Quick Note

My brain is trying to process about a billion things right now, so I don't have much time to blog, but I did want to remind you that tomorrow is "Pack the House for Charity" night for Game 3 of the Bucks' Southern Conference Semifinal series.

As I've previously blogged and written about, Laredo Energy and Border Lease Services purchased all of the tickets to this game so they can be sold for $5 apiece and have all proceeds donated to the South Texas Food Bank and the Sacred Heart Children's Home.

You can read more about this in Bryan Benway's preview for tomorrow night's game, which could give the Bucks a 3-0 series lead over the Odessa Jackalopes if they win.

Bryan mentioned at practice this morning that the Bucks are 9-0 all-time in playoff series in which they have taken 2-0 leads to start, including the one against the Jackalopes last year.

But back to the charity aspect of the game, the Bucks took donations from players and front office members yesterday to buy tickets for the kids who live at the Sacred Heart Children's Home and were able to get tickets for 60 kids there, plus others throughout Laredo.

You can read more about that in Bryan's press release.

Oh, and Bucky is still in jail.

But anyway, the Colorado Eagles staged a comeback to earn a 4-3 win over the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs in Game 2 of their Northern Conference Semifinal series. The game-winner was scored with 32 seconds left to play by Most Outstanding Defenseman Aaron Schneekloth and gave the Eagles a 2-0 series lead.

Mudbugs coach Scott Muscutt earned a variety of misconduct penalties at the end of the game, as did Quade Lightbody.

Adam Dunivan was at the game and had this story for the Loveland Reporter-Herald which was also picked up by The Shreveport Times.

Meanwhile, Hap Fry (seriously) had this amusingly-headlined story for The Coloradoan. Pretty cool photo they nabbed.

That about covers it, but before I go, here's my notebook for this week. No CHL games tonight.

Monday's NHL Scores: Rangers 3, Devils 0; Sharks 2, Flames 1; Coyotes 6, Stars 5 (OT).

Tonight's NHL Scores: Blue Jackets 2, Predators 1; Bruins 3, Lightning 1; Panthers 5, Senators 2; Canadiens 4, Blackhawks 1; Canucks 2, Wild 1 (OT); Ducks 5, Oilers 3; Stars 3, Kings 2.

Today's Games

The Texas Brahmas just earned a 5-4 win over the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees to take a 2-0 series lead in the Southern Conference Semifinal series that determines who will face the winner of the Bucks' series against the Odessa Jackalopes.

As you all probably know, the Bucks beat the Jackalopes 5-1 last night to take a 2-0 lead in that series.

You can check out Bryan Benway's recap and the story from the Odessa American for more on that game.

Interesting/amusing quote from the latter article:

"We played like crap in the first period," Jackalopes coach Paul Gillis said. "We didn't come out with the energy that we needed; we played with the energy in the second and third period, but in the first period we didn't have the energy."

And what Coach Ruskowski had to say:

"Special teams, our power play and penalty-killing has to come up huge for the rest of the series," Laredo coach Terry Ruskowski said. "There are no two ways about it. We got lucky on a couple of them and we caught them when the were pressing us pretty hard. Darryl, when we looked at him at this time last year, it was about whether he could step up and he has and he's really come on strong the past two games."

I'm a bit perplexed by that bit about Darryl Smith...because he wasn't here this time last year. But I wil lassume that was a reference to recruiting...though that was the last thing on Ruskowski's mind on March 29, 2008. Yes, I know that is a year ago from today, not yesterday.

Meanwhile, the team should be back in town by now and will hopefully be practicing tomorrow, so I'll be getting some thoughts on the weekend and what is to come if that is the case.

Today's other game, the first of the Northern Conference Semifinal series between the Colorado Eagles and Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, is scheduled to begin at 8:05 p.m. our time. I'll post the score for that when it goes final.

UPDATE: The Eagles won 4-3 to take a 1-0 series lead.

NHL Scores: Blues 5, Blue Jackets 2; Predators 4, Red Wings 3; Senators 3, Lightning 0; Canucks 4, Blackhawks 0; Bruins 4, Flyers 3; Ducks 4, Avalanche 1; Wild 3, Oilers 2.

Semifinal Game No. 2

First Period: The Bucks' superb penalty killing from last night seems to have carried over into this one, as Shawn Snider has given them a 1-0 lead on a shorthanded goal scored at 1:51 during a Rick Kozak hooking penalty. ... Alexandre Vincent is in net again for the Jackalopes, while, as promised, Andrew Martin is getting the start for the Bucks. ... A Mike Ramsay slashing call at 8:32 has given the Bucks their first power play of the game. ... Darryl Smith is at it again, scoring his third goal of the playoffs on an assist from Jason Dixon, who was a healthy scratch last night. James Hiebert is the scratch tonight. Adam Rivet has the secondary helper on the goal, which came 15:29 into the period. ... Russ Moyer has been called for slashing at 17:59 to put the Bucks on the power play for pretty much the rest of the period. ... There never seemed to be any doubt that Smith was the best choice for Rookie of the Year, but just in case, he tacked on a power-play goal at 19:33 to give the Bucks a 3-0. Serge Dube and Dixon get the assists. ... And 3-0 is the way it'll go to intermission, in spite of the Bucks being outshot 10-5, at least according to Pointstreak currently. What's up with Vincent? ... Shots have been changed to 10-8, but still. ... The Texas Brahmas lead the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees 2-1 at the end of the first period of Game 1 of their semifinal series.

Second Period: I guess Paul Gillis was wandering the same thing I was, because Vincent has been pulled and replaced by All-Rookie netminder Juha Toivonen. ... Jeff Pierce has put the Bucks on an early power play this period with a hooking penalty at 2:07. ... Nothing doing on that, then Devin Featherstone went off for holding at 6:33, but no go for the Jackalopes on the power play, either. ... Two penalties and no scoring later, the Bucks are taking the 3-0 lead into the second intermission. Colin Circelli took a holding call at 13:41, then Kozak got a high-sticking double minor at 17:31. The Bucks killed off the first 2:29 of that penalty, but the Jackalopes will be on the power play for 1:31 to start the third. ... That was the first period the Bucks have outshot the Jackalopes so far in the series, but Toivonen stopped all 12 shots, while Martin stopped all eight from the Jacks. Bucks lead the game in shots 20-18 now. ... The Brahmas have upped their lead to 3-1 at the second intermission.

Third Period: Ryan Salvis has tacked on another for the Bucks at 4:05 during some 4-on-4 play created by simultaneous penalties against Dave Van Drunen and Matt Miller. They went off at 3:03 for high sticking and slashing, respectively. Bobby Russell and Steve Weidlich get the assists. ... Weidlich took an interference call at 7:08, but Jarad Bourassa decided it was time for some more 4-on-4 and took a hooking call 13 seconds later. Both teams killed the others' brief power-play chances. ... It took the Jackalopes 33 shots, but they are finally on the board with a goal by Dominic Leveille, assisted by Kory Karlander and Garrett Gruenke. Bucks lead 4-1. ... Karlander and Smith took a more normal pair of simultaneous penalties at 14:19 with diving and tripping their respective calls. ... Igor Agarunov has been called for hooking at 15:53 to give the Jackalopes 26 seconds of a 4-on-3, then 1:34 of a 5-on-4 power play. ... Russell added an empty netter at 18:57 on assists from Kozak and Salvis to make it 5-1, which is how this one will end.

Game Over: Bucks win 5-1, take a 2-0 series lead. Not too shabby. ... The Brahmas defeated the Killer Bees 4-2 to take a 1-0 lead in their series.

Today's NHL Scores: Penguins 4, Rangers 3; Nashville 4, Los Angeles 3 (OT); Atlanta 6, Ottawa 3; Boston 7, Toronto 5; Buffalo 4, Montreal 3 (SO); Carolina 2, New Jersey 1; Philadelphia 4, N.Y. Islanders 3 (SO); Florida 6, Dallas 3; St. Louis 4, Columbus 3 (SO); Flames 3, Wild 2; Sharks 3, Coyotes 2.

