Game Day No. 11

In a little over two hours, the Bucks (6-4-0, 12 points) will face off against the Wichita Thunder (3-6-1, seven pts.) for the first time since Jan. 20, 2007, when the Thunder won 4-3 in a shootout at the LEC.

Bucks forward Alex Goupil was traded here from the Thunder in February and has nothing but respect for his former team heading into tonight's matchup.

"We're playing a team that plays in a tough division, so I'm sure they'll work hard," he said. "They got a new coach, and they just picked up a new goalie, so I'm sure they'll come out full of energy. We have to try and match it and make sure we come out with four points this weekend."

That new coach is Brent Bilodeau, who is in his first year as a head coach after spending the past three seasons as an assistant with the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL. Prior to that, he was a player in several minor leagues, but had been selected in the first round of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens.

The new goalie, Tim Boron, was signed by the Thunder last week and has yet to start for them, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him, or Bucks' backup Ryan Gibb, tonight.

Here is my preview for the game that ran in today's Times, which is inexplicably missing some words that I am very sure I typed when writing it yesterday.

Where it says,"Forward Alex Goupil, who leads Laredo with understands exactly how tough can be after playing 43 games with Wichita last season before being traded to the Bucks in February and has some added motivation heading into tonight's tilt against his former team," it should say, "Forward Alex Goupil, who leads Laredo with eight goals so far this season understands exactly how tough the Northeast Division can be after playing 43 games with Wichita last season before being traded to the Bucks in February and has some added motivation heading into tonight's tilt against his former team."

But anyway, here is Bryan Benway's preview for the game, while Kollen Long wrote blog post about the Thunder as they departed for Laredo, which informs us that winger Jonathan Tremblay (who got recalled to the AHL), Chris Greene and Stan Yanchishyn (both injured) will not be in the lineup tonight.

Bucks rookie defenseman Jaye Judd, however, will be, as he was taken off of the IR this morning.

Here is Long's preview for the Thunder's road trip, which will also feature a game against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees tomorrow night.

Tonight, the Bees host the Corpus Christi IceRays in those teams' first meeting of the season, but one of many, of course.

The other Southeast Division team, the Texas Brahmas, will host their rival Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs tonight before the 'Bugs head to Laredo to take on the Bucks tomorrow.

In other CHL games, the Oklahoma City Blazers are at the Mississippi RiverKings, the Amarillo Gorillas are at the Odessa Jackalopes, the Rapid City Rush are at the Arizona Sundogs, the Tulsa Oilers are at the Colorado Eagles, and the Rocky Mountain Rage are at the New Mexico Scorpions.

In the NHL, the New Jersey Devils are at the Washington Capitals, the Carolina Hurricanes are at the Atlanta Thrashers, the Detroit Red Wings are at the Florida Panthers, the Columbus Blue Jackets are at the Buffalo Sabres (and will hopefully tire them out a bit for tomorrow night), the St. Louis Blues are at the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Nashville Predators are at the Anaheim Ducks.