Game No. 54 - Bucks vs. Sundogs

Devin Featherstone will be back in the lineup tonight, while Mickey Gilchrist is out.

As mentioned previously, the Bucks can clinch a playoff spot with a win tonight, but apparently they can also do so with an OT loss and a Corpus Christi IceRays loss. The IceRays are at the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees tonight.

Sebastien Centomo will be starting in goal for the Bucks, while Marco Emond is in for the Sundogs fresh off his shutout last night.

Starters: Bucks - Centomo (G), Brent Cullaton (G), Alex Goupil (F), Jaye Judd (D), Adam Rivet (D), Darryl Smith (F); Sundogs - Chris Bartolone (D), Matt Craig (F), Marco Emond (G), Dwayne Hay (F), Mark Kolanos (F), Jon Landry (D).

First Period: I don't really feel like updating all the other scores around the league throughout the game tonight, so I'm just going to keep you posted on the one that matters to the Bucks - the IceRays-Killer Bees tilt in Hidalgo. I'll still post all the rest when everything's final. ... The lines tonight are top as listed in the starters, Erick Lizon-Jason Dixon-Josh Bonar and Matt Miller-Ryan Salvis-Igor Agarunov, the one line that seems to have some staying power. ... Steve Weidlich has taken the game's first penalty and is headed to the box at 4:50 for high-sticking. ... Before I even finished typing that, the Sundogs had taken a 1-0 lead on a shot from the blue line by Landry. That came four seconds into the power play. Whoever won that faceoff to get the puck out to him should have an assist, but it is currently listed as unassisted. ... Goupil came close to getting that one back for the Bucks, but after bobbling the puck for a whie, Emond was able to keep it out. ... Karl Sellan just got past the defense to go one-on-one with Centomo, and Centomo won that battle. We'll see if tensions escalate between those two again tonight. ... Another goal right off the faceoff for the Sundogs, yeesh. They have taken a 2-0 lead at 6:56 as a wrist shot from the point by Matt Suderman made it to the net. It may have been deflected in, but Suderman is being listed as the goal scorer now. ... After scoring two goals in about two minutes, the Sundogs just hit a post. The Bucks might want to wake up sometime soon. ... First Bucks breakaway of the game has led to their first power play, as Landry was called for tripping at 7:38. ... Emond just robbed the Bucks, stopping about four shots in a span of maybe 25 seconds, including a spectacular glove save on a shot by Rivet from just outside the crease on a rebound. ... And he just did it again, halting an odd-man rush with a couple of saves. He's clearly carrying over some momentum from last night. ... Smith just became the latest victim of Emond's thievery, as the latter party stopped a point-blank shot and held the puck to keep the former from chasing his own rebound. ... Somehow the shots read 10-7 in favor of the Bucks on the scoreboard at this point. That's absurd. ... Though the Killer Bees could do the Bucks a favor by beating the IceRays tonight, a win for them is bad for the Bucks, too. Quite a dilemma. Regardless of what they'd prefer, the Killer Bees have taken a 1-0 lead at 6:44 on a goal by Topher Scott. ... Hay just made it 3-0 on a shot from a circle that seemed to grow legs and walk right around Centomo. Bartolone has what is currently a lone assist. Bucks have 2:18 left to try to get one back in this period; they should probably try to do that. ... No dice, as everything was going on in the Bucks' zone for the majority of those last couple minutes. Sundogs take a 3-0 lead into the first intermission. Bucks supposedly lead 13-11 on shots, but I'm quite confident they have taken more than 13. So much for the Sundogs being tired coming off two straight shootouts. ... The IceRays just scored two in a little over four minutes to take a 2-1 lead, which they will carry into the first intermission. Perhaps tonight is not the night for clinching.

Second Period: Early in this one, it's starting to be a pushing-and-shoving ordeal. Apparently the Bucks don't like the fact that Emond has stopped giving up rebounds, haha. ... Goupil just broke away and somehow got stopped by Emond, but the wall finally got broken a few seconds later, as Goupil was able to get one into the net on a bit of a bizarre play from the goal line. Emond probably had no idea where the puck is at that point and may have been more focused on Smith right in front of the net, but I'm sure the Bucks don't mind that one bit. Smith had the primary assist, which is currently the only one. Lead is down to 3-1 at 5:27 in the period. ... Bartolone, the Sundogs captain and a top defenseman, is headed to the box at 6:31 for slashing. Up against the league's worst penalty kill without its best component, the Bucks need to jump on this chance. ... Hay just stole the puck to create an odd-man rush shorthanded with Adam Perry at his side, and it eventually led to the Sundogs' fourth goal, as Perry netted one off a rebound as the Bucks caught up to the play. They lead 4-1 at 7:51 in this middle period. ... Bartolone came out of the box just in time to catch another Sundogs breakaway, but Centomo deflected his shot back into the glass. ... Bonar just got the puck in the slot and set up for what could have been a difficult shot for Emond to stop, but Jason Lawmaster was there to block it. ... An offsides call just halted what probably would have been a good scoring chance for the Bucks, and a tussle followed, with the checking line guys getting into it with a few Sundogs to the left of Emond's net. ... Salvis got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty out of that and is headed to the box at 12:03. ... The Sundogs jumped on that chance pretty quickly, as Centomo blocked a shot from the point right onto Kolanos' stick, and he poked it in to make the score 5-1 in his team's favor at 12:32 in the period. This is not looking too pretty for the Bucks. ... Centomo has been pulled from the game, and Andrew Martin is now on the ice for the Bucks. Coach Ruskowski usually doesn't like to pull goalies in the middle of the period, so Centomo might have asked to be taken out. Either way, Martin didn't even really stretch when he came out, which is kind of odd. ... The IceRays' lead is now 3-1 on Jereme Tendler's second goal of the game. ... The Bucks just pulled off a very "Flying V"-like play to get Smith his league-leading 33rd goal of the season. Cullaton made that happen, getting the puck back to Smith, who was trailing him alongside Goupil. Jaye Judd gets the second assist. The Sundogs now lead 5-2 with 6:21 to play in the period. ... Miller has been trying his best to be aggressive on the forecheck tonight, but the lack of time spent in the Bucks' offensive zone is not helping him out at all. ... Smith just did a Sid-like spinorama in the slot but couldn't quite get his shot on net, then Cullaton grabbed it to Emond's right but shot it just wide. That was intense. ... Bartolone got called for hooking somewhere on that play, so the Bucks are going on the power play again at the 16-minute mark. We'll see if they can do a better job the second time they get this chance. ... Not so much, as the Sundogs kept it away from Emond for the nearly the entirety of that penalty kill. The Bucks did get two shots, but Emond had no trouble with both. ... I'm starting to think the Bucks are just unlucky tonight, as Agarunov just got the puck to a wide-open Miller right in front of Emond with no other Sundogs in range only to have the shot not rise and thus easily get pushed aside by Emond. ... The Bucks will enter the third period trailing 5-2 in spite of leading 31-19 in the shots department. They are 0-for-3 on the power play, while the Sundogs are 2-for-2 and have also scored shorthanded.

Third Period: Smith almost got himself in scoring position in a 1-on-2 rush but got dragged behind the net and couldn't quite recover. Not much later, he took a nice centering feed from Goupil in the circle but had Perry stop his stick before he could get a shot off. ... Martin just got his first big test and passed with flying colors. ... Well, you certainly can't fault the Bucks for not trying right now because they definitely are. A flurry of activity in the Sundogs' zone just culminated with a good shot by Cullaton and an even better save by Emond. That man is on fire tonight. ... Okay, huh? Centomo just re-entered the game at 4:37 in the period. That could mean Martin hurt himself on that sprawling save a couple minutes ago. Oy. Additionally, Craig left the ice to head to the Sundogs' locker room with the team's equipment manager. Skate issues, perhaps. ... How incredibly odd; Martin is coming back out nine seconds later, and also nine seconds into a Bucks power play caused by a holding call against Lawmaster. ... Now Centomo is out again. I am so confused! ... The Bucks just had about as wide open a net as a team could ever ask for and hit the post. Not sure who took the shot due to my horrific vision, but yeesh. ... And now the Bucks are 0-for-4 in their chances against the league's worst penalty kill. Never a good sign. ... Perry just added his second of the game on a hard shot from the slot that went right over Centomo's left shoulder. Martin is coming back out now, with the Sundogs leading 6-2. The Bucks have 12:43 to make up the four goals that separate them. ... Centomo's wife just ended up on the Beso Cam with the guy sitting next to hear, and he chose the most adorable option in that situation, kissing baby Jaxson Cruz on the forehead. I still haven't seen the baby up close, but maybe I'll get to tonight. ... Of course, me calling that checking line the one with some staying power had to mean it'd be broken up in this game, and Salvis is now centering a line with Bonar and Lizon. ... Dixon just flew into the boards head first, and Bobby Moore is rushing to his side. I think I see some movement, which is a good sign, but yikes. ... Dixon got up about a minute later and skated off the ice on his own power. I'll keep an eye out as to whether or not he plays any more tonight. ... If we could get time on ice stats for this game, I'm pretty sure Cullaton's minutes would be up in the worrisome category. ... An odd combination of Agarunov, Miller and Smith just got the Bucks to half the Sundogs' points, as Miller sent a nice short pass to Smith, who easily wristed the puck over Emond for his second goal of the game. Sundogs lead 6-3 with 6:39 to play in the game. ... Smith probably could have had at least five goals in this game if Emond wasn't on like he is tonight, and he just got robbed of another with an impressive glove save on a blazing shot from the high slot. ... Grant Goeckner-Zoeller has just tied the game in the Valley, which happens to have almost exactly the same amount of time left in it as this one (a bit over five minutes). ... The Bucks were lucky to have a shot from Tyler Liebel go wide just now, though I guess the damage may already be done. ... Smith and Miller have almost combined for a few more goals since the one they got, but no dice. Miller will leave the ice now, but Smith stays on as the Bucks go on their fifth power play of the night with 2:35 to play. Ruskowski is pulling his goalie to make it a 6-on-4 with Matt Hanson in the box for hooking. ... Smith just tried to skate out of the crease without getting near Emond, but the goalie seemed to tackle him and thus ended up with a skate to the face/neck area. If Smith gets a penalty out of that, it is absolutely ridiculous. Not sure what exactly Emond was trying to accomplish there, but weird stuff. ... Emond has skated over to the bench to get bandaged up, and the game is getting delayed for quite a while with 1:48 to play. Hopefully things can start back up soon, or I may not have time to go talk to Ruskowski after the fact. ... The Bucks managed to keep it in the Sundogs' zone for a while, but A.J. McLean finally got it out and sent a shot wide of the empty net only to get it back and slip it in. Sundogs lead 7-3 with 47 seconds to play.