Semifinal Game Day No. 2

Don't forget about the Bucks' watch party at Rudy's BBQ tonight. In spite of my aversion to barbeque, I would be there if I could...but I'm on desk alone tonight, so that's not happening.

In case you missed last night's 3-2 overtime win, here's Bryan Benway's recap and the Odessa American story about the game. Bryan also had a preview for tonight's game. And, as always, you can check out the Pointstreak pre-game notes for more.

Tonight's other game pits the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees against Southeast Division champion Texas Brahmas at the NYTEX Centre in North Richland Hills in the other Southern Conference Semifinal Series.

I'll update on the Bucks game as it's happening, but I'll be distracted by my BU hockey game (which seems to be more of a massacre than anything else) for the first period and busy for the rest of the night, so it'll probably just be the basic stuff.

Puck drops in 50 minutes...or so.

Semifinal Game No. 1

First Period: As expected, Sebastien Centomo and Alexandre Vincent are tonight's starting goaltenders. ... Bobby Russell went off for holding at 3:39 to give the Jackalopes the game's first power play. ... In spite of the Jackalopes having the only power play so far, the Bucks are outshooting them 4-3 as of eight minutes into the game. ... Shawn Snider is headed off for high sticking at 10:05 to give the Jackalopes' prolific power play its second chance of the night. ... Still knotted at zero at the end of that one, with shots now even at five. ... After saying they needed to stay disciplined to keep the Jackalopes off the power play, the Bucks seem to be doing the exact opposite, and Adam Rivet is going to the box for hooking now at 15:31. ... Luckily for the Bucks, the penalty kill has been up to the challenge, as that advantage has left the Jackalopes 0-for-3. ... The Bucks will finally get their first advantage with 33 seconds left in the period, as Dominic Leveille has been called for hooking. ... Just as I was planning to type that the period had ended, I refreshed the page to find that Darryl Smith has given the Bucks a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal with eight seconds to go in the opening stanza. Serge Dube and Brent Cullaton had the assists. ... And 1-0 is how the period will end. Jackalopes lead 8-7 on shots, but the Bucks lead where it counts and are 1-for-1 on the power play while holding the Jackalopes 0-for-3. On paper, looks like a fairly well-played 20 minutes. ... Okay, shots are actually even at nine.

Second Period: Sixteen seconds into this one, Igor Agarunov is going off for high sticking. Power play No. 4 for the Jackalopes. ... Make that a 5-on-3 for 18 seconds, as Vincent Zaore-Vanie has been called for hooking at 1:58. ... Impressively enough, the Bucks killed off that nearly four-minute advantage to keep their 1-0 lead. ... Kory Karlander's headed to the box for holding at 5:21 to give the Bucks their second power-play chance. ... Nothing doing on that one, at least goal-wise. ... Bucks are being outshot like crazy this period, but Centomo is keeping their lead intact as of the halfway point. ... Colin Circelli is getting some time in the sin bin for hooking at 12:28 for hooking to give the Bucks their second power play of the period and third of the night. ... And they have taken advantage of it 20 seconds in with Russell scoring on assists from Rick Kozak and Ryan Salvis. Bucks lead 2-0. ... And now the Bucks get another chance as Russ Moyer has been called for hooking at 15:56. ... The Jackalopes will get another of their own soon with Alex Goupil going off for slashing at 17:03 to make it 4-on-4 for a bit, then a Jackalopes' power play for 1:07. ... The period will end with the Bucks leading 2-0. Jackalopes up 20-14 on shots. ... I was wondering where all the rough stuff had gone in this one, but James Hiebert and Phillippe Plant each took roughing penalties at the end of that one, so it'll be 4-on-4 to start the third.

Third Period: I got distracted by softball phone calls for a while, then refreshed the page to find the game tied 2-2. The Jackalopes scored two even-strength goals within a matter of minutes. Colin Circelli went first just 41 seconds into the period on assists from CHL MVP Sebastien Thinel and Russ Moyer, then Dave Van Drunen scored at 3:54 on assists from Kenny Bernard and Leveille. Bernard had taken an interference call at 1:33 but apparently got out of the box just in time to set up the second goal. ... Dube has been called for hooking at 9:51 to give the Jackalopes a power-play chance. ... The Bucks are getting outshot by quite a bit again in this one, but those two goals are all the Jackalopes have been able to get so far. ... Looks like this one is headed to OT, for which I blame Bryan Benway, who asked me this week how late we'd wait for his story before sending the paper without it if the game went late. Dangit, Bryan!

Overtime: Not much going on that I can tell from Pointstreak, and it's starting to reach panic time in the office, so I'm sorry if I miss the game-winner or something along those lines. ... I take that back, because it came as I was still staring at my computer screen. Smith made his professional playoffs debut with a splash, just as he did with the regular season, scoring one regulation goal and the OT game-winner. Hiebert and Agarunov assisted on the goal, which came at 8:14 in the OT period.

Game Over: Bucks win 3-2 in overtime, take a 1-0 series lead into Game 2 at the Ector County Coliseum tomorrow. Big win, obviously. Check out Bryan's press release for some more detailed info.

Tonight's NHL Scores: Washington 5, Tampa Bay 3; Buffalo 5, Toronto 3; N.Y. Islanders 2, Detroit 0; Chicago 3, New Jersey 2 (OT); Vancouver 4, Colorado 1; Edmonton 5, Anaheim 3.

A Whole New Kind of Game Day

I was about to title this post "Game Day No. 65," but then I figured things are starting on a completely new leaf, so I may as well label them as such.

The Bucks will begin their Southern Conference Semifinal series against the Odessa Jackalopes at Ector County Coliseum in just over an hour.

Today's Times featured my preview for the game/series and a feature about rookie defenseman Devin Featherstone.

That story was a lot of fun to write, and Devin was kind enough to send me a lot of photos from his time as a firefighter in northern Alberta over the summers. We used two of them, but obviously had a few leftover, including this one:

Just wanted to share because I thought it was very neat but we couldn't use it in the paper due to the Photoshop work done on it.

Meanwhile, one quote from that story that I cut a little short was this one from Coach Ruskowski:

"Everyone I talked to told me, 'The kid can play,' and he can. They weren’t lying to me. When I brought him in, I was pretty happy. I like the way he’s always leaning in; to me that means he has good balance and he’s a good skater. He’s got places to improve, but becoming a pro and playing the game and him understanding the professional game more and more, he’s going to be a true factor to be reckoned with in the future. I think he has a bright future. He’s good now, absolutely, but I think he could get even better."

I thought it was pretty cool to get so specific about the way he positions himself on the play and how that is a good sign about his overall performance.

Meanwhile, some leftovers from what I talked to Ruskowski about from my preview included this bit about the personal meetings on Monday:

"I think it’s very important. I think some guys seem to have an idea of not knowing what they’re doing. I asked, ‘What do you think you can do to bring this team a championship?,’ and they tell me, and I say, ‘Okay, well, this is what I think you should do. Now I can hold it against them because I got it in writing. If they don’t live up to their expectations, I say, ‘Here you go. This is what you told me. Are you living up to the expectations of what you told me that you were going to do. It kind of puts them on the line, knowing exactly what they have to do to be successful and exactly what I think they should do to be successful."

And this about the defense:

"We've got to be so conscientous. I always say, 'Head on a swivel and know where the situation is.' If you know where the situation is, you know where everybody is, you can adapt to that type of circumstance and take away the pass or hit the guy so he doesn't make the play. It's crucial. You look at the most important part of the team - it's goalie, strong defense, and the offense will take care of itself."

About passing:

"It has to improve. When we pass well, we skate well. When we pass well, we have offensive chances. If we pass well, we're not in our defensive zone. Our team, as crazy as it sounds, depends on passing as to whether or not it will be successful. A good pass can give you an opportunity for a breakaway; a bad pass will give you a chance to have to forecheck. You always want to score rather than have to forecheck and fight for the puck, so passing is crucial."

About the Jackalopes:

"They pass well, they move the puck well, they play good position. They seem to see the guy where we think he’s covered, but a nice pass makes a goal-scoring opportunity. Their defense comes up on the play a lot. A lot. So we have to be conscientous about their rushes. The rushes we have to make, we have to make sure everybody’s coming back and picking up their man, and we have to make sure that defensively we play great – not good – defensive coverage. If we play great defensive coverage and our power play and penalty killing does its job, we have a chance to win."

