Laredo 4-1 winner over struggling SteelHounds

It was Youngstown's third game in five nights.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Tuesday's reunion against his old teammates didn't turn out the way SteelHounds center Darryl Lloyd had hoped.
"Today's game was a little weird," the 21-year-old forward said after the SteelHounds lost to the Laredo Bucks, 4-1. "Our whole team didn't come out to play. Tomorrow is going to be a different game -- you're going to see a totally different team out there."
Playing their third game in five nights, the SteelHounds struggled, especially on the power play where they went 0-for-8.
Shorthanded
"We didn't show up to play like we should have," Youngstown coach Jean Laforest said," and we're at a point in our season where guys have to be prepared to face challenges because we're shorthanded. Our lines aren't exactly intact and we've got to react.
"We didn't make good decisions tonight offensively and defensively -- we coughed up the puck a lot," Laforest said.
Bucks defenseman Serge Dube scored twice in the second period to give Laredo a 3-1 lead. Laredo was playing its fourth game in six nights.
Hans Benson's unassisted goal midway through the third period helped produce the SteelHounds' second loss in five games at the Youngstown Convocation Center.
Goalie Simon St. Pierre made 26 saves in suffering his first loss.
"We've been struggling on the power play all year and that's got to be rectified," Laforest said. "We're not getting timely goals."
For the first time in weeks, Jeff Christian (the Central Hockey League's top scorer) and Chris Richards (fifth) were kept off the scoresheet.
Sorting it out
"Right now, the rest of the guys have to figure out what their roles are," Laforest said. "Some guys other than Richards and Christian and Lloyd are here to score and they better start scoring soon."
Lloyd wasn't surprised to see Dube lead the Bucks.
"He's a good all-around player -- good at forward and defense," Lloyd said.
Outshot 8-1 in the first 11 minutes, the SteelHounds were fortunate to escape the first period with a 1-1 tie.
Early penalties set in motion the sequence for both goals. Sixteen seconds into the game, SteelHounds defenseman Kris Mallette was whistled for hooking. Twenty-five seconds later, Bucks center Jeff Bes joined him in the penalty box for the same infraction.
The limited man-advantage moments later backfired after Mallette returned to the ice. Adam Rivet hit Nick Warriner on the fly and his 25-foot shot beat goalie St. Pierre for a 1-0 lead. It was the Bucks' sixth shorthanded goal of the season.
Lloyd's goal 28 seconds later tied the game.
Describing it
"The puck came loose and I made a big hit. Jeff passed it to [Sam] Miller and it got tipped near the net. I spun around and shot, and it went in," said Lloyd of his eighth goal in 10 games.
"Lloyder is having a great season," Dube said. "He's a hard-working guy who has to find some breaks. Fortunately for him, it looks like he's broken through this year.
"He played hard for us last year as a checker. With his work ethic, he should be just fine. He scored a couple of key goals for us.
"Playing with Richards and Christian is a good opportunity for him point-wise and to learn the game, too."
Bucks coach Terry Ruskowski knew he was taking a chance when made Lloyd available in the expansion draft.
"Darryl Lloyd is a fast skater, a hard skater," Ruskowski said. "He hits hard and works very hard all the time. He's just a good kid that does all the intangibles pretty well.
Gain, loss
"When I had to put guys on the draft [list], I was hoping nobody would pick him up," Ruskowski said. "Unfortunately for us but fortunately for Youngstown, he's been a great addition to the team. He's an exciting, explosive player.
"He's probably more dangerous when he's away from the puck because he skates so hard that when he gets that speed going, it's very hard to turn and try to catch him."
williams@vindy.com