Game Over: Sundogs win 7-3. Bucks fall to 31-19-4 (66 pts.), failing in their first attempt to clinch a playoff spot. Impressive showing by the Sundogs, who improve to 24-28-4 (52 pts.). The IceRays and Killer Bees are headed into overtime, but that means more to the Sundogs now than it does to the Bucks. ... The IceRays ended up winning 4-3, but I guess that's a moot point. ... Two games that fall into the "What the heck?" category tonight: the Gorillas coming back from an early deficit to top the Jackalopes and the Predators absolutely destroying the Red Wings. Yeesh.

Other Scores: Mudbugs 4, Brahmas 2; RiverKings 4, Eagles 3 (OT); Gorillas 6, Jackalopes 5; Blazers 3, Rage 2; IceRays 4, Killer Bees 3 (F-OT); Scorpions 3, Oilers 2; Thunder 3, Rush 2.

NHL Scores: Capitals 4, Bruins 3 (OT); Devils 7, Panthers 2; Ducks 4, Stars 3; Islanders 2, Sabres 0; Maple Leafs 4, Senators 3 (OT); Rangers 6, Avalanche 1; Canadiens 3, Sharks 2; Thrashers 5, Hurricanes 3; Predators 8, Red Wings 0; Blues 3, Coyotes 1; Oilers 3, Wild 2.

Game Day No. 54

Another big one tonight, as the Bucks host the Sundogs for the second time in three days with a playoff berth awaiting them if they win. Obviously they won't be clinching any particular seed, but a spot is something in and of itself.

From last night's 4-1 win over the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, you can read Brian Sandalow's story, Bryan Benway's press release and the Killer Bees' press release.

For tonight, you can check out Bryan's preview and the Pointstreak pre-game notes.

Don't forget about the "Give Blood, Play Hockey" event; try to get out there to donate if you can.

Game No. 53 - Bucks at Killer Bees

I have lost count of how many times I've heard the word "huge" used to describe this game. Between my game story from last night's 5-4 shootout win and Bryan Benway's preview for tonight, you've got quite a few.

I'm going to be monitoring the game as I try to watch the Penguins take on the Blackhawks without Sidney Crosby, but you can follow it here for more up-to-the-minute coverage.

Brian Sandalow has an entry about this matchup from earlier today, one from yesterday and one from Wednesday. And no, I am not getting paid to watch the Pens, haha.

Andrew Martin will be in goal for the Bucks, and Christian Boucher is doing the honors for the Killer Bees.

First Period: The Killer Bees are on the board just 2:52 into the game on a goal from Evan Rankin. Of course, the Bucks gave up a goal even earlier and still won, but that fact doesn't mean much right now. ... Matt Miller took the game's first penalty with a cross-check at 7:33. ... Devin Featherstone and Mike Gooch are scratches once again, and Mickey Gilchrist is not on the Pointstreak lineup, but that may just mean they didn't have them in their system yet. ... Alex Goupil took a slashing call at 10:54, but the Bucks killed both of those penalties. ... End of the period, Killer Bees lead 1-0, and I somehow just noticed that the Bucks are getting outshot 17-6. Yikes.

Second Period: Trevor Weisberger, who had the primary assist on Rankin's first-period goal, took the Killer Bees' first penalty of the game at 2:34 for tripping. ... Hmmm, the box score has been stuck at 3:54 into the period for quite some time. ... And now it is magically the second intermission! Game is tied 1-1 on a goal by Adam Rivet assisted by former Killer Bee Josh Bonar and Jason Dixon. The score came 14:51 into the period. The Bucks took three penalties in the period while the box score was delayed, with Brent Cullaton (slashing - 11:17), Steve Weidlich (interference - 15:14) and Goupil (interference - 16:20) each getting time in the box. The Killer Bees had a 5-on-3 when Weidlich and Goupil's penalties overlapped, but the Bucks killed that just as they did the first three Killer Bee advantages. Killer Bees lead 28-16 on shots, meaning they held an 11-10 advantage in the second. ... As important as this game is to both teams involved, the one between the IceRays and Sundogs in Corpus Christi is probably even bigger for its participants, and each of them will be getting at least a point as it is currently headed to overtime in a scoreless tie.

Third Period: Whoa now. One refresh after things were still 1-1 about five minutes in, the Bucks are up 3-1 on goals by Igor Agarunov and Cullaton. They scored at 5:20 and 6:15, respectively. ... Stephen Burns is headed to the box at 7:20 to give the Bucks the first power play of the period. ... The Sundogs won 1-0 in a shootout, meaning they've been taken the distance two nights in a row and also played two nights before. That could be an advantage for the Bucks tomorrow, but you never know. ... Vincent Zaore-Vanie got called for interference at 12:03 to put the Killer Bees on a power play, but Evan Rankin evened things up with a high-sticking call 52 seconds later. ... Darryl Smith has finished this one up with an empty-net goal at 18:30 in the period. ... I have to assume Martin deserves a heck of a lot of credit for this one as he faced 39 shots in the game and allowed only one goal. Boucher allowed three on 25.

Game Over: Bucks win 4-1, improve to 31-18-4 (66 points) and head back home tonight to host the Sundogs again tomorrow.

Other Scores: Eagles 2, Mudbugs 1; Sundogs 1, IceRays 0 (SO); RiverKings 5, Blazers 4 (OT); Jackalopes 6, Scorpions 3; Brahmas 5, Gorillas 3; Rage 4, Oilers 2; Thunder 4, Rush 2.

NHL Scores: Canadiens 4, Flyers 3 (OT); Red Wings 2, Kings 1; Penguins 5, Blackhawks 4 (OT); Flames 4, Wild 1; Canucks 2, Lightning 1.

UPDATE: Buried at the bottom of Bryan's postgame press release is the fact that Gooch has been placed on the 14-day IR. I know it's an upper-body injury, but I hadn't realized it was bad enough to warrant an IR stay. It hasn't come up on the league transactions page, but will probably be retroactive to last weekend if not at least earlier this week.

Give Blood, Play Hockey II

Tomorrow (Saturday), the Bucks will be hosting Give Blood, Play Hockey II for this season, and everyone who donates will get two free tickets to their game against the Arizona Sundogs at 7:30 p.m.

I'm sorry that I didn't get this up sooner, but hopefully the turnout will be a good one.

As with previous events, the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center will be on hand to take blood donations and register volunteers for future marrow donations.

With some more information, here is the center's press release about the drive:

Bucks rally Laredo at “Give Blood, Play Hockey” blood drive

Blood drive encourages everyday heroes to give the gift of life

The Laredo Bucks and the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center (STBTC) will
hold their “Give Blood, Play Hockey” blood drive on Saturday, February 28 in the Laredo
Entertainment Center’s rooms 4,5 & 6. Working with STBTC for over four years, the Bucks will
have brought in 2,003 units of blood to patients in need upon meeting Saturday’s goal of 250
donations.
BMP Radio and the Laredo Bucks, the blood drive’s two main sponsors, encourage everyone to
join them in giving the gift of life. “We should not wait for a natural disaster or a critical time to
give blood; every day is critical. Blood is needed every day and those who participate in ‘Give
Blood, Play Hockey’ are Laredo’s unsung heroes. We celebrate them and are happy to be part of
this event because it helps save lives” said Nicole Kupaks, Vice President of Business Operations
for the Laredo Bucks.
“Give Blood, Play Hockey” has united the Laredo community and encouraged them to give of
themselves time and time again helping supply more than 100 hospitals and clinics with lifesaving
blood donations. Over the years, hundreds have also joined the National Marrow Registry
in which more than 6,000 people search for a life-saving marrow match each day.
“Give Blood, Play Hockey” has also brought together Laredo media and businesses like BMP
Radio, Royal Laser Carwash, Circuit City, Lacks, and Chavarria’s Plumbing to name a few. From
radio and television public service announcements (BMP Radio stations and KGNS-TV) to a
donated billboard courtesy of Lamar Outdoor Advertising, the highest efforts are being made so
that the blood drive will be a great success for Laredo.
Saturday, all presenting donors will receive a commemorative Laredo Bucks Blood Drive T-shirt,
tickets to a future Bucks game and a variety of giveaways from sponsors.
Donors also receive a mini-physical which includes a pulse, temperature, blood pressure, and
iron level check. The results of a cholesterol screening will later be mailed to each donor.
All presenting donors will also be automatically entered to win one of five grand prizes. Anyone
at least 17 years of age weighing at least 110 pounds and in good general health may donate
blood. Donors must present identification.

Game No. 52 - Bucks vs. Sundogs

Sorry for the lack of game day blog; things will be getting started shortly. You can read my preview for some thoughts on tonight's game and follow it here or right here. Devin Featherstone and Mike Gooch are both scratches for this evening, and we won't have to wait long to get a look at Mickey Gilchrist, who will be starting and is wearing No. 25.

