First Period: After not being able to get the puck out of their own zone for the first minute here, the Bucks are going on the penalty kill with Justin Styffe headed to the box for holding the stick at 1:05. ... That penalty actually gave the Bucks their best chance of the game so far, as Darryl Smith and Igor Agarunov broke away shorthanded. Smith could've shot the puck but opted to pass to Agarunov, who wasn't being defended, but Agarunov missed the net wide. ... Bucks back at full strength. ... The Bucks just managed to set up as though on power play and will now get one as the IceRays took a penalty soon after they set up, allowing the extra attacker to jump out there and Evan Schwabe to get a great chance from right outside the crease. No dice, but the Bucks are going on their first power play of the game at 4:32 with Chris Mei in the box for holding. ... Just realized this is a matchup of the reigning Goalie of the Month and Goaltender of the Week, as Levasseur was given the former honor last week and Nastiuk was announced as the latter yesterday. ... Well, they did take a few shots, but nothing doing on the power play. ... One of the worst turnovers you'll ever see in your life just resulted in Chris Richards being set up wide open all alone between the circles. That's not something you want to do. IceRays lead 1-0 on Richards' wrister that blazed right past Levasseur at 6:55. No way he can be blamed for that goal. ... Nor can he be blamed for the one that came 41 seconds later on another turnover. That one did come from in close and had a better chance of being stopped, but the Bucks' defensemen are giving Levasseur no chance. Chad Costello scored that one to give the IceRays the 2-0 lead. ... Bucks get another power play chance now with Mei back in the box for tripping at 9:41. ... And now the lead is 2-1, thanks to a power-play goal from Billsten, who tipped in a shot from the captain Adam Rivet, who actually did what Coach Ruskowski has been trying to get his team to do and took a shot from the point. Jeff Bes is getting the second assist. IceRays lead 2-1 at 11:29. ... And now Robin Richards has tried to get in on the momentum swing with a fight against Powell. Despite the slow start, I'd actually give Richards a fairly decisive win in that one. ... That Bes-Schwabe-Styffe line just had a couple great chances but somehow didn't even manage to get a shot off against Nastiuk. ... Maxime Lincourt just had a chance to jump off on a breakaway with a long pass from Mike Looby but for some reason hesitated as though waiting for a trailer and wasn't able to capitalize on that. ... Bucks going back on the power play at 15:56 with a holding call against Rob Jarvis. ... Ryan Garbutt just stole the puck to give himself and Justin Quenneville a chance to streak into the Bucks' end. Garbutt took the shot despite Quenneville being wide open, and the puck ended up in Levasseur's chest pads. Another steal could've given the IceRays another chance, but luckily for the Bucks, the IceRays' penalty killers were tired enough to head to the bench. ... A couple rushes later, the period has ended with the IceRays leading 2-1 and the Bucks up 12-5 on shots.
Second Period: Some more good chances for the Bucks early in this one, but Nastiuk has withstood the challenge. ... Quenneville headed to the box at 4:35 to give the Bucks the first power play of the period. He'll serve two for interference. ... Peto headed to the box now for hooking Smith, so the Bucks will have a 5-on-3 for 47 seconds. Let's see if they can finally score on one of these. ... Indeed they did, as Looby took a shot from the point, Bes tried to tip it in, then Lincourt picked up the rebound and knocked it into the back of the net. Wonder if the guys will finally learn the lesson about taking shots from the points on the power play. Game tied, 2-2, at 6:15 in the period. Bucks still have the rest of Peto's penalty to try to get another one on the advantage. ... I never thought I would use the term "lightning cross-ice pass" on this blog, but I think I have to for the one Jeremy Swanson just sent between two IceRays right to Smith, who sent it in front of the net for Lincourt to send home. Second goal came 45 seconds after the first. This is now his first multi-goal game since Oct. 24. ... Looby is currently getting the second assist on the second goal, but I swear he was up on the point with Swanson on the half-wall. Let's see if that gets changed. ... Mei was just tripped by Styffe, who got into a bit of a scuffle with a couple IceRays after the fact, and took some time to get off the ice. He appears to be in some kind of pain on the bench. Styffe will serve two for that, starting at 10:50. ... Billsten is making quite an effort out there tonight and somehow managed to get a shot off despite having two IceRays literally on top of him. One of those IceRays, Jason Tessier, will now serve two minutes for tripping. That call came at 12:24, making it a 4-on-4 for 27 seconds, then a Bucks' power play for 1:33. ... IceRays just got a chance on the PK as Chad Woollard managed to drop Looby and take a shot on goal, but Levasseur set that aside, then Looby bounced up to clear it. ... Bes just got called offsides with Styffe entering the IceRays' zone on a pass from Schwabe, and the crowd did not like hearing that whistle. ... Bucks get another power play with 3:06 left in the period, as Garbutt has been called for high-sticking. ... Ruskowski just sat down on the bench next to Smith to share some words of wisdom with him. He didn't appear to be yelling, but I have to guess that means Smith messed something up. ... Sgroi just had a decent breakaway-ish chance but hit the outside of the net with his shot and apparently had Garbutt overstep the boundaries of his comfort zone as he went after him a bit after the whistle. ... End of the period, Bucks lead 3-2, up 22-14 on shots.