And about needing his players to step it up:

"Everybody has to step up their game one or two notches to be effective. It’s very important that the people who I rely on to take charge and the people who have just been here for the year step their game up. Everybody has to pull their load; everybody has to do their job. That has to be if we want to be contenders."

You can check out Bryan Benway's preview, the preview from the Odessa American and the Pointstreak pre-game notes for more.

As far as last night's games...

From the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees' first playoff series victory in team history, via a 3-0 win over the Corpus Christi IceRays, Brian Sandalow has a game blog and a story. You can also check out the Killer Bees' press release.

On the Corpus side of things, Greg Rajan has some observations and his game story. He has also posted predictions for the semifinals.

The Killer Bees will now face the Southeast Division champion Texas Brahmas in their semifinal series, starting tomorrow night at the NYTEX Centre.

The Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs' 5-3 win over the Rocky Mountain Rage set them up for a semifinal series against the Colorado Eagles, which also begins tomorrow.

Roy Lang III had a feature about the series win for the Shreveport Times, which also ran a game story by Kelly Morris.

And, last but not least, there was the Mississippi RiverKings' 5-3 win over the Oklahoma City Blazers to even their Northern Conference semifinal series at one game apiece.

The Desoto Times ran a short story about that game, while Bob Przybylo had a game blog and a wrapup.

That series does not resume until Wednesday.

As I mentioned yesterday, the Bucks-Jacks game is the only one going on tonight, and I will try to live blog it to the best of my ability...but I'm on desk alone on a baseball/softball night, so no promises.

Killer Bees, Mudbugs Advance

The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees defeated the Corpus Christi IceRays 3-0 at Dodge Arena tonight to keep their miraculous turnaround season alive into the Southern Conference Semifinals, where they will face the Southeast Division champion Texas Brahmas.

In the Northern Conference Quarterfinals' deciding game, the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs defeated the Rocky Mountain Rage 5-3.

And, in the North semifinals, the Mississippi RiverKings earned a 5-3 win to knot their series with the Oklahoma City Blazers at one game apiece.

I'll link to more on those games tomorrow.

The only game on tomorrow night's schedule is Game 1 of the Bucks' Southern Conference Semifinal series against the Jackalopes.

Game time is 7:05 p.m. at the Ector County Coliseum in Odessa.

Check out tomorrow's Times and game day post on here for more about the game, series, etc...

Oh, and there will be a watch party for Game 2 at Rudy's on McPherson Road for those of you interested.

Tonight's NHL Scores: Thrashers 5, Rangers 4 (OT); Blue Jackets 5, Flames 0; Panthers 4, Flyers 2; Canadiens 3, Lightning 2 (OT); Predators 3, Sharks 2; Kings 1, Stars 0 (SO); Blues 4, Canucks 2; Coyotes 3, Oilers 2.

Housekeeping

This post is mostly going to be one with the purpose of catching up on some things.

First of all, as promised, I have some links to more info about last night's CHL playoff games.

From the Southern Conference Quarterfinals, Greg Rajan has his observations and a game story from the Corpus Christi IceRays' 6-2 win over the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees.

From the same game, Brian Sandalow has pre-game, live game and postgame blogs and a game story of his own.

That series concludes with tonight's Game 3 at 7:30 p.m. at Dodge Arena.

From the Northern Conference Quarterfinals, there are game stories about the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs' 5-4 overtime win against the Rocky Mountain Rage in the Shreveport Times and the Bossier Press-Tribune.

As with the other quarterfinal series, that one will conclude tonight.

And then there is the Northern Conference Semifinal series which got an early start with the Oklahoma City Blazers' 2-1 overtime win against the Mississippi RiverKings last night.

Bob Przybylo has a very intense game blog (similar in style to what they do for the Penguins at the Post-Gazette...), a wrapup and a preview blog for Game 2 of that series tonight. His newspaper, The Oklahoman, ran a story with a "staff reports" byline, but I imagine Bob was doing most of those reports from phone calls and what he saw on Nifty.

There is also a story from the RiverKings' side of things in The Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Now, for a few other housekeeping links and quotes...

Robert Keith from the Texas Brahmas Insider Blog was in attendance for the Bucks' games against the Brahmas last week.

He has been kind enough to share his photo albums from the Bucks' 4-3 overtime win on Wednesday and the Brahmas' 5-0 rout on Thursday.

There are some neat shots in both albums, including plenty from the catwalk on Thursday night...and solid proof of reader Rolando Gallegos' coaching debut:

As always, thanks to Robert for sharing those pictures. Hope you and your family enjoyed your trip and had a safe drive home!

Meanwhile, the topic of amateurs has come up previously this week, so I talked to Coach Ruskowski about it a bit more in-depth yesterday.

He has a forward and a defenseman who he is looking at, but one of their age's is making things difficult and the other is still playing, presumably in an NCAA tournament.

Here's what he said:

"We're working on a couple guys now to come in to help us out. One of the kids is 19 years old, and I have to get permission from the team for him to come here. Right now, I'm not getting phone calls back from them, so his agents working on that now. I'm waiting for another kid to finish a hockey tournament, so that should be done this weekend, so hopefully we can get a hold of him and bring him down as soon as possible. Then we can have another forward and another defenseman in case we have any injury problems. We can bring amateurs anytime we want, and we're going to see how everything works out because I don't want to spend any extra money I don't have to, but I don't want to be caught in a situation where I'm shorthanded. So I just want to get everybody lined up knowing what's going to happen if something does happen so if it does, we have it covered."

As far as letting Mike Gooch go to clear up roster space...Ruskowski seemed pretty upset but believed that was the decision he had to make. Here are his thoughts on that move:

"Boy, that was just a hard decision. I know that, the last four of five days, that I had to make a decision, and the decision wasn't an easy decision. Mike Gooch is a great kid, and I love him to death. But he's just kind of a small defenseman, and when we get up against bigger teams and stronger forwards, he struggles a bit in the corners and defensive zone. That was the only - the only - thing that was hampering him from staying. He moves the puck well, he skates pretty well, he's a smart kid and a great kid off the ice, a great kid to be around period. He's just a classy young man that I enjoy being around, and unfortunately, that just had to happen. But he's a good kid; he's going to go home and be with his fiancée, and I just hope that he has nothing but success. If I could ever help him, in hockey or his life, then I'd be there to help him out because I truly love the kid, and he's a great kid."

There are a few other things I could touch on, but I should probably go write my stories for the print edition first. Tomorrow's front page will be pretty Bucks-oriented, and include some very neat photos of one of the players, so hopefully you'll be able to check it out.

Tonight's Scores

The Corpus Christi IceRays evened up their Southern Conference Quarterfinal series against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees with a 6-2 win tonight.

That series is tied 1-1 and will finish up with Game 3 tomorrow night at Dodge Arena.

The Northern Conference series is also tied at one game apiece after the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs came from behind to earn a 5-4 overtime win over the Rocky Mountain Rage tonight.

That series will end tomorrow night at the CenturyTel Center.

The Northern Conference Semifinal series that oddly began tonight also went to overtime, with the Oklahoma City Blazers grabbing a 2-1 win over the Mississippi RiverKings.

I'll link to all the stories and everything about tonight's games tomorrow and also share some leftover quotes from my playoff preview, which will run with a feature in Friday's paper.

Last Night's NHL Scores: Rangers 2, Wild 1; Maple Leafs 3, Capitals 2 (SO); Lightning 2, Blue Jackets 1 (OT); Canadiens 6, Thrashers 3; Ducks 2, Predators 1 (SO); Blues 2, Kings 0; Canucks 5, Stars 2; Red Wings 3, Oilers 2.

Tonight's NHL Scores: Hurricanes 2, Senators 1; Sabres 5, Panthers 3; Wild 6, Islanders 2; Penguins 2, Flames 0; Blackhawks 6, Sharks 5 (SO); Ducks 7, Avalanche 2.

First Day of the "Real" Season

There were no new faces at practice this morning, but Coach Ruskowski's was certainly more serious than it has been after any wins previously this season.