Starters: Bucks - Sebastien Centomo (G), Jason Dixon (F), Gilchrist (F), Alex Goupil (F), Jaye Judd (D), Adam Rivet (D); Sundogs - Chris Bartolone (D), Matt Craig (F), Joel Gistedt (G), Dwayne Hay (F), Mark Kolanos (F), Jon Landry (D).

First Period: The only thing I can tell you after Gilchrist's first shift is that he was the first member of his line to leave the ice on the change. Apparently Erick Lizon is the second winger on the top line to start the evening. The other line is Igor Agarunov-Ryan Salvis-Matt Miller. ... Karl Sellan just scored an easy goal at 2:18 in the period to put the Sundogs up 1-0 early. Yikes. Centomo was being screened by a Sundog and one of his own defenseman and did not see the puck at all as Tyler Liebel sent it around the crease to Sellan, who had no trouble flipping it in. ... Lizon just sent a nice centering feed to Smith in the slot but that didn't do much other than look good. ... Hood has taken a tripping penalty at 4:25 to put the Bucks on the game's first power play. ... Hey, look, the Bucks had two guys digging in around the net on the power play, and they scored. Perhaps they can remember to do that more often. Game is tied 1-1 on a goal by Igor Agarunov, on an assist from Darryl Smith, 1:02 into the power play. Goupil was also working hard on that play down low, and Brent Cullaton and Serge Dube were the other two Bucks on the ice. ... It took almost seven minutes for Centomo to get his first save of the game, but you can't really fault him on that. ... A too-many-men call at 6:46 has sent Jason Lawmaster to the box and put the Bucks on the advantage again. ... No dice on that one; Bucks are 1-for-2 on the power play so far. ... Not much going on until Adam Perry got a breakaway chance with just over three minutes to play and got hooked from behind by Judd. Of all the players to give a penalty shot. ... Yeah, he got that. Some deking, a nice trick move and a forehand shot right over the shoulder, and the Sundogs lead 2-1. ... Steve Weidlich and Vincent Zaore-Vanie have both been sent to the box for delay of game with 1:34 to play in the period to give the Sundogs their first power play, and a 5-on-3 at that. ... Dube, Rivet and Smith killed the first 1:34 of that, and the Sundogs will be 5-on-3 again to start the second. They lead 11-9 in shots and 2-1 where it counts.

Second Period: The Bucks killed off the remaining time on that 5-on-3 without allowing a shot on goal. ... Goupil has been his usual ball-of-energy self tonight and has been firing shots quite frequently, and he just took advantage of a golden opportunity to tie the game. He had a breakaway, then was quickly chased down by a Sundogs defender but managed to flip a backhand right over Gistedt. Very impressive precision on that shot, especially considering the pace at which he was moving at the time. ... Another quick breakaway for the Bucks and another goal. Miller this time, and he faked Gistedt out to send it past him from inside the crease. Bucks now lead 3-2 and can definitely take some momentum from this if they stay energetic right now. Those goals were scored at 2:27 and 3:42, respectively. ... And now it is 4-2 Bucks at 5:02 in the period, as Gilchrist has scored his first Central Hockey League goal. Goupil got the assist and looked more excited for his new teammate than he did for his own goal. And he was quite excited for his own, trust me. ... The Sundogs just got one back as Sellan scored his second of the game off a great setup from Liebel. They had a bit of an odd-man rush going but nothing the Bucks weren't capable of handling if they had played the puck properly. We'll see if the wheels come off. ... A frantic scramble around Centomo has resulted in a power play for the Sundogs, as Weidlich is headed to the box at for stick holding at 8:41. ... After about four consecutive shots (three on rebounds), Landry got called for slashing and Salvis took a tripping call at the same time. As I started typing that, Sellan and Centomo somehow managed to get involved in some kind of something in Centomo's left circle, resulting in Sellan being on the ice for quite some time. Bizarre stuff. ... Goupil will head to the box to serve Centomo's roughing penalty, which gives the Sundogs a brief 5-on-3 then some time on a one-man advantage. ... Nothing doing on those power plays or in the rest of the period scoreboard-wise, but the Sundogs certainly had the puck a lot more in the latter part of this period than the Bucks did and managed to outshoot them 15-9 in the period as a whole. They lead 26-18 on shots for the game. Bucks lead 4-3.

Third Period: Bartolone got called for hooking just 52 seconds in to put the Bucks on a power play. ... Nothing doing on that one. Bucks are now 1-for-3 on the power play in the game. ... This period has been pretty quiet so far, only a couple shots per team and not much else 10:56 in. ... Miller is headed to the box for holding at 12:02 to give the Sundogs a power play at a very opportune time for them should they capitalize on it. ... That they did, as Matt Hanson netted one 1:49 into the advantage to tie this game at 4. ... Smith just centered one for Lizon who took a shot and kept stabbing away at the rebounds until Gistedt got a whistle. Still tied with 3:30 to go. ... Another close call, as Gistedt allowed a rebound with Dixon right in front of the net, but he couldn't quite get it past him. ... Everyone will be getting a point tonight; we're headed to overtime.

Overtime: Dube somehow managed to create a chance going 1-on-2 against some Sundogs but backhanded the puck behind the net. That's the closest anyone's gotten so far. ... I don't think you can fault them effort-wise, but things just aren't coming together right now. There are 31.7 seconds left in the OT period with a faceoff to come at the Sundogs' blueline. One of the coaches just called a timeout, but I couldn't hear which one over the video on the Jumbotron. ... The set play got the puck to Smith as I assume it was supposed to, but he missed the net wide. Shootout time.

Shootout: Bucks will shoot first, with Dixon doing the honors. ... Faked him out and got it over his right shoulder to put the Bucks up 1-0. Sellan will shoot first for the Sundogs. ... He kinda messed himself up keeping the puck flat and running right into Centomo, so the Bucks keep the 1-0 advantage. Smith next. ... Shot it right into the pads. Hood now. ... That one took a bit more effort, but Centomo handled it. Judd up now, interesting. ... Faked him out and went left. The bench seems a bit impressed, haha. Kolanos now. ... Wicked glove save to keep the 2-0 lead for the Bucks with Cullaton skating out. ... He backhanded it past Gistedt to win the game, then fell on his butt. I think he can deal with that, though.

Game Over: Bucks win 5-4 in the shootout, improve to 30-18-4 (64 points) and get 20 wins at home for the seventh consecutive season. Not their best game, but the first five minutes of the second period are what kept them alive. ... Coach Ruskowski was actually a lot happier than I would have expected. The team did work pretty hard tonight, and I guess that's what matters most to him.

NHL Scores: Bruins 6, Ducks 0; Devils 4, Avalanche 0; Hurricanes 2, Sabres 1 (SO); Maple Leafs 5, Islanders 4 (SO); Capitals 4, Thrashers 3; Panthers 2, Rangers 1; Sharks 2, Senators 1; Predators 4, Coyotes 1; Blues 3, Stars 1; Blue Jackets 1, Oilers 0.

Lots of Quotes

Sorry for another delay in posting; it's a busy time of year. Here are the remaining quotes from my interviews for my notebook and for my preview that will run in tomorrow's Times:

Ryan Salvis on the past weekend:

"Obviously, any time you go on a three game in three night road trip, it’s going to be tough, but you still want to get those six points. Going up against Texas, they’re a good team…first game on the road trip, I think we all could have all given a better effort. But getting one on the way back, hopefully we can go with that one and use that as momentum for the next 13 games. Just a little bit of momentum. We’ve got 13 regular season games left and then playoffs, and it just matters if you’re hot going into the playoffs so hopefully we can feed off that win and down the stretch just keep building on it."

His complete thoughts on his current confidence level:

"I think first and foremost, it’s a confidence thing. Coach has shown a lot of confidence and trust in me, and that relates directly on the ice with me having confidence and with my linemates and the defensemen having confidence in me. In the game against Texas, we couldn’t really get anything going, and a couple nice passes by Jaye opened up the ice for me. Like I said, when other players on the team have confidence in you and they give you the puck, you want to do something with it. I think it’s a confidence thing right now, and things are going well, I guess."

On the coming weekend:
"I think all three are must-wins. You look at Rio, they’re right on our tail, and even Arizona has come along in the last month, month and a half. I think six points are definitely up for grab, and we’re definitely capable of getting six points. We just have to prepare for every game, and you don’t really have to think of it as three in three. We’re old enough, and we’re in good enough shape that we can play three in three. We’ve done it, this is probably the fifth time this year, so we just have to take every game one step at a time, one period at a time, and hopefully at the end of nine periods, we get six points."

On giving up on the division title:

"I think that with the history that Laredo has, we always expect to win the division and win a championship. But right now, we’re just focused on ourselves; we’re not focused on what Texas is doing. We just have to focus on our own destiny and win as many games as we can down the stretch to put ourselves in a good position for playoffs."

Darryl Smith on the road trip:

"We would have liked to go 5-for-5, but the game in Texas we didn’t really start off the way we wanted to, and it came back to bite us. Coming out 3-2 is alright, but obviously we can get better and want to be the best we can be going into the playoffs."

On the division title:

"I don’t think we’ve given up on it. We’re just trying to focus more on our game. We know it’s a big deficit right now, but we want to close the gap as much as we can. Obviously the season’s still not over, so there’s still a chance."

On personnel:

"It’s pretty easy to play with (Cullaton), and he always finds me out in the open. I’m sure once those guys come back, they’ll help the team, too, so it’s pretty exciting to get them back and see what happens."

