First Period: Defenseman Mike Looby is back in the lineup tonight as Coach Ruskowski had hoped he would be after a few days of rest since his last game. Mohr still has his "A," thought. ... Slight delay following the anthem and ceremonial puck drop as there seems to be a small bad patch on the ice. ... Not much of interest until 3:20 when James Hiebert was sent to the box to serve a too-many-men penalty for the Brahmas. Bucks on the game's first power play. ... Bucks had two very, very close chances on that advantage but couldn't knock the puck in the net. ... Bucks back on the power play with a board-checking call against Luke Sellars 6:22. ... That lasted three seconds, as Jeff Bes was called for interference on the ensuing faceoff. Time for some 4-on-4. ... And now it'll be 4-on-3 for 25 seconds, 4-on-4 again for three, then 5-on-4 for 1:32 with a hooking call against Grant Jacobsen at 7:58. ... And the Bucks have a 1-0 lead at 9:59 on Mark O'Leary's first goal with the team. He was in the right place at the right time, which the Bucks rarely are this season, and knocked a rebound from a shot by Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel behind Palmer, who was very committed to the right side of his crease to stop the previous shot and left the net wide open behind himself. Not sure if they're giving a second assist, but Dieude-Fauvel sure has been contributing a lot offensively in the past few games. ... Second assist went to Eric Giosa. ... As of 12 minutes into the period, Gajewski has only faced two shots, and I honestly don't even remember either of them (meaning I don't think he's been tested, not that I'm not paying attention, of course). ... Wow, am I really that bad of a jinx? Gajewski just got tested, and the game is now tied 1-1 at 12:41 in the period. Shot banged into the net off Gajewski's equipment. Seibel gets credit for the goal, and Burto and Cameron get the assists. ... Just 19 seconds later, Evan Schwabe has given the Bucks the lead back on a shot that bounced off Palmer into his net. That was a little less flukey, though, as it barely grazed him. Bucks lead 2-1 at the 13-minute mark. O'Leary gets the primary assist for a nice pass over to Schwabe, and Bes gets the secondary for pulling the puck away from the boards to get over to O'Leary. Signing him isn't looking like a bad move so far, eh? ... Gajewski just made a couple key saves with the Brahmas camped out in his zone as though on the power play, and now the Bucks will get a real power play after a cross-checking call against Jason Deitsch for a hit on Bear Trapp at 15:59 in the period. ... End of the period, Bucks lead 2-1, up 14-7 on shots. ... Guess it's worth noting that the Bucks got at least part of five different power plays in the period, while the only penalty against them didn't result in any man-advantage time for the Brahmas. ... A bit more on the O'Leary signing: Coach Ruskowski has made it clear lately that he's just trying to get bodies on the ice to make up for all the guys who are out, and a lot of the players he's brought in are ones he's never seen play and who haven't played in a long time, if at all this season. O'Leary is neither of those things, having played two seasons with the rival Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and played 17 games in the East Coast Hockey League this season, most recently on Dec. 5. Okay, I guess that was actually a while ago, but he doesn't look too rusty right now. I'll talk to Ruskowski about this signing after the game and maybe even talk to O'Leary if I have time for multiple player interviews before they hit the ice for the post-game skate.
Second Period: Jacobsen just stole the puck in the neutral zone to skate in on Gajewski all alone, and Gajewski made a glove save on his shot. Wasn't the most difficult save on earth, but stopping guys on chances like that can be huge for teams in close games. ... A lot of sloppy play early in the middle period. ... Smith just got a great chance walking in on Palmer when he appeared to have faked him out for an easy shot, but Palmer was still in the play and made a kick save. ... A big chance in front of Gajewski has turned into the Brahmas' first power play of the game with a roughing call against Looby at 7:21. Interesting penalty to take in that situation, but the Brahmas didn't score on the play during which it took place. We'll see if the same holds true for the power play. ... Schwabe just got a bit shaken up on a play, but he told Bobby Moore he was fine when Moore approached him on the bench after he left the ice. ... Penalty killed. ... Another mad scramble around the Bucks' net has the Brahmas' shot total up to 17. Bucks now lead 20-17 in that category after being up 14-7 after one, but they've been able to keep the Brahmas off the board this period anyway. ... Bucks just took a poorly-timed icing call with some tired guys on the ice, but an official timeout is giving them a chance to catch their breath. ... Are the Bucks playing a trap right now? Can't say it's the worst idea in the world, but it's pretty surprising. ... Okay, I think they were trying to play a trap, but that really isn't working out for them. Shots 20-19 now, and we've got some pushing and shoving, with Hiebert getting involved, shockingly enough. ... Kevin McLeod just tried a wraparound that he might have been able to get around Gajewski if he kept the puck on his stick. Shots even at 20 now. ... O'Leary just got drilled into the net skating in on a break with Bes, and he seems shaken up a bit. Took him a while to get up, and he almost looked dizzy when he got back on his skates. Seems to be fine, though. ... Burto going to the box with 53 seconds left in the period for crushing Justin Styffe into the boards (also known as cross checking) to put the Bucks on their sixth power play and first of the period. ... Just as I was about to say the Bucks were passing too much, Rivet got upended and hit the puck (on what may have been a pass attempt), sending it right past Palmer into the net. However, the goal came exactly as the clock ran out, so they seem to be deciding if it'll stay on the board. Assists go to Trimm and Monych if so. ... Yep, that'll stand, and we'll have one more faceoff in the period with exactly one second on the clock. ... End of the period, Bucks lead 1-0, up 22-20 on shots. They are 2-for-6 on the power play so far.