Obviously, the postseason is a whole new monster for any team to tackle, and he wants to make sure his team is as prepared as it possibly can be.

The guys were out on the ice for about an hour and a half this morning, then went to get new head shots taken, then were headed back to the locker room to watch video.

Though James Hiebert told me they're ready to go and wouldn't mind one bit if their Southern Conference Semifinal series started tonight, Ruskowski definitely wants to use this time to improve on some areas where he still sees problems.

As far as the amateurs go...no word yet, but there's obviously still time.

The teams who began their postseasons last night will get tonight off before picking things up again tomorrow.

In the Southern Conference, the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees did a number on the Corpus Christi IceRays in a 5-1 win last night.

There's no way I can link individually to all the posts I've missed by these guys, but you can learn everything you want to know about this series and so much more by checking out the blogs of Brian Sandalow and Greg Rajan.

You can also read Brian's story for The Monitor and Greg's story for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.

In the Northern Conference game, the Rocky Mountain Rage grabbed a 4-3 win over the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs in spite of being outshot 52-19. I promise that's not a typo.

Both series resume tomorrow, while the No. 2 vs. No. 3 in the Northern Conference will also begin with the Oklahoma City Blazers at the Mississippi RiverKings.

My weekly notebook will run tomorrow and touch a bit on the ridiculousness of Saturday night's game, during which Ruskowski said his players took a few things a bit too far.

However, it was definitely a statement win...even if the statement was a bad one.

Should be interesting to see what happens when the Bucks open their playoff series against the Odessa Jackalopes back at Ector County Coliseum on Friday night.

Last Night's NHL Scores: Flyers 4, Devils 2; Hurricanes 3, Panthers 2 (OT); Flames 5, Red Wings 3.

News and Notes

As expected, Brent Cullaton and Serge Dube have been activated from the injured reserve to play in the postseason.

Accordingly, someone had to be released, and Mike Gooch was declared an unrestricted free agent.

Meanwhile, Odessa Jackalopes forward and league scoring leader Sebastien Thinel has been announced as the CHL MVP for this season.

That caps off the year-end player awards, with Kevin Beech and Aaron Schneekloth earning the two honors I forgot to blog about last week.

The playoffs begin tonight, with the Corpus Christi IceRays and Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees starting their 3-game series to battle for a Southern Conference Semifinal spot. The Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs and Rocky Mountain Rage will do the same in the North.

Here are the final regular season standings:

The Bucks did not practice today, but they will be tomorrow, so I'll be sure to ask around about what happened off the ice during Saturday's 5-2 win over the Jackalopes. Sounds like it was an interesting one.

Meanwhile, I never mentioned New Jersey Devils netminder Martin Brodeur setting a new NHL career wins record last week, but I assume many of you heard about that...and what happened soon thereafter. Jorge, I guess you were right...but I still want to show you that article.

Oh, and this is apparently going on...but I can't really talk (or blog) about it with a straight face.

Yesterday's NHL Scores: Flyers 3, Penguins 1; Bruins 4, Devils 1; Blackhawks 4, Kings 1; Wild 3, Oilers 0; Senators 2, Rangers 1; Sharks 3, Avalanche 1; Ducks 6, Coyotes 2.

Game No. 64 - Bucks at Jackalopes

First Period: Sorry for the delay in starting with this, but the Bucks took a 1-0 lead on Shawn Snider's first goal with the team on a feed from Alex Goupil just 67 seconds into the game, and no one has scored since. However, James Hiebert, who also assisted on that goal, did get in a fight with Garrett Gruenke 13 seconds later, and it appears he was kicked out of the game. Rick Kozak took a slashing penalty a bit later, but the Bucks killed off that penalty, just as they had killed Hiebert's instigator minor. Snider and Ryan Palmer took simultaneous high-sticking calls at 8:50, but the Bucks have yet to go on the power play. Andrew Martin and Juha Toivonen are tonight's goalies. ... Jean Bourbeau has tied it up at 16:27 with a goal assisted by Mike Ramsay and Phillippe Plante. The goal came on the Jackalopes' 11th shot. The Bucks have taken six so far. ... The Bucks have finally gotten that first power play with a holding call against Kory Karlander with 2:44 to play in the period. ... And now it'll be a 5-on-3 for 16 seconds and some additional power-play time as Kenny Bernard was called for high sticking with one minute left. ... Nothing doing on those chances, but the Bucks will have a minute more on the advantage when the second period begins. Shots read 15-8 in the Jackalopes' favor after one.

Second Period: This time, it's Bobby Russell getting a first early, as he has scored his first goal since coming off the IR at 3:38 to give the Bucks a 2-1 lead. Devin Featherstone and Darryl Smith get the assists. ... Josh Chase took an interference penalty at 5:46 to give the Bucks another power play, but nothing doing on that one, either. ... Well, Coach Ruskowski said he wanted this to be physical, but I'm not sure he's getting his desired result as Rick Kozak fought Mike Lesperance, then Erick Lizon joined him in the sin bin 26 seconds later to put the Jackalopes on a power play at 9:41. Jeff Pierce only needed 17 seconds to take advantage of that by scoring a goal assisted by league scoring leader Sebastien Thinel and Plante. Game tied 2-2. Jackalopes have taken 23 shots to the Bucks' 10. ... Okay, I guess Hiebert's misconduct was actually only 10 minutes because he just got called for charging a goalie...and then Martin got called for leaving the crease. I'm guessing there's some crazy stuff going on, but my work computer does not work well with Nifty, so I'm missing it. Goupil went off for holding at 11:11, then Plante, Hiebert and Martin all took calls at 13:17. Plante's was for roughing, and I'm not sure who's serving Martin's penalty. ... And now Ryan Salvis has been called for slashing at 13:43, which puts the Jackalopes on a 5-on-3 for 1:34. ... Okay, that got changed to a spearing major and a game misconduct. Something is seriously up, I guess I'll try to pick up the feed at least for a little while. ... What the heck? Is there a new new Nifty? Because I downloaded the old new one, but now it's making me download another. Hmmm. ... That worked for all of two seconds. Good times. ... The clock's been stuck at 0:36 for a while now, so I'm guessing more fighting is going down. ... Okay, it is finally the second intermission, and the Bucks somehow survived all those penalties. Hiebert fought Gruenke again, Lizon "intervened" and got a game misconduct, and Hiebert got an additional roughing minor, so the Jackalopes will be on the power play again when the third begins. Game's tied 2-2 with the Jackalopes up 30-16 on shots.

Third Period: The Bucks are on their second power play of the period, with Bernard going off for interference at 4:50 and Ramsay for holding at 6:47. They failed to score on the first but still have time on this one. ... And of course it would be Hiebert to score the go-ahead goal at 8:10 on assists from Adam Rivet and Russell. Bucks lead 3-2 but are still getting outshot like crazy. ... And now Kozak has tacked on another on an assist from Russell at 10:19. Apparently taking misconduct penalties is the way to go, after all. ... Tack on an empty netter from Rivet with Hiebert picking up another assist. He nearly had two Gordie Howe hat tricks tonight, haha.

Game Over: Bucks win 5-2, finish the regular season 36-23-5 (77 points) and more importantly make a statement to the Jackalopes heading into the Southern Conference Semifinals, which begin on Friday.

The Corpus Christi IceRays beat the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs 3-2 in a shootout to clinch the final Southern Conference playoff spot. They will face the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees in the three-game first-round series.

Here is the finalized playoff lineup.

Oh, and the Colorado Eagles won, while the Texas Brahmas lost, so the Eagles get the Governors Cup outright. I'm pretty wiped out right now, and I'll be out of town tomorrow, so I'll post more about tonight's events around the league and everything else on Monday.

Last Night's CHL Scores: Mudbugs 4, RiverKings 0; Jackalopes 3, Blazers 2; Thunder 6, Oilers 2; Killer Bees 3, IceRays 1; Rush 6, Eagles 4; Gorillas 5, Rage 4; Sundogs 2, Scorpions 1.