Coach Ruskowski on momentum from the last win:

"As a coach, you always hope so, but sometimes it’s a false pretense. If we’re in a good mood, we might just take that for granted even though we didn’t play the way we should this weekend. Winning one game is good and to have everyone be on the bus…we hope the players understand that when you win, everything is good, you’re happy, you sleep well, your appetite’s there. When you don’t win, maybe your stomach hurts, you don’t want to go out because you’re embarrassed of losing for your home crowd in Laredo; it’s a bad feeling, and I hate that feeling, so obviously we want to win more than we lose. It was funny because as the guys were coming on the bus, I saw Goupil come on the bus, and I don’t know why, but he came to me, and I said, ‘You know what, winning is a lot better than losing.’ He looked up at me and said, ‘I guess you’re right.’ And it’s true. The guys feel better about themselves, and I’m hoping this is momentum we can build on in the week coming up here."

On Salvis:

"When he first got here, I obviously didn’t know his capabilities and his style of play. All I had to go by was what everyone else told me, that he was a good player, works hard…I looked at his number, and he had okay numbers, not great numbers. And I told him, ‘You know what, you’ll get ice time when I have confidence in you to play in those type of situations.’ He showed me. He showed me that he can play hard, he showed me that he can be physical. He’s scored some good goals, made nice assists, played good defense. Now, not just one game, but it has to take five, six, seven games for me to get confidence in a person. I’ve got confidence that he can do the job, and he really hasn’t let me down at all. There are times when I have to tell other players to pick it up, but very seldom do I have to tell Salvis to pick it up. He plays hard the majority of the time, and I’m happy with that effort, and I hope it continues to go around to everybody. You can work hard and not get anything done, or you can work hard and play smart and get a lot of things done, so we’ve got to work hard and play smart."

On Josh Bonar:

"Well, it’s still kind of a mystery to me. He just puts himself in situations where he can score, where he has the opportunity to score. I like that. He hasn’t been scoring on a regular basis, but he’s been making some nice plays and good shots and the goalie’s either making a nice save or he shoots it right at them. But hopefully, once he gets his confidence, I think he’ll be a factor, hopefully that he can get back to last year when he scored 21 goals for Rio Grande. I want him to get back in that mode, so hopefully if he scores it’ll take the pressure off everybody else, and then everybody else will start scoring on a regular basis."

On Mickey Gilchrist:

"He’s supposed to be flying in tomorrow, so we’ll try to get him established as quickly as possible, get his physical, make sure he’s proper health-wise, have a morning skate, see what he does, then throw him into the fire. No chance to really get adapted to the system, but good players don’t take long to get adapted to what they have to do."

On how Gilchrist will impact the team:

" As a coach, you’re always hoping the next move that you make is going to be the one that kind brings everything together and jels everybody together, and I’m hoping that this could be the case. Then you’re looking at Rick (Kozak) and Bobby Russell coming off the IR, so you’re hoping and you’re praying that things start to fall into place like a puzzle. Then finally, when the puzzle’s ready, it’s playoff time, and we can focus fully on the playoffs and do well there."

On Kozak and Russell's returns:

"Probably within two weeks. You know, what I really like about this is the maturity of both of them. I’m really happy. When we were on the road, they went to the gym to work out, they come in their sweats here and they just work hard skating-wise and keeping up their cardiovascular and keeping their weight down. I like that; without me having to tell them to do it, they do it on their own. I like that; I like their leadership and them doing it on their own without me having to worry about that because I have too much to worry about as it is."

On everyone's status for this weekend:

"I expect everybody to play…there’s a couple question marks, probably one question mark for sure, but other than that, everyone should play. I’d just rather see them in games than in practice. If they’re more healthy for their games, I’d rather not have them practice. They know the systems, all they have to do is make sure they’re mentally prepared to do that. Hopefully they’re healthy enough to play hard and play well, and it will be an advantage for us in the games, not in practice."

On Serge Dube, Adam Rivet and Steve Weidlich leaving Tuesday's practice early:
"They stayed for an hour. They had to get out because the Junior Diabetes has a luncheon today, and we’re going to go there. We’ve always supported them, and they’ve always been good to us, so we like to support that event. Very good people there, kind people who take time out of their lives to do the work for junior diabetes. Everybody who’s involved with charity, my hats are off to them because it takes a long time to put together, and we like to support them as much as we can."

On Jeff Bes:

"It’s kind of day to day and week to week to see how he feels and how things are going for him. It’s a long process.You have to be patient, and we’ll see what happens down the road. The cutoff point’s probably the last game of the season. We’ll see what he can do there; if he’s skating and doing things before then, he obviously has a chance to play. The thing I don’t want to do is rush him coming back in here so he can’t play for next year, too. We have to understand the severity of the operation and the injury, and we have to handle him with kid glove care."

On playing at the same level against all opponents:

"Never underestimate anybody. Play the game hard every shift of every period you play. That’s how it should be the whole season; no matter who you play, you play the game hard. We have to win. You don’t look at the stats; you look at your own personal self, and you have to know that you have to win. That’s the bottom line."

On today's practice lines (which included Erick Lizon as one of Smith's wings):

"It’s experimental. We may start with that, but of course, with our situation, we change up quite a bit. We’ll see how it works. If it works well, we’ll keep it; if it doesn’t work, we’ll change it up. I’m not the type of the guy who if something doesn’t work tries to keep whipping it until it does work. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work; we’ll put somebody else in those positions, see if the shoe fits."

On the defense needing to protect the goalie:

"It’s so important. So important. Our defense is really the backbone of our team. We’ve talked about this before; they’re just so important. If they play solid, good hockey and move the puck, the forwards play better and the goalies are more in tune to what’s going on. They’re kind of the backbone of my team; when they play well, the team plays well."

On this week's practices:

"We just went through the things that we lacked a little bit in the games on the road. We went through that, we just emphasized what we have to do. We changed a couple things up to be more effective, and we went through that again today to know that this is what we have to do. We change things up just to try to keep them mentally sharp and aware of what’s going on and try to keep the other team off-balance."

On Russell helping him run practices:

"He has at times. He goes for therapy in the morning, he and Jeff Bes, and he comes here, and he’s the kind of guy who works out hard and tells the guys what to do. If he has an idea, he’s not shy to tell me, and I’m not shy to listen. An old dog can learn new tricks, and I want to learn new tricks."

Hopefully all that can keep you busy for a while!

Yesterday's CHL Scores: Brahmas 6, IceRays 3; RiverKings 6, Jackalopes 4; Oilers 5, Eagles 4 (OT); Killer Bees 6, Sundogs 2.

Tonight's CHL Scores: Thunder 5, Oilers 2; Blazers 3, Mudbugs 2 (SO); Rage 7, Rush 1; Scorpions 5, Gorillas 4.

Last Night's NHL Scores: Flyers 4, Capitals 2; Ducks 3, Sabres 2; Bruins 6, Panthers 1; Thrashers 4, Avalanche 3; Senators 4, Hurricanes 2; Canadiens 3, Canucks 0; Kings 2, Wild 1 (SO); Predators 5, Blackhawks 3; Blues 2, Coyotes 1; Oilers 5, Lightning 3; Flames 4, Blue Jackets 1.

Tonight's NHL Scores: Flyers 2, Kings 0; Penguins 1, Islanders 0; Red Wings 4, Sharks 1; Maple Leafs 2, Rangers 1 (SO).

What's Going On

When I spoke to Coach Ruskowski and a few players this morning, the Bucks were 13 points behind the Texas Brahmas for first place in the Southeast Division but seemed to have given into the idea that catching up is not really an option or a priority.

One 6-3 win over the Corpus Christi IceRays later, the Brahmas are now 15 points up and inching even closer to clinching the division crown.

The Brahmas (36-12-5, 77 points) have played two more games than the Bucks (29-18-4, 62 pts.), but that only equals to a chance at four more points, which the Brahmas could easily pick up in their remaining games against the Bucks if things keep going the way they have been.

I think winning on Friday was really the only way that the Bucks could have had even the slightest chance of catching the Brahmas, but obviously the guys are not willing to verbally relinquish hope. I'll have more on that in my notebook, which will run in tomorrow's Times.

I'll also be talking a little bit about the personnel situation, as Mickey Gilchrist will arrive in Laredo tomorrow and Rick Kozak and Bobby Russell are both expected to return within a couple of weeks.

However, Mike Gooch and Erick Lizon both sat out practice completely today, while Jason Dixon was doing some off-ice training instead of skating with the team, and one of them could miss some time this weekend.

Serge Dube, Adam Rivet and Steve Weidlich also missed the latter half of practice, but they left to attend a luncheon for the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation, a charity that the Bucks have championed for quite some time in Laredo.

Jeff Bes was wandering around the arena once again, and Ruskowski told me today that they are not going to put him on the season-ending IR. He's not expected to be able to play again in the regular season, but he's too valuable to the team for them to risk giving him up completely if there's any chance he could be ready to go in the playoffs.

It seems like it's a good thing that the Bucks' one win of the weekend came in their last game, because obviously that makes the trip home a little less unbearable and can possibly provide some momentum heading into another three-in-three weekend.

This one will be big, as the Bucks host the Arizona Sundogs on Thursday and Saturday and travel to Hidalgo to take on the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees on Friday. Keep in mind the fact that the Killer Bees (26-21-4, 56 pts.) are only six points (four now) back of the Bucks with 13 games left to play for each team.

But before I get too far ahead of myself, here's what Ruskowski had to say about all five games of that recent road trip:

"The first part of the road trip (in New Mexico) went excellent. We moved the puck really well, we got timely goals, good goalkeeping and the defense played well. Against Texas, I don't know what...the last two times in there, we just don't seem to play very well. We take opportunities that we have, and we just don't take them to heart and we don't score goals. Plus, too many goals against. Then, the (first) game in Amarillo, we just didn't play very smart. We were ahead, and we took two penalties that hurt is really bad. Then the next game, we played very well. I changed the lines around, changed defensive partners around. I don't know if that was it, or if the guys just focused on what they had to do. They did the job pretty well, took the puck to net, took the puck to net, took the puck to net. When you do that, good things happen. Good things happened last game against Amarillo."

