Game Day No. 16

It has been seven months and two days since the Bucks lost to the Arizona Sundogs in Game 7 of the Southern Conference Finals.

To me, it didn't feel like nearly that long, but I'm pretty sure the few who remain from last season's team have been itching to play this game badly enough that they know exactly how long it has been.

The Bucks (10-5-0, 20 points), coming off a sloppy loss followed by a 20-hour road trip, will play the Sundogs (8-8-1, 17) tonight and tomorrow night in Prescott Valley, Ariz.

I had hoped my preview that ran in today's Times would be able to focus entirely on the conference finals rematch but the 5-3 loss to the Mississippi RiverKings (10-7-0, 20) on Tuesday kind of messed with my plans.

At this point, the sense of urgency wasn't entirely about beating the Sundogs; the Bucks just want, and believe they need, to win.

Coach Ruskowski is very adament about starting strong because points are harder to come by toward the end of the season when teams are fighting tooth and nail for a playoff spot. He doesn't want to be one of those teams; he wants to have a berth clinched and be ready for the postseason long before the regular season is done.

When I was talking to him on Wednesday before the team took off, he said something that kind of surprised me, considering how respectful he had always tried to be of the less talented teams the Bucks faced last season.

"This season isn't like past ones," he said. "There used to be teams that we knew we could play 75 percent against them and still win. Now, we have to play 100 percent every night. If you don't play 100 percent, you're going to lose."

Obviously, the Sundogs are no exception to that rule, considering the whole defending champions thing and all. They got off to a slow start but have been picking up the pace and slowly getting back players that had started the season with the San Antonio Rampage, including Adam Perry, who Ruskowski cited as a major threat.

The defense is definitely going to need to step up tonight, but there are also a few forwards who are probably on the brink of getting shipped out if they don't do the same.

As I mentioned yesterday, defenseman Vincent Zaore-Vanie has been placed on the 30-day IR, so he will obviously be out of the lineup tonight. D-man Mike Gooch, who was a scratch on Tuesday, will take his place. Ryan James Hand did make the trip out to Arizona, but Ruskowski said he will only take the rookie off the IR as a last resort.

Goalie-wise, Ruskowski, as usual, said he wasn't sure what he'd be doing yet when I last spoke to him. Two games in two nights doesn't necessitate the backup getting a start, but it does allow for it (hence this happening, woot).

These games could be pretty important to the Bucks' season as far as personnel decisions, momentum and confidence. But they are just two games fairly early in the season, so who knows.

Right now, the Bucks are second in the Southeast Division to the Texas Brahmas (10-4-1, 21) and tied for second in the Southern Conference with the Odessa Jackalopes (9-5-2, 20).

The league has a full slate tonight, with the Rocky Mountain Rage at the Amarillo Gorillas, the Killer Bees at the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, the RiverKings at the IceRays, the New Mexico Scorpions at the Odessa Jackalopes, the Oklahoma City Blazers at the Brahmas, the Wichita Thunder at the Tulsa Oilers and the Rapid City Rush at the Colorado Eagles.

Last time the RiverKings were in Corpus (last Saturday), the IceRays won 3-2 in a game that included 23 power plays. Since then, the RiverKings have been gaining steam and the IceRays lost pretty painfully, so we'll see if that matchup is any different tonight. Kevin Beech started the last two for the RiverKings, so he may not get the nod tonight, but if he does, it could be former Bucks Beech and Dustin Traylen in goal.

The Mudbugs might not be the easiest team for the Killer Bees to face following their latest loss, but it should provide a good test for how well the team responds to harsh criticism from its coach after he publicly called them out on Thursday night.

Tonight's game at NYTEX Sports Centre could be a good one...or it could be a pounding like the last game between these teams. I'm sure the Bucks hope it's the latter.

Meanwhile, in NHL land, there are a lot of early games, with the Broston Bruins beating the New York Islanders 7-3 already and the Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning and Minnesota Wild playing as I type.

At 3 p.m., the Colorado Avalanche and Phoenix Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks will play. Later on, the Montreal Canadiens are at the Washington Capitals, the Pittsburgh Penguins are at the Buffalo Sabres, the Nashville Predators are at the Atlanta Thrashers, the Columbus Blue Jackets are at the Detroit Red Wings, the New York Rangers are at the Florida Panthers, and the San Jose Sharks are at the Dallas Stars.

I have off today, which is weird for a Friday, but I'll be coming into the office to trail tonight's game...and the Pens-Sabres duel, so I will keep those of you who get annoyed with Nifty TV's ridiculousness updated to the best of my ability.