Last Night's NHL Scores: Hurricanes 5, Islanders 4; Devils 4, Wild 0; Flyers 6, Sabres 4; Penguins 4, Kings 1; Red Wings 6, Thrashers 3; Oilers 5, Blackhawks 4 (SO); Blues 3, Flames 2.

Tonight's Other CHL Scores: Rage 8, Gorillas 7; IceRays 3, Mudbugs 2 (SO); RiverKings 5, Oilers 1; Blazers 5, Thunder 2; Killer Bees 3, Brahmas 1; Eagles 6, Rush 2; Scorpions 7, Sundogs 1.

Today's NHL Scores: Sharks 5, Stars 2; Rangers 5, Sabres 3; Hurricanes 4, Capitals 1; Maple Leafs 5, Canadiens 2; Blue Jackets 3, Panthers 1; Senators 5, Islanders 2; Thrashers 4, Lightning 3 (SO); Coyotes 5, Canucks 1.

Game No. 63 - Bucks vs. Brahmas

Starters: Bucks - Sebastien Centomo (G), Jason Dixon (F), Mike Gooch (D), Matt Miller (F), Ryan Salvis (F), Vincent Zaore-Vanie (D); Brahmas - David Cacciola (G), Kevin McLeod (F), Matt Quinn (F), Pete Rouleau (F), Nathan Saunders (D), Tyler Skworchinki (F).

First Period: Bobby Russell has his "A" back in his return, taking the one worn by Brent Cullaton last night. Alex Goupil and Adam Rivet still have theirs. ... Two of the Brahmas more physical players, Saunders and Skworchinski, are out to start, but they lack of fighters in the Bucks' starting lineup implies they won't be getting any brawls on the opening faceoff. ... No fights indeed, but a very physical first 21 seconds. ... So physical, in fact, that Dixon is headed to the box for elbowing to put the Brahmas on the game's first power play. ... Russell is out to kill the penalty before even playing a shift at even strength in his return. ... And the Brahmas are now 0-for-1 on the advantage. ... Rolando Gallegos is the honorary assistant coach tonight; hope you're having fun out there! Lucky for you it wasn't last night, haha. ... Brahmas are outshooting the Bucks 5-1 just past five minutes in. ... The Bucks just got a couple lucky breaks on Brahmas' shots missing the net. If they had been on-target, they would have been in. ... Bucks finally got something offensive going with the top line of Goupil-Rookie of the Year Darryl Smith-James Hiebert on the ice, but nothing doing. ... Miller and the puck just went into the net, but his body beat the puck and got the net off its moorings, so that is not going to get anyone on the board. ... Salvis just had a decent chance from the circle but broke his stick on a slap shot and missed wide. ... Cacciola just came way out of his net to try to grab a puck and missed it, but his teammates grabbed it for him to ruin what could have been a great chance for the Bucks. ... If nothing else, Smith will at least pick up more penalty minutes tonight, as he is headed to the box for holding with 1:25 to play in the period. ... And now it'll be 4-on-4 for the remaining 18.9 seconds of the first period and the first 35 of the second, as Scott Sheppard is serving a too-many-men penalty for the Brahmas. ... End of the period, no score, and the Brahmas are up 8-4 on shots.

Second Period: Bucks are on their first power play now with 35 seconds expired in the period. ... Craig Minard has gone in for hooking at 1:39 to keep the Bucks on the power play, including a brief 5-on-3, for a while longer. ... The Bucks somehow missed an open net on a shot that looked like it should have trickled in, then Centomo has has to make a couple saves to keep the Brahmas off the board in the first half of this stanza. ... I think Hiebert just stayed on the ice well after his shift ended for the first time since coming back about a week and a half ago. I don't know if I'll ever get used to him wearing No. 79. ... THe Bucks just absolutely wrecked the Brahmas physically on a shift, including some very hard hits on Justin Kinnunen. Rick Kozak is headed to the box at 8:03, where he'll serve two for cross-checking, as a result. ... Oh, apparently Zaore got called for interference at the same time, so this'll be a full 5-on-3 for the Brahmas. Oh boy. ... Okay, no longer. Brandon Benedict, much to his and his teammates' dismay, was called for hooking at 8:50 to make it 4-on-3 then a Bucks' power play for 47 seconds. ... After a series of spectacular saves, Centomo was beaten high on a flukey shot from the slot by McLeod. Brahmas lead 1-0 at 9:20. That was their 17th shot, while the Bucks have taken eight. ... The Bucks will get their first full power play now as Benedict committed the same penalty at 11:26. ... Some nice work on this power play, which is clearly comprised of plenty of personnel who weren't in these spots a couple weeks ago, but Cacciola is standing strong so far. ... Oh geeze. Jason Deitsch just broke away shorthanded and got taken out from behind, so he'll get a penalty shot. The Bucks always give those to the last people they should. ... Haha, gotta love it when a goalie makes a save and doesn't even know it. Deitsch tried to go five-hole and Centomo had his legs close enough together to stop it but didn't know for sure that's where the puck was and refused to stand up until turning his upper body around to make sure the puck wasn't trickling into the net. The guys seemed pretty excited by that stop, but we'll see if it gives them any momentum. ... Guess not, but they still have 1:05 to try to tie it up before this period ends. ... No go. Brahmas lead 1-0 and 23-10 on shots.

Third Period: Was that the longest "Minute of Madness" ever? I think that was the longest "Minute of Madness" ever. Over three minutes before the first whistle was blown, and I couldn't even hear it. Bucks go on the power play as Minard heads to the box at 3:12 for hooking. ... Nothing doing on the power play, but it's 2-0 Brahmas at 5:23 as Quinn got one to trickle through Centomo's legs the way he thought the Deitsch penalty shot had. ... And make that 3-0 on a shot from the circle by Deitsch. Seems the wheels are starting to come off here. ... Igor Agarunov has been called for interference at 7:13 to put the Brahams on the power play. ... Okay, 4-0. McLeod tacked on another for good measure at 8:01. This is going to be a tough game story to write considering the game is effectively meaningless but everyone will still be upset when it's done. ... Hiebert to the box for roughing. The only thing odd about that is the No. 79. Brahmas on another power play at 12:58. ... I'm thinking now might be Hiebert jumping people time, as the Brahmas just scored another at 13:47. Sheppard on that one. ... I am so good at that game. Hiebert just attacked a Brahmas player in the corner and looks pretty ticked off. Just under two minutes left to play. ... I guess that was Ross Rouleau, as he got a roughing penalty and left the ice. Hiebert got roughing and tripping, one of which is being served by Erick Lizon. ... Zaore decided to pick up right where Zaore left off with a brawl against Travis Banga. They're both leaving the ice on roughing penalties. ... More pushing and shoving to follow the final buzzer, and Lizon is trying to follow someone, possibly Grant Jacobsen off the ice. Oh, temper tantrums.

Game Over: Bucks lose 5-0, fall to 35-23-5 (75 points). This is why Ruskowski was so glad to be tied heading into overtime last night.

Other Scores: Gorillas 5, Scorpions 4 (OT); Eagles 4, Rage 3 (OT).

NHL Scores: Kings 3, Bruins 2 (OT); Senators 5, Canadiens 4; Panthers 3, Maple Leafs 1; Capitals 5, Lightning 2; Oilers 8, Avalanche 1; Canucks 3, Blues 0; Ducks 3, Coyotes 2 (SO); Sharks 3, Predators 2 (SO).

Game Day No. 63

Last home game of the regular season...wow.

You can read my story about last night's 4-3 overtime win over the Texas Brahmas here.

Tonight will be the IR comeback game for Bobby Russell, the second game back for Mike Gooch and Rick Kozak and a second chance for Shawn Snider to prove that he belongs on this team's postseason roster.

With the No. 3 seed clinched and win No. 500 for Ruskowski taken care of, everyone should be playing without much pressure and "gripping the sticks a little less tight," as they say.

Adam Rivet seemed intent on the fact that they can't just coast through these next couple games, and I'd have to agree with him, especially considering the one on Saturday is a playoff preview.

The Brahmas still have a slight chance at the Governor's Cup, so I can't imagine they'll be taking the night off, but we'll see what happens.

As usual, you can check out Bryan Benway's preview and the Pointstreak pre-game notes.