One of those line changes moved Josh Bonar up to a spot Darryl Smith's second winger, which will obviously shake things up on the other lines, as well. Gilchrist is expected to play this weekend, so that will also be a factor, as will any other forwards having to sit out. I'll let you know what things look like at practice tomorrow when there are a few more bodies on the ice.

I'll post some more quotes and stuff later once I decide exactly what's going in my story, as well as some links to stories from around the division, including everything about the Brahmas' win over the IceRays this morning.

Weekend Recap

Apparently basketball playoffs and the start of the baseball season make blogging about nothing a little more difficult than anticipated.

So, instead of trying to come up with something to say right now, I'm just going to give you every link you could want to everything about the Bucks' past weekend, including the ones I've already shared.

From Friday night's 5-2 loss to the Texas Brahmas, you can check out the Pointstreak box score, Bryan Benway's recap, the Brahmas' press release, Robert Keith's recap for the Texas Brahmas Insider Blog and Robert's photo album. Thanks to Robert again for sharing his pictures.

From Saturday night's 6-4 loss to the Amarillo Gorillas, you can check out the Pointstreak box score, Bryan Benway's recap, the Gorillas' press release and David Henry's story for the Amarillo Globe-News.

Bryan also had some complaints about that game on his blog but has been forced to remove them, meaning this is the only place you can read what he had to say.

And from Sunday's 5-1 win over the Gorillas, you can check out the Pointstreak box score, Bryan Benway's recap, the Gorillas' press release and David Henry's story, which notes that the Gorillas were apparently quite sickly at the time.

As mentioned yesterday, three teams clinched playoff berths this weekend, and that is one focus of Bob Hoffman's "Shots from the Point" for today, which also note that the Colorado Eagles and Odessa Jackalopes are quite close to clinching the Northwest and Southwest Divisions, respectively.

Meanwhile, Brahmas forward Jason Deitsch was named Player of the Week after scoring five goals and adding three assists, including a four-point night against the Bucks. He was a plus-4 in the win over the Bucks alone, and a plus-6 on the week.

New Mexico Scorpions netminder Kyle McNulty earned Goaltender of the Week honors after starting all four of the Scorpions' road games and winning three, saving 125 of 138 shots he faced in that span.

There's obviously a lot of other stuff around the league I could mention, including Brent Hughes going 1-1 in his first weekend with the Corpus Christi IceRays, but I think I'll wait until I talk to Coach Ruskowski and some of the guys at practice tomorrow to talk any more. See you then.

Tonight's NHL Score: Sharks 1, Stars 0.

Game No. 51 - Bucks at Gorillas

Though the weekend obviously did not go according to plan, the Bucks did salvage two points with a 5-1 win over the Gorillas today.

Serge Dube, Darryl Smith and Ryan Miller each scored even-strength goals in the first period, and Igor Agarunov and Ryan Salvis had power-play goals in the third.

Steve Weidlich had two assists, while Brent Cullaton, Jaye Judd, Josh Bonar, Salvis, Dube, Smith and Adam Rivet each had one.

Andrew Martin made his first start of the weekend and made 27 saves on 28 shots for the win.

The Bucks took eight penalties but only had to kill six and took care of them all. They were 2-for-5 in their own chances on the advantage.

Because they'll be on the bus all night tonight, the Bucks won't practice until Tuesday. I'll blog tomorrow to catch up on the weekend, though.

Around the league, the big story this weekend was a few teams earning playoff spots. The Brahmas became the first Southern Conference team to do so, while the Mudbugs and RiverKings joined the Eagles in the North.

Other Scores: Brahmas 5, Blazers 3; Scorpions 5, Jackalopes 4.

NHL Scores: Capitals 5, Penguins 2; Hurricanes 5, Avalanche 2; Lightning 4, Bruins 3; Wild 2, Blackhawks 1; Maple Leafs 3, Rangers 2 (OT).

Game No. 50 - Bucks at Gorillas

Sorry for the lack of game blog tonight. As you probably know by now, the Bucks lost 6-4 to the team with the worst record in the Southern Conference.

You can check out Bryan Benway's recap and the Pointstreak box score for more.

I didn't get to watch a second of this or even keep up with much of it online, so I'm not sure what to say other than that if they don't win tomorrow, they're going to hate the bus ride home more than I want to know.

Other Scores: RiverKings 5, Thunder 3; Jackalopes 4, Brahmas 3 (SO); Blazers 3, Killer Bees 2; Rush 5, Oilers 1; Scorpions 5, IceRays 3; Mudbugs 6, Sundogs 3; Eagles 4, Rage 2.

NHL Scores: Penguins 5, Flyers 4; Blackhawks 3, Stars 1; Canadiens 5, Senators 3; Coyotes 6, Kings 3; Sharks 3, Thrashers 1; Islanders 4, Devils 0; Ducks 5, Blue Jackets 2; Canucks 3, Maple Leafs 2 (SO); Panthers 2, Bruins 0; Sabres 4, Rangers 2; Wild 5, Red Wings 2; Predators 1, Blues 0 (OT); Flames 3, Oilers 2 (SO).

Game No. 49 - Bucks at Brahmas

First Period: Sorry; after the games last week were played in Mountain Time, I forgot that 7:05 actually meant 7:05 this week. The Brahmas took a 1-0 lead at 3:51 in the game on a goal by Scott Sheppard. Jason Deitsch and Nathan Saunders had the assists, and that goal purportedly came on the Brahmas' first shot of the game. ... I just registered that the Gorillas are playing the Jackalopes tonight before two against the Bucks, just as the Scorpions did last week. ... Sheppard has scored another to make it 2-0 in the Brahmas favor. Deitsch has the primary assist once again, at 8:48 in the period. This is starting to look familiar. ... Pete Rouleau has taken the game's first penalty with a holding call at 10:29. ... Nothing doing for the Bucks on that one, but they are outshooting the Brahmas 6-4. ... Deitsch has made it 3-0 at 13:02. Kevin McLeod and Brandon Benedict with the assists. If the Pointstreak box score is accurate, that is three goals on five shots. ... And now Deitsch has four points and is just as close to a hat trick as Sheppard. I'm not entirely sure what is going on up there, but the box score really isn't pretty. McLeod set that one up, too, and it came with 23 seconds to play in the period. The Brahmas take a 4-0 lead into intermission.

Second Period: Deitsch got called for hooking at 3:12, and Jaye Judd went off for goalie interference at 6:12, but that's about all so far. Both penalties were killed. ... I guess there's something up, because the time has been stuck at 13:48 for quite a while. ... Oddly, it is now the second intermission with the Brahmas leading 5-0 on a Jordan Cameron goal at 13:30 in the period. The goal came shorthanded on assists from Grant Jacobsen and Mike Vellinga. Penalties in the remainder of the period were as follows: Ross Rouleau (high sticking, 9:31); Saunders (tripping, 11:43); Adam Rivet (holding, 15:56); Saunders (unsportsmanlike conduct, 20:00) and Erick Lizon (unsportsmanlike, 20:00).

Third Period: Steve Weidlich went off for hooking at 2:11 in the period, then Ryan Salvis finally got the Bucks on the board at 6:30 with a goal assisted by Judd. Brahmas lead 5-1. ... A hooking call on Sheppard at 8:15 has put the Bucks on their fifth power play of the game. ... That wasn't the one that did it, but the Bucks did finally get a power-play goal during a 5-on-3 caused by a too-many-men minor and a hooking call on Vellinga. Josh Bonar did the honors, with Salvis and Brent Cullaton assisting.

Game Over: Bucks lose 5-2. Just noticed that Centomo got pulled after allowing four goals on seven shots. Andrew Martin saved 16 of 17 that he faced. ... This is one of the few times we've actually kept Bryan Benway's headline in putting his press release in the paper; they really did seem to get bulldozed tonight.

Other Scores: IceRays 2, Blazers 1; RiverKings 5, Thunder 3; Jackalopes 6, Gorillas 3; Oilers 5, Rush 3; Killer Bees 4, Scorpions 2; Rage 4, Eagles 3; Mudbugs 4, Sundogs 3.

NHL Scores: Hurricanes 4, Lightning 1; Wild 4, Capitals 1; Red Wings 5, Ducks 2.

Game Day No. 49

The Bucks open their three-in-less-than-three weekend tonight with a game against the Southern Conference-leading Texas Brahmas at the NYTEX Centre in North Richland Hills.

Once the game is done, they'll drive over to Amarillo for two against the conference-worst Gorillas.

This weekend is huge for the Bucks (28-16-4, 60 pts.) because as much as they can easily be written off for even having a chance to catch the Brahmas (33-12-4, 70 pts.), a win tonight with a game in hand and three more against the Brahmas this season would be a step in the right direction.

Because I forgot to link my previous stories this week, I'll share them now; you can read my notebook, a brief story about the guys coming off the IR and my preview for this weekend.

Obviously getting Jaye Judd and Steve Weidlich back is a good thing for this team, while the Brahmas have also recently added a defenseman in Ross Rouleau, who is assumably replacing another Michigan native.

Wednesday was the last day of practice at the LEC this week, so I spoke to Coach Ruskowski and team captain Serge Dube that day. Here are a few of my leftover quotes:


Dube on defensive coverage:

"Defensive coverage comes from communication. The more we talk on the ice, the easier it is to read the play and to react, so the more we talk and the less time and space we give them, we'll be more successful. We had some three-on-three today that looked pretty good, so hopefully we can keep it going through the weekend.

On playing with Brent Cullaton (again):

"He's pulling moves and he's faking me out even. It's great to see his creativity, and it's good to have him because he's played there before for us in the past and he's comfortable playing any position, especially on the power play. He can play up high, he can play down low, and he's sees the play really well, so it makes us easier on (the rest of) us, as well."

