Game Day No. 26

Time for Game No. 7 between the Bucks and Killer Bees this season.

Coach Ruskowski did the Killer Bees a favor by trading for a guy who isn't around to make the numbers a little closer to even...well, at least forward-wise. Guess the Bucks won't need a scratch tonight.

Anyway, here's my preview, Bryan Benway's preview, the Killer Bees' media notes and the Pointstreak pre-game notes. I'll type more in a bit, but it's time to listen to (or watch, if I'm lucky) the first period of the Penguins' game now.

The Bucks have won two in a row, but neither in convincing fashion, while the Killer Bees have lost three straight.

As my preview mentions, the home team has won each of the previous games between these teams this season. We'll see if the Bucks can change that tonight. If not, they're in for an even worse drive to Colorado on Wednesday than it would be anyway.

Coach Ruskowski seems to believe Matt Miller will bring a certain toughness to the team that will help put points on the board, but we won't be able to see that tonight.

Olson Out

It seems Coach Ruskowski has traded forward Joey Olson to the Rapid City Rush in exchange for forward Matt Miller.

Of course I didn't find out about this until I started driving to the Valley, so I'll have more on this move when I get to Dodge Arena tonight.

UPDATE: I am here, and I talked to Ruskowski about this when I got here. Turns out he'd been trying to get Miller since he was with Amarillo last season but wasn't able to nab his rights previously. Miller called him yesterday and said now was the time, so he got it done. Here's what Ruskowski had to say:

"I liked Joey a lot. He was a short, small guy that skated really well, handled the puck well and just didn't get the ice time he probably desreved because I like to get (Erick) Lizon in there, also. I needed a guy that could come in here with Matt Miller's situation. You know I've always been harping about my team not being physical enough, and that's something I want my team to get better at. (Miller) has a presence, he loves the game; he's the first one to practice, the last one to leave. He can score; he had 20 goals last year. He can scrap; he plays physical. That's my kind of player."

Slow Sunday

I somehow persuaded myself to finally start unpacking and cleaning my apartment today, so I won't be blogging as much as planned.

You can read my inappropriately headlined story about last night's 4-3 win over the Corpus Christi IceRays (or Bryan Benway's) or get the other side of it from Greg Rajan's story in the Caller-Times.

Obviously when a game is won in the last seconds like that, it's going to have opposite effects on the teams involved, though Coach Ruskowski was not at all as happy as his players were last night.

Meanwhile, the Bucks will be back in action tomorrow with a rare Monday night game against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, who have lost two straight after defeating the IceRays on Thursday.

I'll be heading down to Dodge Arena for that game, so I'll be live blogging it for anyone interested.

Today, the Oklahoma City Blazers recovered from their rather surprising 3-2 OT loss to the Rocky Mountain Rage last night with a 4-1 win.

That loss last night helped the Southern Conference leading Odessa Jackalopes (19-6-2, 40 points) move into second place in the league.

As a Penguins' fan, last night's loss and the possibly bizarre comments by Michel Therrien that followed didn't leave me much to be happy about, but this is still kinda cool. Okay, seems that comment was the less offensive option. Good.

Today's NHL Scores: Devils 3, Flyers 2 (SO); Panthers 3, Avalanche 0; Bruins 6, Blues 3; Hurricanes 3, Canadiens 2.

Game No. 25 - Bucks vs. IceRays

These holiday sweaters aren't too terrible, but the socks are a different story...the color combination looks a bit odd, though. And the Bucks on the front look kind of demonic or something. At least they are easy to read!

Ryan Gibb and Dustin Traylen (who finally has his IceRays mask) will indeed be tonight's goaltenders.

Apparently rookie defenseman Ryan James Hand was a scratch last night because his flight back to Laredo was delayed earlier this week, causing him to miss practice on Thursday and Coach Ruskowski to not want him to play right away. He's out there for warmups right now, though.

The warmup music is a bit different tonight than the usual playlist, apparently partially at the request of the Darryl Smith.

Starters: Bucks - Igor Agarunov (F), Devin Featherstone (D), Gibb (G), Bobby Russell (F), Ryan Salvis (F), Steve Weidlich (D); IceRays - John Adams (D), Adam Powell (F), Justin Quenneville (F), T.J. Reynolds (D), Chris Richards (F), Traylen (G).