Oh, and Kevin Kaminski has been named the league's Coach of the Year. I know a few people who will be disappointed that Chris Brooks didn't get it, but obviously Kaminski's peers were in agreement that he deserved it. Congrats to him; I'm always fascinated by how affable he is for someone who played the way he did.

Rookie of the Year

I'm sure this comes as no surprise to most of you, but Bucks phenom Darryl Smith has been named the Central Hockey League's Rookie of the Year.

Smith was, of course, very humble about this well-deserved honor and gave all the credit to Coach Ruskowski and the guys he's played alongside this season, while Ruskowski gave most of the credit for finding the kid to his scout.

I have repeated Smith's numbers over and over again (Plus, I need something to actually put in the paper.), so I'm not going to go too much into detail right now.

But, it should be told, that after handing out two helpers last night, Smith leads the league's rookies with 36 goals and 33 assists for 69 points. Don't be surprised if that number changes a couple more times before the regular season ends...or if he manages to surpass IR-bound Brent Cullaton for the Bucks' season lead.

This is unrelated to Smith, but it's kind of crazy that Sebastien Thinel is 13 points ahead of his closest competition for the overall league points lead but still under 100, whereas three players, including MVP Jeff Bes, broke the century mark last season.

Anyway, congrats to Smith, and just for kicks, here is that picture of him, probably my favorite Bucks photo we've ever had, one more time:

More Roster Moves

Bobby Russell has been activated from the injured reserve and will be in the lineup tonight for the first time since Jan. 31.

Brent Cullaton has taken Russell's place on the IR, going on the 14-day retroactive to last night, and will close out the regular season there.

Coach Ruskowski said he expects Cullaton and Serge Dube to be ready for the Bucks' first playoff game at the Odessa Jackalopes on Friday, March 27, but rookie defenseman Jaye Judd is out for the season with a lower-body injury.

Playoff Series Finalized

The Bucks' clinching the No. 3 seed tonight allowed the schedule for the Southern Conference Semifinal series against the Odessa Jackalopes to be finalized.

You can read it at the bottom of Bryan Benway's game story or below, where I shall copy and paste the CHL press release:


Odessa/Laredo Semifinals Series Finalized

The Laredo Bucks earned the third seed on Wednesday night thanks to their 4-3 overtime victory over the Texas Brahmas at the Laredo Entertainment Center. By garnering the third seed, the Bucks have set-up a Southern Conference Semifinals match-up with the second seeded Odessa Jackalopes (the Southwest Division Champions).

The series between the Jacks and Bucks will begin on Friday, March 27th at the Ector County Coliseum in Odessa. The first game in Laredo will be Game Three taking place on Wednesday, April 1st.

The two teams meet three times during the regular season with Odessa winning all three match-ups and played last season in the Southern Conference Semifinals with Laredo sweeping the Jackalopes in their best-of-seven series.

This season’s best-of-seven series schedule is as follows:

Laredo Bucks (3) vs. Odessa Jackalopes (2)
3/27 Laredo @ Odessa, 7:05 PM
3/28 Laredo @ Odessa, 7:05 PM
4/1 Odessa @ Laredo, 7:00 PM
4/3 Odessa @ Laredo, 7:30 PM
4/4 Laredo @ Odessa (if necessary), 7:05 PM
4/7 Odessa @ Laredo (if necessary), 7:00 PM
4/9 Laredo @ Odessa (if necessary), 7:05 PM

***all times local

The Ray Miron President’s Cup Playoffs begin on Monday, March 23rd and all the action of the post-season can be caught LIVE on the CHL Network.


Obviously, this means "Pack the House for Charity" night will be Wednesday, April 1. Interesting choice, but hopefully things work out.

Congrats on No. 500

Just wanted to say congratulations to Coach Ruskowski on his 500th career coaching win.

I think everyone who knows him would agree that he is a great man, and it's nice to see good thing happen to good people, regardless of the objectivity this job requires.

Adam Rivet was certainly thrilled with the role he played in helping Ruskowski reach the mark, while Ruskowski himself obviously said he had completely forgotten that it was even an option.

You can read my story in tomorrow's Times for much more on Ruskowski's achievement.

Game No. 62 - Bucks vs. Brahmas

Starters: Bucks - Devin Featherstone (D), Alex Goupil (F), James Hiebert (F), Andrew Martin (G), Adam Rivet (D), Ryan Salvis (F); Brahmas - Brandon Benedict (F), Jason Deitsch (F), Brett Jaeger (G), Justin Kinnunen (D), Craig Minard (D), Scott Sheppard (F).

First Period: Interesting note - Alex Goupil is wearing an "A" tonight to serve as alternate captain along with Brent Cullaton and Adam Rivet tonight in captain Serge Dube's absence. ... I'm still trying to get used to Martin standing on the blue line with the rest of the starters during the anthem. ... Shawn Snider has come out for the game's second shift, his first with the Bucks. He's on a line with Darryl Smith centering and Cullaton on the other wing - meaning the top. ... As mentioned in my story today, Igor Agarunov will be on defense for the remainder of the season now that Dube and Jaye Judd are on the injured reserve. ... Third line is Rick Kozak-Jason Dixon-Matt Miller. ... Bucks are wearing their gold sweaters and socks, and I have to say I do not like the color one bit. ... Kinnunen, usually a pretty superb D-man, just misplayed a puck behind his own net, giving Dixon a chance to grab it and send it over to Miller, who netted it top shelf over Jaeger's right shoulder. Bucks lead 1-0 at 4:47 in the game. ... Kozak, Agarunov and Steve Weidlich were the other players on the ice for the Bucks' goal. ... At 10:19, Erick Lizon came out to drop the gloves with the man who Hiebert busted up on Saturday, Nathan Saunders. It was a drawn-out, gropey excuse for a fight, but Lizon landed some nice rights early and to bring the refs in to break it up at the end. ... The crowd just thought the Bucks scored another one, but Jaeger was having none of that as he made a couple sprawling saves. The Bucks do get a power play out of it, though, as Ross Rouleau is headed to the box for hooking. ... Let's make that a 5-on-3, as Minard was just called for hooking. The Bucks kept the puck and thus delayed the call, leaving them with 1:19 on the two-man advantage, but the penalty was committed just seconds into the first minor. ... I guess switching over to defense isn't going to cool Agarunov's hot streak; he just added to his career-high goal total with a power-play score on an assist from Rick Kozak. Seems wristing pucks over Jaeger's shoulders is the way to go. ... Salvis has the second assist on that goal, which came at 12:36 as Rouleau was just getting ready to leave the box. He got to, but Minard's still stuck in there (with Saunders) for 56 seconds. ... Pointstreak has that goal going to Kozak. Either Agarunov was randomly swinging his stick at nothing exactly as the goal scored, or that is wrong. ... Hiebert sure is taking a beating tonight. Brahmas are going after him with big body checks left and right, one just knocked him over and sent him sliding into the boards head first, then he popped up and skated back into the play just in time to accidentally block a shot by Mike Gooch with his midsection. Yeesh. ... With 28.1 seconds left in the period, Snider took the Bucks' first penalty of the game on a hooking call. ... Bucks lead 2-0 going into the first intermission but will have to kill off another 1:32 of that penalty to start the second. They lead 11-9 on shots.

