First Period: Neil Trimm limped into the press box just before the Bucks' starters skated out for the game. He will be doing color commentary for Bryan Benway tonight, taking over for Jeremy Swanson, who has been doing that job for a while. ... United boys' basketball coach Archie Ramos dropped the ceremonial puck tonight, and I believe his regional semifinalist team is sitting over in Section 112. ... IceRays won the opening faceoff, then play was pretty back and forth until they took the first shot on goal of the game a little under two minutes in and Desfosses covered the puck for the first stoppage in play. ... Bes took the Bucks' first shot on net a couple minutes after the first one for the IceRays. Both teams have just one so far. ... Eric Giosa got the Bucks their second shot of the game, and now Dulle has given them the first power play by taking a tripping call at 5:09 in the period. ... That advantage has been cut short by a hooking call on Deschatelets at 6:37. Bucks will have to kill 1:28 of a power play after 32 seconds of 4-on-4 here. ... Penalty killed. ... Seems to be a problem with the ice along to the boards to Beech's left, and the linesmen and a couple of IceRays have been scraping away at it for a minute or two. One of the linesman just poured some more water on it, and now things seem to be good. ... One of the IceRays just took a shot that was deflected up into the Mexican flag. Despite the lack of netting on that side of the ice, you don't see that every day. ... Ryan Garbutt just took a shot that seemed to bounce off the post at ice level, just seconds after one of his teammates missed a pretty open net wide. ... Another IceRays shot was barely held in front of the goal line by Desfosses, who then had Mohr come flying into the net over his leg. ... And now the IceRays have hit the crossbar, too. ... Ryan Lehr just took some sort of hit to the face that was originally ignored by the officials. Once his bleeding required Bobby Moore to leave the bench to take him to the dressing room, Rivet argued the Bucks' case, and now Garbutt is in the box. Two minutes for roughing at 12:38. ... Penalty killed. ... Desfosses just stopped a shot by Dulle that one of his teammates nearly took away from him after he had made the stop. ... Moore is back behind the bench, but Lehr is not out there. That leaves the Bucks with just four defensemen, so I imagine Coach Ruskowski will need to move a forward back at this point. ... The Americans have taken a 1-0 lead over the Brahmas 10:50 into their game. ... Evan Schwabe and Todd Griffith just got a 2-on-1 break created within the IceRays' zone, but Beech was able to read the play pretty well and stop Griffith's shot. ... Couple iffy offsides calls against the Bucks in the past few minutes. Deschatelets was definitely not happy about the most recent one. ... Bucks just missed the net way wide on a good chance. ... Turnover by the IceRays just gave Griffith another chance, but Beech made the stop. ... Decent chances for each team in the final minute, but some just-off passes messed things up for both of them. Mohr took a shot from outside the blue line as time expired that ended up right in Beech's chest. ... End of the period, game tied 0-0, Bucks up 9-6 on shots. ... That United boys' basketball team is on the ice to be honored by the Bucks and those in attendance. ... Americans still have that 1-0 lead at the end of the first in North Richland Hills.