Third Period: A little over two minutes in, Levasseur was able to stop a puck just about to cross the goal line, but apparently the person lighting the goal lamp decided that he or she saw it get in. It didn't. ... Just as the announcement about the errant goal light was being made, Woollard lit it up for real to tie the game at 3. That goal, which came at 3:51, and assists are currently being debated. ... The IceRays were close to scoring again seconds later as Quenneville sent Flath, who was right on the doorstep, a perfect centering pass, but he shot it wide. ... Jarred Mohr headed to the box now for tripping at 4:29 to put the IceRays on the power play. ... Make that a 5-on-3 with Hamilton joining Mohr in the box at 5:58. IceRays get 31 seconds on the two-man advantage with two Bucks' d-men in the box. ... Bucks just got a chance with Bes and Looby breaking away on a 2-on-2, but Looby's shot was easily stopped as play returned to the other end. ... IceRays got their chances on the tail end of that power play despite the Bucks' best efforts, but they failed to convert on anything. ... Schwabe and Styffe just went 2-on-1 but were denied by Nastiuk. ... I have to assume Bes, Schwabe and Styffe have combined for nearly half of the Bucks' shots tonight; they are getting tons of chances, but Nastiuk is keeping the puck out of the net. ... Garbutt just got a great brekaway chance and was pulled down from behind by Swanson, who will serve two for hooking with 1:57 to play in regulation. Not the worst penalty to take, though it initially looked as though the refs weren't even going to call it. ... End of the period, game tied 3-3, Bucks up 32-26 on shots.
Overtime: I was getting spoiled by all those regulation games, guess it's back to overtime. ... Couple possible penalties already in the first 80 seconds or so, but no calls. Understandable, especially considering who's behind these benches. ... Okay, a call has finally been made, and Tessier will go to the box for hooking Styffe with 2:21 in the OT period. The power play will only last one minute, if even that long. ... Peto, Quenneville and Smith (and Nastiuk, of course) killed that whole thing off despite the puck never leaving their zone. Those guys are still on the ice 30 seconds later; IceRays really need some fresh legs. ... Quenneville is always one to rove me wrong, and he just did so again, nearly scoring in the other end at the tail end of a 2-minute shift. Yikes. ... End of the period, game tied 3-3. Bucks now up 37-28 on shots.
Shootout: First one of these at the LEC since Nov. 20 after the season started with four of six here going to shootouts (and five of six to OT). ... Bucks opt to shoot first. ... Billsten - stopped. ... (Chris) Richards - stopped. ... Looby - missed wide after faking Nastiuk out. ... Woollard - stopped. ... Smith - scored top shelf. Bucks up 1-0 in the shootout. ... One of the linesmen just tripped over the corn being illegally thrown on the ice. Chuckles all around. ... Costello - stopped. ... Bes - scored five-hole, I believe. Bucks up 2-0 and will win unless Quenneville scores. ... Quenneville - stopped. ... For the record, Levasseur actually had to make saves on every shot in the shootout, which doesn't always happen, and didn't even happen at the other end. I'm sure he's glad to get a win after those two really awful goals in the first.
1 comment:
What an ugly trend.
Wonder if Levasseur likes all that extra work?
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