Third Period: Smith took the first shot of the period about five seconds in, and Palmer just got a glove on it to deflect it into the corner. ... Brahmas get an early power play here with Trimm going to the box for holding at 0:32. ... Pretty sure Gajewski just put it into his own net on a shot by Skworchinski that seemed to have been stopped but ended up behind him anyway. Brahmas had to do some good work along the boards to get that opportunity despite being on the power play. Seibel gets what is currently the lone assist. Bucks lead 3-2 at 2:28 in the period. ... And now they have taken another penalty, with Trapp going to the box for high sticking at 2:51 to give the Brahmas their second power play in the first few minutes of the final stanza. ... Penalty killed. ... Styffe to the box for a high-sticking double minor now at 6:31, meaning he'll serve four minutes. They're giving the Brahmas every chance in the world to tie this. ... A.J. Gale has taken a hooking call at 9:19 to make the rest of Styffe's stay in the penalty box 4-on-4 on the ice. ... Seibel has joined Gale in the box after taking a hooking penalty of his own at 10:52. Bucks get a short 5-on-3, then stay on the power play. ... It hasn't been back to even-strength for even a minute, and now the Brahmas get another power play with Trapp in the box for hooking at 13:25. ... Gajewski just nearly tipped a shot into his own net, but he was lucky to have it bounce on the outside of the net and get picked up by Mohr. ... Gajewski just got pushed into his net, pushing it off its moorings... and somehow the Brahmas are getting a 5-on-3. Dan Wildfong has called a time out to decide what he wants to do here. Bes took the second penalty, by the way, yet another hooking call, at 14:53. ... Styffe just got a great chance one-on-one with Palmer not long after the Bucks were able to stop the Brahmas in the other end, but Palmer made the save. ... Yet another penalty, McLeod for tripping at 16:28, will give the Bucks yet another power play. ... Nice defensive play by Todd Paul kept Bes from getting a shot off on a rush late in the power play, the majority of which was spent in the Bucks' defensive zone. ... Gajewski was just pushed into his net again, this time taking the puck with him, and the goal light is on with 1:06 left in regulation. Not sure if this is going to count. ... No change on the scoreboard yet as the officials talk it over with their off-ice counterparts, the captains and the coaches. ... Seems it will be no goal, but Trimm is headed to the box for the penalty about to be called when that puck went in. Trimm will serve some amount of time or another for holding, and the Brahmas have pulled Palmer for the two-man advantage. Still 1:06 left on the clock. ... Smith seems to have sealed this up with one of the hardest-working empty-netters you'll ever see at 19:35.5 in the period. He and Rivet really needed to score for confidence's sake. Not sure if an empty-netter can do that much for a player in that regard, but it can't make things any worse. Bucks lead 4-2 with 24.5 seconds left in regulation. ... Good thing Smith got that one, because Gale just whipped one past Gajewski from the point to make it 4-3. Still 6.4 seconds left on the clock.
Game Over: Bucks win 4-3, snap their seven-game winless streak and improve to 14-10-7 (35 points). Brahmas fall to 16-12-5 (37 points). Huge win for the Bucks, regardless of how anyone thinks they played in it.
3 comments:
whats going on with the bucks? how have the practice been? is it true some top player walked out on the team? info us please :(
There was no practice yesterday, just a skate for guys who haven't been skating much (new players and Maxime Lincourt, who can still skate because his injury is upper-body).
This morning, I woke up without a voice, because apparently getting sick is my new hobby, so I didn't go to practice figuring that it would be useless if I couldn't talk to anybody.
However, I have also heard the rumor about a player walking out, though not in the same way you heard it. The team has yet to get back to me, but I'll keep you posted when they do.
Wow what's wrong with this team
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