Second Period: Swanson is in the press box to take over the color commentary for the second period. ... Lehr is back out for the second period. ... Lots of back and forth and missed shots for the Bucks before Costello got the scoring in this one started at 4:47 with a goal from the slot, assisted by Quenneville and Garbutt. IceRays lead 1-0. ... Worth noting the Bucks have yet to register a shot on goal in this period, while the IceRays' goal came on their fourth of the period. ... Another late offsides call against the Bucks, who have not been doing a great job entering the offensive zone tonight. ... Giosa just missed a couple chances on a loose puck right out in front of Beech as he failed to elevate the rebound from a shot by one of the linemates after the IceRays absent-mindedly dropped it back into their own zone. ... Richards and Garbutt just got a 2-on-1 with Dieude-Fauvel chasing them down and Desfosses made the save on Richards' shot. ... Schwabe was just slammed into the boards backwards by Quenneville as he attempted to turn around to grab the puck. ... Another shot has been deflected near the flags, but this one hit just above the American flag, not the flag itself. ... Players seem to be getting tangled up with each other inadvertently quite a bit the paste few minutes. ... The IceRays are going on the first power play of the period as Griffith heads to the box to serve a too-many-men bench minor at 13:57. ... Smith got a breakaway across nearly the entire sheet of ice with one of the IceRays right on his back but didn't seem to get quite the shot he wanted as he pushed the puck right into Beech's pads. ... Another shorthanded break about 30 seconds later gave Deschatelets and Schwabe a 2-on-1 chance. Schwabe elevated the puck but put it on the back of the cage. ... Nice glove save by Desfosses with six seconds left on the advantage for the IceRays. They'll get a faceoff to his right for one last chance. ... Chris Richards won the faceoff, but the IceRays allowed the puck out past the blue line, and the penalty has been killed. ... With 3:12 left in the period, Chris Richards' wrist shot has given the IceRays a 2-0 lead. Assists go to Ryan Bennett and Dulle. ... An interesting series of events, which included the Bucks missing quite a few chances and Rivet moving in on offense with Igor Agarunov back at the point, Costello got an odd break then dropped the puck back to one of his teammates, possibly Quenneville, who had a great chance to increase their lead. Desfosses was able to deflect the puck over the net, but it nearly hit the crossbar and fell in behind him. ... The post-whistle shoving on the final one of the period had four or so Bucks gang up on Garbutt, with Dieude-Fauvel eventually throwing a punch. Rivet is angrily talking to referee Dan Dreger, so I'm guessing the IceRays might be on a power play to start the third. For some reason, the goal light went off with about six seconds left, but there was no goal scored. ... End of the period, IceRays lead 2-0, up 17-16 on shots. ... The Americans hold a 2-1 lead over the Brahmas at the end of their second period.
Third Period: Desfosses' net has been knocked off its moorings just 18 seconds into the final stanza. ... Griffith almost walked one past Beech, but the goalie sprawled back to keep it out of the net. ... Bucks back in the shot lead for the first time since early in the second, 18-17. ... Brahmas have tied their game at 2. ... Smith and Bes just got a 2-on-1 break, and Peto, the man back on defense, bought a fake-out play by Smith to be taken out of things, then Smith opted to shoot rather than pass and Beech robbed him with a glove save. Can't say the Bucks aren't getting their chances. ... R.G. Flath to the box for hooking at 5:06 to give the Bucks their first power play in quite some time and Robin Richards one of his first shifts in just as long. ... The Bucks just cannot hold the puck in on the power play. ... Another nice save by Beech keeps the Bucks off the board. ... Penalty killed. ... Nice kick save by Desfosses on another close call for the Bucks. ... Some more misfires by the Bucks and a save by Beech thrown in there sent the IceRays back on offense, and, despite changing while the Bucks had a chance to regroup, they have made it 3-0 on Chad Costello's second of the night. Quenneville and Dulle with the assists on that score at 8:55. ... Giosa just got his helmet knocked off and tapped it with his stick, accidentally sending it behind Desfosses into the net. That sets up a lot of jokes, but I'll refrain. ... Less than 10 minutes left in regulation. ... Agarunov is staying back on defense now, meaning Robin Richards is out with Giosa and Curtis Billsten. ... Matt Smyth just missed Powell with his pass on a 3-on-1, giving Dieude-Fauvel, the one guy back, and