First Period: Nothing much worth noting happened in the first couple minutes, but Ryan Bennett just gave the IceRays an early 1-0 lead as he flipped the puck over Gibb's right shoulder on his team's third shot of the game. Nicolas Bachand had the primary, and currently only credited, assist. ... The Bucks took only one shot on goal in the game's first eight minutes and are at two shots 8:43 in. The scoreboard still says one, but Joey Olson had one that came right off Traylen's pads not long ago. The IceRays have taken four. ... Bennett has now taken the game's first penalty at 8:55 in the period. He's in the box on a roughing call. The Bucks have three shots heading into this power play; we'll see how many they have when it ends. ... Well, they only got one off in the first 58 seconds, then Jeff Bes got called for tripping to make it 4-on-4, then an IceRays' advantage. ... Ummm, wow. The Bucks just got a major lucky break as Weidlich winded up and drilled a slap shot from just inside the blue line right past Traylen. No way he could have seen that coming...and actually getting the net, especially considering Weidlich misses those on an empty one in practice routinely. The shot came off a rebound of a shot by Bes, I believe, that had drifted out to him. That was Weidlich's third of the year and second that came exactly that way. ... Erick Lizon and Jonathan Trottier decided to follow that up with a fight at center ice. They each landed a couple decent blows, but it ended pretty quickly and Lizon probably got the best of it. Don't know why Trottier, who is 5-foot-11, would put himself in that situation willingly, but he has a sense of humor about the booing while he's in the penalty box. Seems like Lizon may have hurt his hand. ... Salvis just gave the Bucks a 2-1 lead, knocking in a rebound from a shot by linemate Agarunov, then immediately tripped over an IceRays defender and almost wiped out but recovered quickly to stage a celebration. ... This whole goal-fight thing seems to be a habit tonight, as RIck Kozak just absolutely destroyed Bachand. Yikes. That was at least a bit more even of a matchup height-wise. With only 3:31 left in the period, both players will leave the ice. ... I always get very weirded out when I see Bes get into shoving matches...so I am currently weirded out. He and Powell get matching roughing penalties with 2:49 to play in the period. ... The Bucks will take the 2-1 lead into the dressing room for the first intermission. Bryan Benway said prior to the game that he thought it would be determined by the first 10 minutes; if the Bucks are going to win, he better hope the second 10 were more telling. Bucks lead 11-5 on shots now. ... Seeing him in the press box just reminded me to mention that rookie D-man Mike Gooch is the healthy scratch tonight.

Second Period: There was quite a pileup in front of Gibb to start the period, but he was able to keep the puck outside the goal line. ... Lizon was skating with the top line in Kozak's absence and just got a couple great chances but missed them, hitting the crossbar once. ... The Killer Bees, who were down 3-0 to the Jackalopes at one point, have tied the game. ... A shot by Powell just deflected off Hand's skate into the net to tie this game, too. Qunneville is getting the assist. Greg Rajan would like me to note that Powell beat Hand for a spot on the IceRays' roster two years ago when the two were trying for the enforcer spot during training camp. Poor Ryan. ... Olson just had a chance and couldn't get a shot off but did draw a hooking penalty against Reynolds to give the Bucks their second power play of the game. ... The majority of this period so far has been spent in the neutral zone, and the Bucks have seemed pretty out of it on their few scoring chances. Ruskowski does not look happy. ... These guys seem more intent on shoving each other around than doing much else right now. Oh, and the crowd is much smaller than last night, but not as bad as I expected. The people are spread around all of the sections, at least. Not bad for a Week 16 Cowboys' game night. ... Bob Rapoza just got called for tripping Featherstone behind the IceRays' net, so now it's time for power play No. 3 with just over five to play in the period. ... I did not think they were going to score on that, as they were passing the puck around aimlessly to start, but then Russell shot one that got caught up in Traylen's pads and trickled between his legs. Alex Goupil and Jason Dixon had the assists. The Bucks are now 1-for-3 on the power play. ... Gibb just leaped into the air to make a glove save...well, technically just a catch, as that was not a shot on goal. That was kind of funny. ... The IceRays are getting a power play with 13.4 seconds to go, meaning they will start the third period with nearly a complete advantage, on an interference call against Featherstone. ... Bucks will take that 3-2 lead into the second intermission, though they almost seemed to be trying to let the IceRays tie it up toward the end of the period. Bucks outshot the IceRays 13-11 in the period, and shots are now 24-16 for the game. ... Apparently the Killer Bees were jinxed by all of us who spoke of them tying that game, because they now trail 5-3 in the third. ... Matt Summers, who came off the IR yesterday, just scored his first goal since getting back on the power play in the third period to give the RiverKings a 2-1 lead.