Second Period: And it has been killed. ... Kozak just earned an elbowing penalty for his actions against Matt Burto to put the Brahmas back on the power play at 2:20. ... It took them 39 shots (if you include tonight and Saturday), but the Brahmas have finally scored against Martin in a Bucks uniform. Deitsch did the honors at 5:40 in the period. Bucks lead 2-1. ... The Brahmas have outshot the Bucks 5-0 in the period, by the way. ... Brandon Benedict got what is currently the lone assist on that goal, and Kozak got one added on Miller's first-period score. ... Cullaton and Sheppard are headed to the box, for slashing and a retaliatory roughing, respectively, at 6:31 in the period. Woo for 4-on-4. ... Minard once again took a penalty not long into a teammate's shift in the box, and the Bucks will have a 4-on-3 for 1:20 thanks to his slashing minor. ... Cullaton just got close to scoring on a nice shot from the goal line on the 5-on-4 that followed the 4-on-3, but Jaeger managed to stop it and his teammates cleared the puck soon thereafter. ... Quite a series of events there, as Miller broke away, then got held up, then broke free again, then sent a shot into Jaeger's pads only to have Jaeger lose the puck and everyone on else on the ice go after it. The net came off its moorings soon enough to take care of that situation. ... Sheppard just went after a puck right as Martin was picking it up with his glove, and I guess Weidlich didn't like it because he pounced on Sheppard behind the net after the whistle was blown. He'll be serving a roughing penalty now at 11:45 in the period. ... Craig Minard just sent a beautiful pass to Grant Jacobsen camped out in the left corner of Martin's crease, and Jacobsen got it home to tie the score at 12:25 in the period. Kinnunen has the secondary helper. ... Now Deitsch is in the box for roughing with 6:37 to play in the period, putting the Bucks on the power play and giving them the perfect chance to take the lead back before the second expires. That Jacobsen goal was a power-play score, by the way. ... Hiebert just missed Cullaton with a pass that did the Brahmas a favor by clearing the puck. ... Somehow Jordan Cameron and Rivet just got tangled up on the ground, and J.P. Sylvain seems to think that was Rivet's fault, sending him to the box for hooking to make it 4-on-4 for now. ... Jacobsen just had a breakaway chance but had it broken up by the very versatile Agarunov. ... Kozak just lost his stick, never a good thing on a penalty kill, then decided to glove the puck on the ice and is now being sent to the box. With 3:55 to play, the Brahmas will have a 43-second 5-0n-3. ... Martin made some big saves to help kill the two-man part of that, and the rather meager crowd responded with the loudest "Defense!" chant I've heard at the LEC. Still some time on the 5-0n-4 for the Brahmas. ... End of the second, game tied 2-2. The Brahmas outshot the Bucks 14-6 in that period.

Third Period: The Bucks will get the first power play of this period, as Rouleau has been sent to the box for hooking at 2:59. ... Bucks are back on top with a power-play goal scored 1t 3:40 by Rivet from the right point. Smith got the puck out to him, and he fired it in. Hiebert gets the secondary helper and tried to start a fight immediately following the goal while every other Buck on the ice was celebrating. Guess some things never change (and I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way). ... I'm not sure how well I can assess Snider based on 2/3 of a game with a team he only got to practice with once, but I can tell you he is not afraid to sacrifice his body to make a play. ... Hiebert just did some nifty stickwork to get the puck away from a Brahmas defenseman then fired the puck, intending to go five-hole, I believe, and got stopped by Jaeger. ... The net just came off its moorings, and it took quite some time, and some dramatics from Martin, to get a whistle blown. ... A couple close calls in the Bucks' zone, but Martin is managing to keep the puck out. The Brahmas are outshooting the Bucks 6-3 so far this period. ... Brahmas just got a great chance on a Bucks' turnover in their own zone but fired the puck wide. ... Sheppard is headed to the box with 8:57 to play, putting the Bucks on the power play as he serves his tripping minor. ... Hiebert has replaced Snider on Smith's wing. ... Pete Rouleau, the elder of the Brahmas' brothers, just tied things up again with 6:11 to play on a very nifty backhand goal right over Martin's left shoulder. Nice puck handling there, seriously. ... Matt Quinn has what is currently the lone assist, while Travis Banga has been given the second on the Brahmas' first goal in the second period. ... Bucks are getting another power play with 4:13 to go as Cameron is headed to the box for slashing. He certainly didn't seem happy about that call. ... The Bucks have gone offsides accidentally leaving their own zone twice on this power play. Not something they should be doing. ... With 2:12 on the clock, Snider has been called for interference to put the Brahmas on an advantage for nearly the entirety of the rest of this game. ... Martin knocked away the only shot on goal the Brahmas were able to take on that power play, and this thing is still tied with 1.8 seconds to play in regulation. ... And the No. 3 seed in the Southern Conference belongs to the Bucks, as they are assured at least one point from this game, which is headed into overtime. ... Bucks outshot the Brahmas 10-9 in that period.

Overtime: Not too much to say until Rivet got the puck to Jaeger, who deflected it in over himself. Not to take any credit away from Rivet; he played a pretty good game and that was a strong shot. That's No. 500 for Ruskowski.

Game Over: Bucks win 4-3 in overtime, improve to 35-22-5 (75 points), clinch the No. 3 seed and get Ruskowski his 500th career coaching win.

Other Scores: RiverKings 6, Oilers 4; Rush 6, Thunder 3.

NHL Scores: Blue Jackets 4, Blackhawks 3 (OT); Hurricanes 4, Devils 2; Flames 2, Stars 1; Ducks 4, Predators 3 (OT).

Game Day No. 62

Had to write a feature before I headed over to the LEC today, so this is a bit belated.

The Bucks will be trying to clinch the No. 3 seed and get Coach Ruskowski his 500th win in about half an hour.

You can read my preview/notebook, Bryan Benway's preview and the Pointstreak pre-game notes for more.

Bucks Add Snider

There was a new face on the ice at the Bucks' practice yesterday, as Shawn Snider will be joining the team for its next three games in attempt to earn a spot on the postseason roster.

Mickey Gilchrist was waved yesterday to make room for Snyder, as defensemen Serge Dube and Jaye Judd will close out the regular season on the injured reserve, making room for the returns of defenseman Mike Gooch and forward Rick Kozak tonight.

Veteran forward Bobby Russell will not return until the playoffs.

Coach Ruskowski said what stood out to him about Snider were the forward's numbers in juniors, when he maxed out with 76 points in one season with the Owen Sound Attack.

Ruskowski is hoping Snider can be that natural goal scorer he believes his team has been lacking and said he was cut by the Elmira Jackals purely due to the AHL players (including Chris Korchinski with just one game under his belt) being dumped on the team from Binghamton.

Killer Bees-Jackalopes

For some reason, I thought the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees were at the Odessa Jackalopes tonight, but the opposite is apparently the case.

If the Killer Bees lose this one in regulation or overtime, the Bucks will clinch the No. 3 seed tonight.

For those of you interested in following it for such reasons, check out the Pointstreak box score and/or Brian Sandalow's game blog.

UPDATE: The Killer Bees won 6-4, so the Bucks will need at least an OT loss to clinch by tomorrow night.

Other CHL Scores: Mudbugs 5, RiverKings 4; Blazers 4, Rush 0.

NHL Scores: Devils 3, Blackhawks 2; Penguins 6, Thrashers 2; Rangers 4, Canadiens 3 (SO); Senators 4, Sabres 2; Red Wings 3, Flyers 2; Capitals 3, Panthers 0; Maple Leafs 4, Lightning 3 (SO); Wild 3, Avalanche 2 (SO); Oilers 2, Blues 1 (SO); Canucks 4, Stars 2; Coyotes 4, Sharks 3.

Smith Week Continues

After scoring the Bucks' only regulation goal and the only shootout goal overall in the team's 2-1 win last night, rookie All-Star Darryl Smith saw his week get even better as he was named to the Central Hockey League's All-Rookie Team today.

I unwittingly became the one to give Smith the news when I asked him about it assuming he had known, so for that I apologize. But congratulations on the well-deserved honor.

Though Smith was in a little bit of a self-proclaimed point slump prior to last night, he leads the league's rookies with 36 goals and 31 assists for 67 points in 57 games this season.

A few of the players below him have had more chances, playing in 60 or 61 games, while Smith missed a couple during his time with the American Hockey League's Houston Aeros. He is one goal shy of MVP candidate Sebastien Thinel's league lead in that category.

Smith also leads rookies in plus/minus with a plus-18. His closest competition is teammate Devin Featherstone at plus-17.

He is tied for the rookie lead in power-play goals with 10, which leads the Bucks. His three shorthanded goals also lead the team.

The rest of the All-Rookie Team consists of Arizona Sundogs forward Adam Perry, Mississippi RiverKings defenseman Dane Marshall, Odessa Jackalopes forward Jeff Pierce and goaltender Juha Toivonen and Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees defenseman Nicolas Dumoulin.