Desfosses a break. ... Not long after he starts playing regular shifts, Robin Richards is headed to the penalty box for holding. IceRays get the power play at 13:05. That might be the reason Ruskowski was hoping to stick with five d-men tonight. ... IceRays getting a 5-on-3 now with a delayed call on Smith, who heads to the box for high sticking at 13:33. IceRays get the two-man advantage for 1:22. Not an ideal situation for the Bucks down 3-0 to a team they didn't want to take penalties against in the first place. Paul Elliott, Mohr and Bes out for the Bucks. ... Mohr stayed out after the first change and is now joined by Rivet and Schwabe. ... Well, that was a bit of a surprise. Bucks got a 2-on-1 break still killing that 5-on-3, and Schwabe passed to Rivet, who beat Beech just above the pad stick side and break up his shutout bid. I must admit, I was thinking the Bucks shouldn't commit to that too much and get caught with only one man back on defense, but for the first time tonight, that risk paid off for them. The IceRays' lead is 3-1 with 5:44 on the clock. Peto was the lone man back to defend for the IceRays and nearly broke up that pass but just missed to give Rivet that chance. ... And now the Americans are back on top of the Brahmas, 3-2. ... Desfosses just deflected a shot that was wide of the net out of play with six seconds left on the first penalty. IceRays get the faceoff to the right of Desfosses. ... Penalty killed. ... Richards got a lead pass not long after coming back to the box but couldn't beat Peto to the puck or get it away from him on the boards. ... Both penalties killed. If the Bucks weren't already down 3-0 before then, that kill could have made this game. Well, I guess it still could. Technically. ... Griffith just missed a pass right at his feet, allowing the IceRays to clear. ... Brahmas have tied their game again. ... Bennett just whipped a wrister over Desfosses' shoulder on a nice pass by Chris Richards, and that might be the end of this one. Still 2:18 on the clock, but it's not nearly as appealing to pull your goalie down 4-1 as it is down 3-1. Garbutt getting the second assist on that. ... Garbutt out again just attempted a wraparound that Desfosses shoved away then went after the loose puck, forcing Desfosses to make another save. That puts the IceRays back on top in shots, 25-24. ... Icing with 4.5 seconds to go gives the Bucks a faceoff to Beech's left. ... Desfosses could not skate off the ice fast enough.
Game Over: Bucks lose 4-1, fall to 28-20-10 (66 points) and keep their magic number stuck at four. ... To make matters just a little bit worse for the Bucks, the Americans and Brahmas are heading into overtime, meaning the Brahmas get at least a point tonight. ... That game went to a shootout, and the Brahmas lost, but they still pick up a point on the Bucks in the race for third place. ... As I'm sure you could guess, Ruskowski was not very pleased with the effort tonight. He said someone in the dressing room said no one showed up, and he agreed. I got almost all of his quotes into my story for tomorrow's paper, so check that out or check back here tomorrow for them. There is practice tomorrow before the ice gets covered for the George Lopez event on Friday, so I'll be here.
7 comments:
Bucks playing like they just got off their bus. Too slow and too much passing! C'mon guys, you have to step it up if you want to win...
WHAT THE HELL DOES THIS TEAM WORK ON? THEY DID NOT WORK HARD AT ALL, DIDNT WIN THE ONE ON ONE BATTLES. DIDNT GO HARD TO THE NET AMD I DONT REMEMBER THEM TAKING ANY GOOD SHOTS. WTF. DISGUSTED!!!
I have already given up on them. if they are going to play on the mini playoff round they should just
forfeit the game cause i know who is going to lose.
How was practice? Light like always
Practice ran about an hour. He skated them a bit at first then ran a few drills. They watched video before they went out on the ice. Mike Looby, Jarred Mohr and Robin Richards all sat out with injuries.
Injuries? Jeez. I won't be surprised if they lose the remainder of the games. Against Odessa, the Bees who have a chance to catch Corpus, the Brahmas who seemed to have picked it up knowing that Laredo could have caught them on the standings, and Arizona. We know what happened the last time the Bucks played them. That was when Arizona was "struggling." I predict that the Bees will come out on fire tomorrow night. What better chance to whoop the Bucks on their ice in the final game between both teams this season. Just watch. Oh btw, Levasseur's season at Springfield ends on April 11th. It'll be too late by then. And yes, I left the game early yesterday! This season was very disappointing.
The injuries aren't serious, and Mohr and Richards are expected to play this weekend.
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