Ruskowski on the Gorillas:

"You know, I look at their roster, and I really like their roster a lot. I think they've got some good players, and they're starting to turn things around. When you get a team that has some new confidence and has some new blood in there, they always seem to try to impress the coaches and play a little bit harder. Hopefully they don't play too hard. But you never underestimate your opponents, never underestimate them. You play hard all the way through and hopefully we can get a couple wins out of there. We have to play hard, there's no question. We have to play our best game."

On developing the forecheck:

"I'm hoping that it gets even better and better as it goes along. It's started to improve a little bit, but we have to continue to do that and play great defense."

On practice this week:

"I wish we had more time, one more day of practice. We went over the defensive coverage, we went over picking the right guys up when they come out of their zone; I wanted to get that taken care of and the little things we need to do against Texas, to put that in place and do that. But I didn't get a chance to work on the power play, so I'm hoping we can continue to be successful in both areas."

On the power play:

"What makes it good is even if (Cullaton and Dube at the points) are tired, we can put Rivet or Weidlich or Gooch up there, and they're pretty good on the point, also. It makes both units a little bit stronger. But with Cullaton and the way he passes and brings the puck up, obviously it's a huge advantage for us getting into the zone quicker and under control."

On this weekend's goalie situation:

"I know that in Texas, (Sebastien) Centomo will play, then we'll just play it by ear."

On Rick Kozak and Bobby Russell's rehab:

"They haven't the X-rays yet, but what we say in the hockey world is, 'The hand is a long ways from the heart.' They're going out there, making sure they try to stay in shape by skating. Even if they can't shoot, they can use their legs to skate. The only problem with that is that the casts get a little sweaty after that and you have to redo the casts more often."


The last part was, obviously enough, said with a smile.

For more on tonight's game, you can read Bryan Benway's preview, Robert Keith's preview on the Texas Brahmas Insider Blog and the Pointstreak pre-game notes.

In other divisional news, the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees announced today that they have activated forward Trevor Weisberger following nearly three months on the IR and waived center Daryl Moore to clear some roster space.

Brian Sandalow has a little more on that, noting that Weisgerber will be in the lineup when the Killer Bees host the New Mexico Scorpions tonight.

In Corpus Christi, the talk is still all about new IceRays coach Brent Hughes, and Greg Rajan has a Q&A from Hughes' first practice, some IceRays coaching trivia and a look ahead at the IceRays' first games under Hughes.

League-wise, the biggest story is the one that leads Bob Hoffman's "Shots from the Point" for today, which is the Missippi RiverKings' chance to clinch a playoff berth this weekend. Their magic number stands at three, meaning doing well in two games against the Wichita Thunder would earn them a spot.

It doesn't hurt, at least for them, that the RiverKings just got high-scoring winger Bobby Chaumont back from the IR. The Thunder, meanwhile, picked up defenseman Bob Rapoza, who had recently been waived by the IceRays.

In other recent transaction news, Derek Legault, who spent some time in Laredo last season, was waived by the Arizona Sundogs yesterday only to be signed by the Rapid City Rush today. It seems like half of the Rush players are guys who were with the Bucks for brief spans of time.

Meanwhile, as noted in the leftover quotes, Centomo will be starting in goal for the Bucks tonight. I'll do my best to update you on how the game goes, but we'll be getting soccer and softball calls, so I might not be able to catch everything.

Last Night's NHL Scores: Penguins 5, Canadiens 4; Hurricanes 6, Islanders 2; Flyers 6, Sabres 3; Canucks 5, Senators 2; Blackhawks 4, Panthers 0; Devils 3, Lightning 2 (SO); Blue Jackets 4, Maple Leafs 3 (SO); Flames 3, Wild 2 (OT); Blues 2, Predators 1 (OT); Stars 4, Oilers 2; Coyotes 4, Thrashers 3 (SO); Sharks 4, Kings 2.

Odds and Ends

The Mississippi RiverKings' sweep of the Colorado Eagles over the weekend apparently caught some people's attention, as the 'Kings stand atop the newest CHL Coaches' Poll.

Standings-wise, the RiverKings (32-14-3, 67 points) are still behind the Eagles (36-11-2, 74 pts.) in the Northern Conference and the Texas Brahmas (33-12-4, 70 pts.) overall.

The Eagles have lost three straight at this point, the latest being last night's 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Rapid City Rush.

Meanwhile, the Corpus Christi IceRays made the hiring of Brent Hughes official today as they announced him as the eighth head coach in team history.

Greg Rajan had stories in today's Caller-Times about Sylvain Cloutier's firing and Hughes' hiring and posts on his blog of his Q&A's with Pat Dunn and Cloutier.

I figured I may as well ask Coach Ruskowski for his thoughts on the situation while I was talking to him this morning, and here's what he said:

"I've gone through that, and I just don't like when coaches get fired. I went through it, and I know the feeling. Sylvain Cloutier's a great guy; he's a young coach, he was learning, and they didn't give him a chance to prove himself enough...let him finish the season. I think that once he has a year under his belt, he knows to expect. Then, the second year, let him do what he wants to do, bring his players in that he wants to bring in, get rid of the guys he wants to get rid of and put his team together. Then if it's not successful, I think that maybe you should make a move. I like (IceRays general manager) Pat Dunn a lot, and I like Sylvain Cloutier a lot. He's a young coach, but he was learning and he was getting better, and I just don't like when coaches get fired because like I said, I've gone through it. It's just an awful feeling."

Meanwhile, a Buck who may not have liked the reasons he came back to Laredo but is enjoying being here no less, "stepped" into the CHL Chat Room the other day, meaning you can read some reader Q&A with Brent Cullaton.

Oh, and belatedly, here is Brian Sandalow's take on the whole Cloutier thing.

Brian has also posted his weekly Southeast Division rankings and his breakdown of what's left for the Rio Grande Killer Bees this regular season. Apparently this division has gotten too boring for him, but I could have sworn he was bored when the Bucks ran away with things, too...just kidding, Brian.

Yesterday's CHL Scores: Scorpions 7, Gorillas 2; Rush 4, Eagles 3.

Yesterday's NHL Scores: Sabres 4, Maple Leafs 1; Bruins 5, Hurricanes 1; Blackhawks 5, Lightning 3; Panthers 4, Devils 0; Canucks 4, Flames 3 (SO); Sharks 4, Oilers 2.

Another Injury Report

Defensemen Jaye Judd and Steve Weidlich have officially been taken off the injured reserve after serving a bit over a month apiece on the 14-day IR with upper-body injuries.

Both of them participated in full practice today, and Coach Ruskowski said Judd will definitely play this weekend but Weidlich still needed to be cleared by the doctor. That may have already happened between when I left practice and now; I'm going to call Ruskowski tomorrow and check up on it.

I'll also be checking in with him about Jeff Bes' situation. Bes has been back at the arena the past couple days and was waiting in Ruskowski's office when I left.

Ruskowski hadn't gotten in touch with Bes' surgeon yet when I left but said resolving all that was one of his priorities for today.

Bes was off his crutches and appeared to be in good spirits, so hopefully that's a good sign.

The other injury victims, forwards Rick Kozak and Bobby Russell, have been out skating in their track suits the past couple practices and appear to be in their regular playing shape.

Kozak was even taking a few shots on goal and could be back in the lineup for games as early as next weekend if certain things go according to plan.

That should about cover it for now.

About the Bucks

After a few not-so-Buck-related posts, I'm going to give you one that consists purely of quotes from Coach Ruskowski about the past weekend, defensive progress and all those injuries. I apologize if you bits of these repeated tomorrow in my notebook, which will by the way run on Page 3, not 1.

On the team's play this weekend:

"First period of the second game, man were we moving the puck well. We were intercepting their passes, defense had short gaps, we were taking the puck and giving it right back up to the forwards and attacking, attacking, attacking. I loved that. That first period was one of the best periods we’ve played in two months. Then all of a sudden, penalties and everything they put on us, we had to play a little more defensive coverage, but I think that was…if we could do that every period, it would be freakin’ awesome…it would just be awesome. It was nice to see that happen. Those are the type of games we have to play. Our goaltenders have to play exceptionally well, and they both did play exceptionally well. We have to score two or three goals and keep (our opponents) from scoring more than three goals, because that’s how we have to win. Like I’ve said, our goal scoring isn’t quite there yet; we’re going to have to win those games, the 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 kind of deals. It was nice to have happen, especially going on the road. And the game before, they beat Odessa 5-0, so it was kind of like, 'Whoa, we better prepare ourselves pretty well.'"

On the importance of finally stringing together two road wins:

"It was definitely important, knowing that if we play our system and we win the little battles, eventually we’ll win the war. We did that, and it was nice. Hopefully it’s something to build on, and as a coach, you’re always hoping for something to build on. Hopefully that is the case this weekend, that we can build on these road wins where we didn’t give a whole lot of scoring opportunities."

On how crucial goalie play is to this team:

"That has to happen. It has to happen. Our goaltenders have to play very well, and consistent. It was nice to see that they can do that. We are going to monitor them as much as possible, give them as much rest as possible, so they’re ready to play to their potential capabilities. They’re a huge part of it. You look at everybody’s success, and the first part you look at is goaltending. Our goaltending played very well, our defense moved the puck pretty well, and our offense is doing a pretty good job in the defensive zone but also the offensive zone. It’s huge that our goaltending play as well as it did."

On starting Andrew Martin on Saturday instead of Sebastien Centomo:
"With his situation, I talked to him after the game (on Friday) to make a decision about the next day. Him and I and Bobby talked, and he said it was weak, and I thought, ‘Well, if it’s going to be weak now, going to the next day, it’s going to be weaker.’ But I have the luxury of having Martin, who’s a good goalie, also. So the decision was we had another good goalie who was sitting right there, let’s go ahead and make sure Centomo’s going to be healthy and ready to go because we have two, three days of practice, then go from there. It worked out okay."

