get a 44-second power play. ... Okay, scratch that, as Russell has been called for holding with just 18 seconds left in the opening stanza. So the IceRays have a 4-on-3 until Goupil's penalty expires, then it's 4-on-4, then it's an IceRays' 5-on-4 advantage. Yeesh. Steinel seems a little whistle-happy so far. ... Bucks keep that 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission. They've outshot the IceRays 12-7.

Second Period: Igor Agarunov made the penalties mess even more confusing with a tripping call 1:08 into the middle period. That means the IceRays have a 5-on-3 for 34 seconds, then continue on the power play until 3:08...or until another penalty is called. ... Well, the Bucks killed all that only to have Bes called for hooking a minute after Agarunov's penalty expired. IceRays are going on their fifth power play. ... IceRays are on the board 7:05 into the period as Smyth has broken through on assists from Quenneville and Richards. That was the 17th recorded shot Gibb had faced tonight. If Pointstreak is telling the truth, the IceRays have outshot the Bucks 10-0 so far in the period. ... Steve Weidlich has been called for hooking 8:46 in to give the IceRays their sixth power play. Guess the guys didn't get the memo about being disciplined. ... Bucks killed that one to bring things back to even strength a bit past halfway through the second. IceRays have outshot the Bucks 14-3 in this period so far. ... Gibb just picked up his second roughing call of the season at 11:37 in the period to put the IceRays back on the power play. I can't imagine he's thrilled with the way this period is going. ... Three more successive penalties followed the expiration of Gibb's call with Richards going to the box for high-sticking at 15:05, Adam Rivet getting called for hooking at 15:34 and Quenneville taking the same penalty at 16:14. The result? A 3-2 Bucks' lead heading into the second intermission. Bes scored one for the Bucks, the first power-play goal of the game, at 16:52. Dube and Weidlich had the assists. Under two minutes later, Ryan Bennett pulled the IceRays back within one on assists from "New Player" and Quenneville. I imagine that means John Halverson had the primary helper. Curtis Huppe ended the period with a cross check, so the Bucks will start the third on an advantage. IceRays outshot the Bucks 22-8 in that period and lead 29-22 in that department so far in the game.

Third Period: The Bucks took advantage of that power play to start the period, as Goupil scored his second of the game. Bes had the lone assist, bringing him to 900 points in his professional career. ... Bennett put the Bucks right back on the power play 14 seconds after Goupil's goal with a slashing call. ... Sorry; the basketball calls have begun, so I'm getting a bit behind. Luckily, not much new has happened, just a cross-checking call against Smyth at 3:23.

Game Over: Bucks win 6-3. Sorry; the phone really does ring off the hook this time of night. I'll post more in a bit.

UPDATE: Kozak and Russell scored the Bucks' last two goals, with Kozak's coming on the power play and Russell's being a shorthanded empty netter. The Bucks snapped their seven-game winless streak on the road and improved to 21-10-4 (46 points) but did not gain on the Texas Brahmas, as the division leaders defeated the Arizona Sundogs 5-0 to improve to 23-10-3 (49 pts.). Huge game tomorrow night. The IceRays fell to 13-18-4 (30 pts.), dropping even further behind the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, who beat the Amarillo Gorillas 3-1 to improve to 17-15-3 (37 pts.). Interesting note about tonight: there were 60 minutes of penalties assessed on 27 infractions, which of course means there was essentially someone in the box for the entire game. You can read more about the contest in Bryan Benway's recap, which is the only thing written in the American Bank Center to hit the Web yet as I type this. And, to clarify, Bes broke the 900-point mark, not the 9,000...though I really never had that on here. He's at 901 now with an assist on Kozak's late goal.

Other Scores: Blazers 5, RiverKings 1; Brahmas 5, Sundogs 0; Mudbugs 5, Oilers 4; Killer Bees 3, Gorillas 1; Rage 7, Thunder 1; Rush 6, Scorpions 4; Eagles 6, Jackalopes 3 (3rd).

NHL Scores: Devils 2, Islanders 1; Penguins 3, Ducks 1; Flyers 3, Panthers 2 (SO); Thrashers 4, Toronto 3 (OT); Rangers 3, Blackhawks 2 (OT); Oilers 3, Avalanche 2.