Laredo Bucks victorious in "must win" game at home

Sheppard gets hat trick but Bucks mount huge comeback, win in shootout

The Texas Brahmas lost a nail biter tonight against the Bucks at the Laredo Entertainment Center with a final shootout score of 5-4. The win gives the Bucks 48 points, now four points behind the Brahmas who came away with a point tonight.

The Bucks started the game with 15 skaters with All-Star rookie center Darryl Smith out again as well as defensemen Jaye Judd and Steve Weidlich. It was a good defensive showing in the first period with a low shot count through the first 10 minutes. The Bucks looked just a bit sluggish and the Brahmas stayed just a step ahead.

Penalties started mounting for the Bucks with three minors called in the first five minutes giving the Brahmas a couple of early five-on-three opportunities. Terry Ruskowski threw his hands up in the air at one point.

Scott Sheppard capitalized with a powerplay goal at the 4:46 mark with the assist from Grant Jacobsen and Craig Minard. Sheppard's shot from the far circle went right past the stick side of Ryan Gibb and the score was 1-0. It was Sheppard's team-leading 20th goal of the season.

Sheppard scored again just over seven minutes later after taking a pass from Jason Deitsch just after the two skated into the Bucks' zone. His slapshot from the far slot rang loudly as it hit the crossbar and went into the net. Eric Lundberg was also credited with the assist. At the 11:56 mark, it was 2-0 Brahmas.

A bit of a scare came up when Bucks forward Matt Miller collided with Brett Jaeger. Jaeger winced in pain and received a net call from athletic trainer Tom Hart but Jaeger shook it off and continued play.

The Bucks scored on their first powerplay opportunity after a roughing call on Jason Deitsch. Brahmas cleared the puck right off the faceoff, but the Bucks got it back in the zone and Rick Kozak circled around with it, then sent it to Igor Agarunov in front of the net and he was able put it past Jaeger to make it 2-1 at the 17:32 mark. Bobby Russell was also in on the assist.

The Bucks were fired up for the remainder of the period but Jaeger held steady and the period ended with a shot count of 9-6, Laredo advantage.

The second period was highlighted by a third goal from Scott Sheppard, who took advantage of a loose puck after a shot by Grant Jacobsen, rifling it over the shoulder of Ryan Gibb. It was the second consecutive hat trick by a Brahmas player in as many trips to the LEC. A hat trick in less than the first half of the game - fantastic! At the 6:38 mark, the score was now 3-1.

The Brahmas scored again at the 12:43 mark when Tyler Skworchinski took a laser pass from Matt Quinn and deflected it past Gibb to make it 4-1.

The Brahmas only took four shots in the middle period, scoring on two. The Bucks made it interesting with their eighth shot of the game, scoring on the powerplay with 9.8 seconds left in the period. Bobby Russell set it up from behind the net, finding Ryan Salvis who passed it to Matt Miller who got the score.

After two periods, Laredo led in the shot count 17-10 but it was the Brahmas with the lead at 4-2. One of my favorite stats is the fact that the Brahmas have not lost a game this season when leading after the first (14-0) or second periods (17-0), a stat the Bucks would later ruin for me.

The third period was hard-fought but uneventful until the 9:26 mark when Laredo scored again with their third powerplay goal of the night. After trailing 4-1 at one point, the Bucks brought it back within one with Rick Kozak's goal, batted home to the glove side of Brett Jaeger. Adam Rivet and Matt Miller were credited with the assist after all three Bucks players took potshots at the puck in front of the net. The game was now 4-3 Brahmas.

The Bucks, after starting the game with sluggish play, gathered steam like a locomotive and played their best hockey in the third period tonight. They kept up an aggressive attack in the final three minutes with Brett Jaeger making some amazing saves but Jaeger was eventually beaten when Alex Goupil tied it up with 1:33 left in the third, assisted by Jeff Bes and Jason Dixon and the crowd went wild.

Tied at 4-4, the play remained tight for the final 93 seconds. Gibb stopped two shots in the final 20 seconds including a shot in the final second that nearly won it for the Brahmas.

The Bucks once again dominated the shot count, this time 17-5.

You couldn't ask for better action in the third period and into overtime and I must say, young Ryan Gibb was fantastic and saved the game for the Bucks several times. Neither team was able to score in the overtime period with the shots 6-0 Brahmas.

Going into the shootout was a scary proposition for Bucks fans as Gibb was 0-2 in shutouts before tonight but he managed to make four consecutive saves on shots by Deitsch, Sheppard, Cameron and Banga and with two goals by Mike Gooch and Jeff Bes, the game was over.

Laredo managed an amazing comeback to win this one, down 4-1 in the second period, they scored three in a row to tie it up and then win the game in a shootout. The final shot count was telling with a 35-21 advantage for the Bucks.

Gibb gets the win with 17 saves on 21 shots. His record goes to 9-2-2. Brett Jaeger takes the loss, saving 30 of 34. His record is now 18-5-4-2.

The Brahmas were assessed 12 penalty minutes on six infractions. Laredo was given 14 minutes on 7 infractions. The Brahmas went 1 for 7 on the powerplay and the Bucks went 3 for 6.

Alex Goupil received the third star for his game-tying goal. Scott Sheppard got the second star for his hat trick and Mike Gooch received the first star for his game-winning shootout score. Ryan Gibb deserves an honorary star for his play in the final 30 minutes of the game.

You can view the box score here

The Brahmas will head home tonight and will get a day of rest before they head up to Amarillo for a two-game series against the Amarillo Gorillas on Friday and Saturday nights.