On the forwards:
"I do (like what I’m seeing from the Matt Miller-Ryan Salvis- Igor Agarunov line), and I still think they can be more productive. If we get Smith’s line going the way it can go, and Salvis’ line going…and Dixon’s line really had some good chances, too. We’re just hoping that good chances lead to goals down the road. I thought that Bonar played really good hockey last game, and I think that if he continues to improve, that’s going to be a huge asset for us."

On some of the injuries:
"I think that maybe (some of) the IR guys are coming off the IR, so we won’t be down to 14 skaters anymore, so that’s nice. Every time a guy would come off (the ice) with a sour look on his face, I’m going, ‘Oh no, not another injury.’ I expect (Jaye Judd and Steve Weidlich) to be back. We’ll find out the next couple practices if that’s going to be the situation. I’m hoping that’s going to happen. I’ll talk to Bobby, and we’ll see about the injured players."

On practice objectives for this week:
"We’re going to practice defensive coverage. Until we get out of this lack of scoring, our defensive coverage has to be brilliant – not good, but brilliant. So we’re going to practice defensive coverage to make sure everybody exactly knows that, breakouts, our trap breakouts, our traps…make sure everybody’s on the same page. If we can do that, hopefully we can win those 2-1, 3-1, 3-2 games."


Ruskowski also told me that he and trainer Bobby Moore will be sitting down with the team doctors to discuss Jeff Bes' status very soon, and that if he is projected to be a question mark for returning during the playoffs, they'd have to sit down with Bes and tell him he's out for the season. That discussion may have taken place after practice today, so I'll be sure to ask Ruskowski about it tomorrow.

Whoa Now

I just accidentally clicked the wrong link on my Blackberry favorites and was taken to an Our Sports Central page leading with a story about the firing of Corpus Christi IceRays head coach Sylvain Cloutier.

This certainly comes as a surprise to me, so I'll be sure to read everything I can find about it and provide you with some links as soon as I get to the office.

UPDATE: Apparently everyone was just as surprised by this as I was, though I have yet to see any words from Cloutier himself about the "dismissal." Of course, IceRays GM Pat Dunn had to put a nice little quote out there explaining his and thanking Cloutier for his work:

"This is never something that's fun to do, but we felt that a change was needed," said Dunn. "This job isn't entirely about wins and losses, but we think the team isn't performing the way it's capable of and this change might be what they need. This season we made a promise to our fans that we would do everything in our power to make the IceRays a successful organization on and off the ice, and even though it's difficult, we believe this move was necessary. We appreciate Sylvain's efforts and wish him the best of luck in the future."

It seems the fans disagree, but not overwhelmingly, as this poll in the IceRays' CHL Forum is in Cloutier's favor for now (no longer the case a couple hours after I wrote that). The comments on the Caller-Times Web site are pretty mixed. Which leads to my next item...

Greg Rajan has reported that former Austin IceRays coach Brent Hughes will be the one filling Cloutier's position. I'll post a link to his final thoughts and story about all this once they're online.

Cloutier has led the IceRays to a 21-25-4 record, and they are currently one point behind the Arizona Sundogs for the last playoff spot in the Southern Conference.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Here that is.

Some Quick Notes

Sorry about the brief blogging hiatus; I'll be back in full force tomorrow.

Practice was short today, and the guys apparently had a 3-on-3 competition before heading out to a ranch for the Bucks' staff retreat. Poor choice of day weather-wise!

For some more in-depth info about the games over the weekend, you can check out Alex Mansfield's New Mexico Scorpions blog.

The CHL had off today, as did many of the lucky people in this world, but Tulsa Oilers forward Jeff Christian and Oklahoma City Blazers netminder Doug Groenestege were named Player and Goaltender of last week, respectively. Big day for Oklahoma!

Oh, and Bob Hoffman has his Monday "Shots from the Point."

Coach Ruskowski said he and Bobby Moore should be sitting down with the doctor to discuss Jeff Bes' prognosis tomorrow, so I'll let you know if I hear anything on that front.

My weekly notebook is being postponed a day due to high school basketball, so it will run in Wednesday's Times, not tomorrow's.

I guess that's about it for now; see you on the flip side.

Yesterday's CHL Score: RiverKings 5, Rage 1.

Yesterday's NHL Scores: Flyers 5, Rangers 2; Devils 6, Sharks 5; Avalanche 6, Red Wings 5 (SO); Capitals 4, Panthers 2; Hurricanes 3, Sabres 0; Thrashers 8, Ducks 4; Canucks 4, Canadiens 2.

Today's NHL Scores: Islanders 3, Penguins 2 (SO); Blues 2, Rangers 1; Stars 3, Blue Jackets 2 (SO); Senators 2, Predators 0; Oilers 3, Coyotes 1; Thrashers 7, Kings 6 (SO).

Game No. 48 - Bucks at Scorpions

Another crucial win for the Bucks tonight, as they topped the Scorpions 4-2 to sweep the season series.

The Bucks improve to 28-16-4 (60 points) to stay 10 points back of the Texas Brahmas, who improved to 33-12-4 (70 pts.) with their 4-3 SO win over the Odessa Jackalopes. I guess Jason Deitsch had Juha Toivonen's number in that shootout.

Sorry for the lack of game blogging tonight; I was alone on desk and had a lot of late wire to wait for as well as some local stuff to take care of. How 'bout that Nate Robinson?

Darryl Smith, Matt Miller, Igor Agarunov and Brent Cullaton had the Bucks' goals, and Cullaton, Serge Dube, Agarunov, Vincent Zaore-Vanie, Adam Rivet and Ryan Salvis each had an assist.

Cullaton's goal came while the Bucks were both on a power play and given an empty net as Kyle McNulty was pulled in spite of the Bucks' advantage.

The Bucks took seven penalties, while the Scorpions took six, but a couple of them matched up, so the Bucks only had four power plays and the Scorpions five. Cullaton's power-play goal was the Bucks' lone score on the advantage, while the Bucks killed all five of their own penalties.

Jason Dixon, Dube and Mike Gooch ended up with plus/minus ratios of minus-1 for the contest, while Zaore led the Bucks as a plus-2.

In spite of Sebastien Centomo's stellar performance last night, Andrew Martin got the nod this time and saved 21 of 23 shots for the win. The Bucks and Scorps finished even on shots for the night.

You can check out the Pointstreak box score or read Bryan Benway's press release for more on the game.

Other CHL Scores: Sundogs 4, Gorillas 3 (OT); Brahmas 4, Jackalopes 3 (SO); Oilers 6, Thunder 0; Killer Bees 3, IceRays 2; Blazers 3, Rush 1.

NHL Scores: Flyers 5, Islanders 1; Oilers 3, Kings 2 (SO); Maple Leafs 6, Penguins 2; Blue Jackets 5, Hurricanes 1; Capitals 5, Lightning 1; Predators 3, Bruins 2 (SO); Senators 5, Wild 3; Blackhawks 6, Stars 2; Flames 7, Coyotes 5.

Game No. 47 - Bucks at Scorpions

I'll try to update as much as possible based on the Pointstreak box score, but you can follow the game at that link yourself if I fall behind when calls start coming in.

First Period: Sebastien Centomo and Kyle McNulty are tonight's starting goaltenders. ... Somehow the Bucks were being outshot 3-1 prior to Josh Bonar going to the box for a hooking penalty at 5:22 and are now outshooting the Scorpions 6-3 with the penalty having expired. Not sure if that actually happened on the PK, though. ... The Bucks got their first chance on the power play when Lyon Messier was called for stick holding at 9:02 but couldn't capitalize and returned the favor when Ryan Salvis took a hooking penalty two seconds after Messier got out of the box. ... I guess they have hooking fever tonight, because Bonar got called for it again less than a minute after Salvis' penalty expired. Both penalties were killed. ... There's one you don't see often; Adam Rivet just got called for kneeing with 2:26 to play in the period. Bucks are outshooting the Scorps 10-8 in spite of all the penalties. ... Jordan Foote decided he wanted some 4-on-4, so he took a cross-checking penalty at 19:01 in the period. The Bucks didn't score before the first ended, so they'll start the second with 61 seconds on the power play.

Second Period: Nothing doing on that power play. Shots are even at 12 a couple minutes into the second. ... Alex Goupil has taken the first penalty of the period, interference at 6:22, to put the Scorpions on their fifth power play. ... That was the straw that broke the camel's back as one of my favorite names in the league, Torren Delforte, was able to net a power-play goal on an assist from Neal Trimm exactly one minute after Goupil went to the box. Scorpions lead 1-0. ... The Bucks are getting 1:45 of 5-on-3 play here, as Mike MacDonald got called for interference at 8:26 and Adam Blanchette followed him to the box on a hooking call at 8:41. If they can't take advantage of this opportunity against the league's second-worst penalty kill, that's probably a bad sign. ... Guess the IceRays can beat the Killer Bees after all. ... Darryl Smith got my message and scored 10 seconds into the 5-on-3. The goal is currently listed as unassisted. ... Time for another power play, as Seth Leonard has gone off for high sticking at 13:22. ... Make that another 5-on-3, as Chris Robertson went off for slashing 14 seconds after Leonard's call. ... I don't think goals being unassisted according to the New Mexico scorekeeper means they actually are, as Serge Dube has now notched an "unassisted" tally of his own at 14:44 in the period. Bucks lead 2-1. ... Leonard must not like the way things are going, as he is headed to the box for unsportsmanlike conduct with just seven seconds left in the period. ... The Bucks will be starting the third with almost an entire power play. They lead 27-22 on shots.

