Bucks 4, Scorpions 2

Echoes of the first half of the season in this one, as the Scorpions managed to shoot themselves in the foot more than a few times -- the only difference is that they did it in the game's late stages, rather than digging themselves a hole early on.

Observations:

• There were plenty of mistakes on the ice tonight, but it ultimately boiled down to three big ones that cost the Scorps a shot at two points. The first has to be Matt Miller's goal 18 seconds into the third period. Every goalie gives up bad goals, but with the way Kyle McNulty had been playing, you never would have expected such a critical error at such a critical time. That goal gave Laredo the lead and a chance to, once again, fall into their lull-you-to-sleep defensive game that most hockey fans wish died with the two-line pass. For his part, Miller regained his crown as the king of soft goals at the SASC -- did anyone honestly think Miller's weak shot from the off-wing would beat Scott Reid to win this game? The second mistake that hurt the Scorpions was the slashing penalty to Chris Robertson that negated a quick-response goal. I didn't see the penalty, but I can't imagine what Robertson was thinking throwing a slash, even a retaliatory one, after his pass sprung Trimm and Delforte on a 2-on-1 deep in the Bucks' zone. It brought back memories of game 5 against Arizona last year, when Craig Macdonald's slash behind the play washed out a Mitch Stephens goal, turning what would have been a two-goal game into an 8-5 blowout. The last mistake tonight falls on the shoulders of Torren Delforte, who plays such a smart, hard-fought game that he's rarely at fault. Delforte had a chance to tie the game at 3-3 late in the third period after Neil Trimm threaded him a beautiful pass in the low slot, but the usually savvy rookie tried too hard to pick his corner and completely missed the net from inside the hashmarks. If you a get a golden opportunity like that against a defensive powerhouse like Laredo, you need to at least make the goalie work, especially late in the game. Opportunism is the only way to beat such a solid two-way team
• Brent Cullaton's empty-netter will hurt the Scorpions' penalty-kill stats on a night where their shorthanded unit was otherwise reliable. Randy Murphy seems to have really tightened up his PK unit in the past few weeks, and the results have been there for the Scorps. Getting the powerplay going is another issue altogether, and one that needs to be addressed quickly
• There were a couple of epic battles in the corners between Delforte and Laredo's Serge Dube. Dube is one of the league's premier defensemen and a guy who really knows how to play the game, but Delforte gave the Bucks' captain all he could handle down low.
• I have to hand it to the Bucks' top line -- the first goal of the game was absolutely beautiful. The build-up to the play, starting with Dube and Cullaton in the defensive zone, was about as picture-perfect as any coach could draw it up. They made the neutral zone look uncharacteristically big, and Darryl Smith's finesse finish was icing on the cake. Man, are those guys talented. With the likes of Jeff Bes, Rick Kozak, Bobby Russell and Steve Weidlich all waiting in the wings, it's just plain scary to think about what this team could look like come playoff time
• One bright spot for the Scorpions tonight was the play of Tom Maldonado. He's definitely been feeling the hip check as of late, and it was quite the sight to see the 5'9" Maldonado plant the 6'4" Erick Lizon square on his butt in the corner. Oh yeah, that mid-air goal wasn't too shabby either