Third Period: The Bucks killed off the rest of that power play to start the period but were not at all aggressive on the chances they got to break into the IceRays' zone. Tonight's game is taking longer than I'd hoped; I may only have time to talk to Ruskowski again. ... Chris Richards just tied it up on a very pretty play, as he managed to fire the puck past Gibb with a lot going on around the net. The assist on that one is going to Matt Smyth. ... Holy crap, whoa. There was just an all-out brawl out there, as Weidlich took out Richards, then Powell came out of nowhere jumped him from behind like I've never seen (Well, from anyone other than James Hiebert on a bad day.) in this league. Then everyone started to go at it, including Bes and Smyth, who both ditched their helmets for a short and not-too-violent punching match. That was seriously ridiculous...let's see what the refs do for penalties. ... Okay, Jozef Sladok and Kozak got fighting majors, Weidlich got an interference and Powell got roughing. The teams will stay 5-on-5. Yeesh. ... Hand is headed to the box for interference to crowd it up and put the IceRays on a power play 6:16 into the period. ... The Jackalopes came out on top of their high-scoring tilt against the Killer Bees, winning 7-5. I believe that means Paul Gillis will join Doug Sauter behind the bench for the All-Star game. ... The Bucks have been outshot this period 8-2 just over halfway through. ... The pushing and shoving is still all the rage with these guys right now, and I'm pretty sure Quenneville is trying to egg Hand into fighting him, which is interesting. Every time the whistle blows when they're out there together, he's on his case, and he just smacked him in the helmet last time out. ... Dixon just used some fancy stick work to get a scoring chance but was taken down by Smyth, who will now serve four minutes for high-sticking. If the Bucks don't take advantage of this, Ruskowski might explode. ... So much for that, as Russell has been called for hooking to make it 4-on-4. The Bucks will go back on the power play after his penalty expires, but they'll have less than a minute. ... Right after Russell came out of the box, Adams got called for hooking Salvis...who got called for diving. So it's a Bucks power play for a little under a minute with a little over two to play. ... Wow, the past two nights have seriously been nutty. Smith just flipped a rebound from a shot by Russell past Traylen with 16.8 seconds to play. I have not seen the Bucks celebrate a goal that intensely yet this season. I guess Ruskowski's finally getting the heart he was looking for in them. I'm sure he won't be thrilled with the way they played the game as a whole, but if they can hold onto this, he should be smiling after. Traylen will be out of the net on the faceoff.

Game Over: Bucks win 4-3. Of course, there was a shoving match to follow the final shot from the IceRays. ... Bucks improve to 18-6-1 (37 points). Ruskowski was not smiling after, or at least not until the jersey auction. He didn't have many positive things to say about that game, but I guess I can't blame him too much. The Bucks will play again on Monday at the Killer Bees, and that's going to be a big one before they head out on their Colorado Christmas road trip. I'll be writing a preview tomorrow for the Monday game, so I'll try to stop in and blog a bit, too.

Other Scores: Rush 2, Thunder 1; RiverKings 2, Gorillas 1; Jackalopes 7, Killer Bees 5; Mudbugs 5, Oilers 2; Rage 3, Blazers 2 (OT); Brahmas 8, Sundogs 3; Eagles 2, Scorpions 1 (OT).

NHL Scores: Flyers 7, Capitals 1; Bruins 4, Hurricanes 2; Senators 5, Stars 4 (OT); Red Wings 6, Kings 4; Thrashers 4, Lightning 3; Maple Leafs 7, Penguins 3; Canadiens 4, Sabres 3 (OT); Predators 1, Islanders 0; Blues 4, Wild 2; Coyotes 2, Blue Jackets 0; Blackhawks 3, Canucks 1; Sharks 3, Rangers 2.

Game Day No. 25

The Bucks will face off against the Corpus Christi IceRays tonight, and this one should be a pretty tough test.

Though the IceRays fell to the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees earlier this week and the Bucks beat the Killer Bees last night, all bets are off tonight, with the IceRays coming off a huge 2-1 win over the Southern Conference leading Odessa Jackalopes.

Greg Rajan has more on that game. I think Rick Gasser probably buys into my school of superstition now.

Obviously, the IceRays and Jackalopes both beat the Bucks last week, so the team is probably going to need to be much more consistent tonight than it was last night in order to win.

During last night's game, there were times that the Bucks really impressed me. Then there were times that I was kind of confused as to what they thought they were doing out there. Obviously, Coach Ruskowski saw the same things I did, and he expressed a similar confusion after the fact.

"As a team, there were times we played really well," he said. "But then there were times that I'm going, 'Which team is on the ice right now?' We have to be a more consistent team. We talked about what we have to do, and that's play better away from the puck. What you do with the puck is important, but it's also important how you position yourself away from it."

Ain't that the truth.

Ruskowski said he was impressed by the effort from the Killer Bees, who only have 14 skaters right now, and it was clear (though he did not say this) that they tired a bit by the end of it.

Hopefully tonight's game will be a little less timely than last night's, particular in the intermission department. Here is Bryan Benway's preview, and here are the Pointstreak pre-game notes.

Goalie-wise, we should expect to see rookie backup Ryan Gibb in net for the Bucks, and hopefully he won't have a 47-save performance wasted like last time he faced the IceRays. Dustin Traylen should get the call for the IceRays, as Kris Tebbs started for them last night. Of course, Sylvain Cloutier could choose to stick with Tebbs after he played such a strong game.

As was the case last night, the Bucks need to win to keep Ruskowski in the running for that All-Star game co-coaching spot. If the Killer Bees were to beat the Jackalopes, that would also help the cause...actually, I think it might be a necessity.

Since I haven't put records in all the rest of this, here are the current Southern Conference standings:
















I tried doing them as text, but that just wasn't working out.

As you can see, the Bucks are still leading the Southeast Division and are now three points behind the Jackalopes for the conference lead. The game on Monday at the Killer Bees will also count toward the All-Star coaching decision.

I guess that's about all I have to say for now, but I'm quite curious to see what the crowd is like tonight with the Cowboys playing...