Third Period: Nothing doing on that power play. ... Very quiet third period so far; nothing on the board more than halfway through. ... Goupil tacked one on for the Bucks with 59 seconds left in the game.

Game Over: Bucks win 3-1, improve to 27-16-4 (58 points). Two solid goalie performances with McNulty saving 35 of 38 and Centomo stopping 31 of 32.

Other Scores: Rage 3, Thunder 2; IceRays 3, Killer Bees 2; Brahmas 3, Jackalopes 2; Gorillas 7, Sundogs 5; Mudbugs 4, Oilers 3 (SO); RiverKings 5, Eagles 2; Blazers 4, Rush 2.

NHL Scores: Devils 1, Bruins 0; Blue Jackets 3, Red Wings 2; Sabres 6, Sharks 5 (SO); Panthers 2, Rangers 1 (SO); Blues 1, Blackhawks 0; Stars 2, Canucks 1; Canadiens 4, Avalanche 2.

A Little Less Conversation...

I'm sure the majority of the Bucks' fans who read this blog, and my stories, share the opinion of "Bucks Supporter," who left this comment on my preview today:



Stop talking and perform. This year, the Bucks have lacked the speed & dedication (DEDICATION , wow, hit it right on the money), but with some players onboard it sets the foundation for next year's team. The passing is horrible and always out of sinc. There is no coordination and too many penalties. I guess there is always next year.



Regardless of whether or not you are looking ahead to next season, the first part probably rings true.

We'll see what they can do tonight.

Stuff and Stuff

So, about those Bucks...

As mentioned in the lede of my notebook, practice was surprisingly lighthearted yesterday, which Coach Ruskowski said was due to the meeting he had with the defense before practice. Here's what associate captain Adam Rivet told me:

"You always want to stay light; you don't want to get too down. We still needed to work on our systems; we have a couple guys who just came in, and they're learning the system. We're shortmanned, as well, so you want to stay fresh; you don't want to run guys out. We want to stay positive in practice and this weekend."

Speaking of Rivet, as I mentioned on Tuesday, seeing him fight was quite a surprise for me. I had seen him in minor scuffles before, but that was his first fighting major since I started covering the team.

So, of course, I had to ask him what Jesse Bennefield did to get under his skin so badly in Tuesday's loss. He explained that Bennefield had cross-checked him, and that was pretty much just the last straw, as he was already frustrated because of the way the game was going.

The great thing about talking to Rivet is that he takes full responsibility for his role in any of the defense's problems this season. He said months ago that he thought he wasn't playing "up to par," and hopefully everyone realizes he's trying his best to play the way he knows he can.

That isn't to say that the other Bucks' defenseman aren't honest about the struggles the team has been having on their side of the ice, but it's refreshing to have someone flat-out tell you what they think they're doing wrong and how much they want to fix it.

Obviously, the Bucks do have some fixing to do on defense if they want to keep the Southern Conference's No. 3 playoff seed, much less move up in the ranks.

My preview for this weekend includes some quotes from Rivet and Ruskowski about how important that is, especially with only 18 games left in the season and 12 (including the next five in a row) on the road.

The Bucks' current road woes can be traced back to that fateful December day when I finally made my first trip to Corpus Christi for a hockey game.

They lost 2-1 in a shootout that night, wasting a 47-save performance by a goalie they may face this weekend in Ryan Gibb, and since then are 2-8-2 on the road. Well, 2-8-3 if you include that game. Prior to that night, they were 5-2-0 outside the LEC, with both losses coming at the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees.

As you may remember, the last time the Bucks faced the Scorpions was in a 6-1 rout at the LEC, coincidentally one night prior to the aforementioned road loss to the IceRays.

In that game, the Bucks lit up the Scorpions' dismal penalty killing, scoring four power-play goals.

As it stands heading into this weekend, the Bucks are sixth in the league on the advantage, while the Scorpions have finally moved out of the cellar to be 15th in the league in penalty killing. Yes, there are only 16 teams.

So, obviously, the Bucks' power play could be a big key this weekend, and I'm sure they'd like for it to be. Ruskowski is hoping that having Cullaton on his roster can help get something started, and as his goal on Tuesday proved, he is willing to shoot from the point, which some defenseman at the point on power-play units are not as apt to do.

I've realized that most of my leftover quotes are completely repetitive of what's gone in my notebook and my preview for tomorrow, so I just want to flat-out repeat something I've already used instead.

Ruskowski said yesterday, "I feel like what we have in the locker room right now is good enough to win hockey games."

Yes, I know he might just be trying to convince me, or even himself, of that, but it is the first time he has said it all season long.

Let's see if the guys can prove it this weekend.

Tonight's NHL Scores: Senators 5, Flyers 2; Panthers 5, Hurricanes 0; Red Wings 4, Wild 2; Lightning 6, Maple Leafs 4; Predators 4, Blues 3 (SO); Canucks 4, Coyotes 3; Flames 2, Kings 0.

Time to Blog

Let's start with news that actually got announced today, as the Bucks' home regular season finale has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 19.

The Bucks were originally slated to play that game, in which they host the Texas Brahmas, on Friday, March 20, then immediately leave for a game against the Odessa Jackalopes in Odessa the next night.

They may still leave immediately following their game, but now they'll have some time to sleep in between, so I'm sure the Bucks are viewing this as a good thing.

I originally thought all these rescheduled games were working around the LEC events schedule, but now I'm not too positive that is the case, so this may have just been the league allowing the Bucks some time to breathe between two games that may be incredibly important depending on what goes on between now and then.

The team also announced that the game will be a $1 night at the LEC, with beer, hot dogs and sodas being sold for just $1. That's pretty sweet.

The Bucks' final regular season game is keeping its date to my knowledge, and the Brahmas will close out their regular season with a game against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees that Saturday in Hidalgo.

I had initially thought of going to the game in the Valley if it was going to be important in deciding anything that has to do with the Bucks (Odessa is a bit too far for me to be driving alone, and I'm usually on desk on Saturdays, anyway), but now that the Brahmas have built up such a big lead, that probably won't be the case.

On that note, Brian Sandalow has released his Southeast Division standings for this week and kept the Bucks in the No. 2 spot but wants them to know a bad showing this weekend could make being that high a thing of the past.

He also notes the fact that the Corpus Christi IceRays seem to have trouble beating the Killer Bees this season, something that could come in handy for the Bees in their two games at the IceRays this weekend.

Here are the standings heading into a weekend in which each Southeast team plays two games against the same team:

While the Bucks tangle with the New Mexico Scorpions, the Brahmas will take on the team the Scorpions surprisingly defeated last night - the Odessa Jackalopes.

That series is a battle of the Southern Conference's finest, and whichever team takes the most points out of those two games will hold the conference lead at the end of the weekend. The Brahmas are currently one point ahead of the Jackalopes (30-12-5, 65 points).

Of course, if the Bucks know what's good for them, they won't be focusing too much on the clash of conference titans, but instead of the Scorpions (18-26-2, 38 pts.), who are desperately fighting for the conference's last playoff spot.

If the regular season ended today, the Southern Conference would send No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Odessa, No. 3 Laredo, No. 4 Rio Grande Valley and the No. 5 Arizona Sundogs to the playoffs.

The Sundogs (21-24-3, 45 pts.), though, are only one point ahead of the IceRays, and the Scorpions are only six out of that race. The only team that seems to be out of it is the Amarillo Gorillas (13-29-2, 28 pts.), but with 20 games left to play (the most of anyone in the league), they have not yet been mathematically eliminated.

Enough playoff talk, though. As promised, my notebook ran in today's Times and touched on the subjects of defense, Josh Bonar and the injured or otherwise missing players the Bucks have.

Coach Ruskowski said he talked to Mickey Gilchrist, he seems excited to be coming over here and Gilchrist is expected to arrive in the Feb. 25-26 range.

That means Gilchrist, who is playing with in Japan right now, could very well be on the active roster before any of the Bucks' injured players.

Defensemen Jaye Judd and Steve Weidlich could be back sooner, but nothing is definite, as neither has been practicing since Judd put in a few sessions last week.

That means the Bucks will only have 14 skaters this weekend playing two games in an altitude much higher than they are used to and with Sebastien Centomo probably closer to 80 percent than 100.

As we know, Centomo's backup Andrew Martin came to Laredo from the Scorpions, and goalies playing against old teams can go two ways. Either the guys know the shooters and want to prove themselves and do a great job...or the shooters know the goalies and can easily anticipate where to shoot the puck if they want to score.

If Martin has to start either of this weekend's games, I'm sure he'll want it to be the former.

Back to the injuries, though, Ruskowski said Jeff Bes' status for the season will be determined by the end of the week. I doubt they'll let the public know right away if its decided he cannot come back, even in the playoffs, but that will put Ruskowski in a bit of a predicament.

With the trade deadline past, there is no way he can trade within the league to try to replace Bes, though he can obviously pick up guys off waivers or bring someone in from outside the CHL.

When I asked him yesterday if that was his plan, he said it definitely was, whether he had to get someone "from Europe or wherever," so we'll see what happens there.

Who knows, maybe Chris Stanley will be available again...though I'm not sure he'd be as likely to come back with David Walker not around anymore.

Speaking of people brought in for the playoffs, though, when I was perusing transactions earlier this week, I saw a familiar name, and it turns out Josh Patterson has been with the Oklahoma City Blazers for most of the season but missed a lot of playing time and is often a scratch. His time with the Bucks doesn't come up on Pointstreak because he went by Joshua then.

The other guy who came in just for the playoffs, emergency goaltender Paul Drew, has spent his season with the Dayton Bombers of the East Coast Hockey League.

Anyway, this post is getting pretty massive, so I'm going to take a break to write my preview for this weekend and return with some more timely info and leftover quotes later.