It makes me feel much better that three of these guys are older than me (even if Dumoulin's only got a couple days).

Smith's All-Rookie selection will be one of the topics of my weekly notebook, which will run in tomorrow's Times, but I'll try not to use all my quotes and information just in case I need it for another story late in the week.

Though I'm not sure I'd go as far as Coach Ruskowski and say it would be a "travesty" should Smith not be named Rookie of the Year, it would be a bit of a surprise.

Gilchrist Out

I was under the impression this wouldn't be announced until tomorrow, but since it's on Pointstreak, I may as well post it here: Mickey Gilchrist has been waived to clear up roster space.

Coach Ruskowski said that Gilchrist was a hard worker, a good player and a great guy, but with guys coming back from the injured reserve and other things going on, there just wasn't room for him anymore.

The six-foot, 190-pound forward had one goal and one assist in eight games with the Bucks. His plus/minus was a minus-2, and he served six penalty minutes for a too-many-men bench minor, tripping and hooking.

Gilchrist didn't participate in practice today and will likely be out of Laredo by the end of the night. (Edit: Scratch that; he's still in town, and at the LEC, as of Wednesday night).

Stay tuned for more transaction news.

Game No. 61 - Bucks at IceRays

Sebastien Centomo and Kris Tebbs (surprise, surprise) are your starting goaltenders.

First Period: Mickey Gilchrist put the IceRays on the game's first power play with a tripping call at the 2-minute mark. The IceRays' success against the Bucks has often depended on their special teams, so let's see how this goes. ... You can also follow most of what I'll be able to tell you about this game here. ... Right when I was wondering if anything was going to happen that I could actually see in the box score, Chris Shaffer took a hooking call at 7:53, and Darryl Smith turned that opportunity into a power-play goal at 8:58. Bucks lead 1-0, Erick Lizon (On the top power-play unit?) and Serge Dube had the assists. ... End of the period, Bucks still lead 1-0, but the IceRays are up 10-6 on shots. Maybe giving Centomo some serious competition by starting Martin against the Texas Brahmas has had the desired effect. ... Okay, the Bucks' shot total just got upped to eight.

Second Period: An Adam Rivet hooking penalty at 7:57 is the first thing to pop up on the box score for the middle stanza. Well, other than the Bucks outshooting the IceRays 3-2 to start it. ... The power play killed the shot lead, as the IceRays took two to go up 4-3 on shots in the period. ... Chris Richards went to the box for high-sticking at the 11-minute mark, but nothing doing on that power play. ... Bucks will take that 1-0 lead into the second intermission now. IceRays outshot them 8-7 in the period and are up 18-15 on shots for the game.

Third Period: Steve Weidlich and Igor Agarunov took simultaneous penalties (for roughing and hooking, respectively) at 4:46 in the period to put the IceRays on a 2-minute 5-on-3. Justin Quenneville needed 1:09 of that to tie the game with a goal assisted by Richards. ... Still tied up at the end of regulation, so the Bucks and IceRays will each be getting at least one of the points they need to secure their desired playoff spots. ... IceRays outshot the Bucks 11-7 in the final period of regulation.

Overtime: Two shots for the IceRays, one for the Bucks, and that's about it. Shootout time.

Shootout: Smith scored the only goal in the shootout to give the Bucks a 2-1 win. Nice way to open the week that will likely end in him being named Rookie of the Year. Jason Dixon, Brent Cullaton and James Hiebert were up before him, while Centomo stopped Adam Powell, Jereme Tendler, Richards and the newest IceRay Nick Romano before Smith's goal, then stopped Quenneville to give the Bucks the win.

Game Over: Bucks win 2-1, improve to 34-22-5 (73 points) and are within one point of clinching the No. 3 seed. A Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees' loss to the Odessa Jackalopes tomorrow night would do it, or the Bucks will have to take care of business themselves later in the week. Coach Ruskowski is up to 499 career coaching wins.

NHL Scores: Thrashers 5, Capitals 1.

Game Day No. 61

The most important thing heading into tonight is that the Bucks' magic number to clinch the No. 3 seed in the Southern Conference is down to three points.

That means with a win tonight and anything but a regulation loss in one of their three remaining games, the Bucks can clinch that seed without any help from the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees.

The Bucks (33-22-5, 71 points) are six points up on the Killer Bees (32-24-5, 65 pts.) with four games to play (three for the Killer Bees), but as previously noted, they need to have more wins than the Killer Bees if points end up tied, so getting three points and moving up to 74, which is unattainable for the Killer Bees, is the easiest means to the end the Bucks want.

On the other side of things, the IceRays could knock the Arizona Sundogs out of contention for the conference's fifth spot with a win of their own tonight, as they would reach 28-29-5 (61 pts.), meaning the best the Sundogs (26-31-5, 57 pts. with two games to play) could do would be tie them but then lose the tiebreaker due to the IceRays thus having more regulation wins.

The New Mexico Scorpions (26-32-3, 55 pts. with three games to play) would still have a small chance of taking that spot away if the IceRays win tonight but lose their last two games and the Scorpions win out, which would leave them with the same number of points as the IceRays but more regulation wins.

Greg Rajan has more on all that and the other ways the IceRays could reach the postseason.

Tonight is also a chance for Coach Ruskowski to move to career coaching win No. 499, which could mean No. 500 will come at home during the two-game series with the Texas Brahmas this week.

You can read Bryan Benway's preview, Greg's preview for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times and the Pointstreak pre-game notes for more info on tonight's game, which I will try to live blog.

And now, some long overdue scores, mostly for my own peace of mind...

CHL Scores from Saturday, March 7: Gorillas 5, Rage 2; RiverKings 6, Mudbugs 2; Brahmas 5, Jackalopes 3; Blazers 4, Scorpions 3 (SO); Oilers 6, Thunder 5; Killer Bees 4, Sundogs 3 (SO); Eagles 6, Rush 5.

NHL Scores from Saturday, March 7: Bruins 5, Blackhawks 3; Islanders 7, Devils 3; Kings 4, Wild 3; Panthers 5, Blues 3; Blue Jackets 8, Red Wings 2; Oilers 4, Maple Leafs 1; Flyers 4, Predators 1; Senators 6, Sabres 3; Hurricanes 9, Lightning 3; Canucks 3, Sharks 1.

CHL Scores from Sunday, March 8: IceRays 4, Bucks 1; Jackalopes 3, RiverKings 2.

NHL Scores from Sunday, March 8: Rangers 4, Bruins 3; Penguins 4, Capitals 3 (SO); Avalanche 5, Blackhawks 1; Thrashers 5, Flames 2; Islanders 3, Coyotes 2; Canadiens 3, Stars 1; Wild 3, Ducks 2.

NHL Scores from Monday, March 9: Hurricanes 3, Rangers 0; Senators 2, Maple Leafs 1; Kings 3, Canucks 2.

CHL Scores from Tuesday, March 10: Killer Bees 2, Bucks 1; Mudbugs 2, Brahmas 1; Blazers 3, Oilers 2.

NHL Scores from Tuesday, March 10: Blue Jackets 2, Bruins 0; Flyers 5, Sabres 2; Devils 3, Flames 2; Canadiens 4, Oilers 3 (OT); Penguins 4, Panthers 3 (SO); Maple Leafs 3, Islanders 2 (OT); Red Wings 3, Coyotes 2 (OT); Capitals 2, Predators 1 (OT); Sharks 5, Wild 4 (OT); Blues 5, Stars 2; Thrashers 3, Avalanche 0.

CHL Score from Wednesday, March 11: Sundogs 3, Gorillas 2.

NHL Scores from Wednesday, March 11: Senators 3, Lightning 2 (OT); Blackhawks 3, Hurricanes 2 (SO); Ducks 4, Canucks 3 (OT).

CHL Score from Thursday, March 12: Jackalopes 7, IceRays 5.

NHL Scores from Thursday, March 12: Sabres 3, Panthers 1; Blue Jackets 4, Penguins 3 (SO); Devils 5, Coyotes 2; Bruins 5, Senators 3; Capitals 2, Flyers 1; Flames 6, Red Wings 5 (SO); Islanders 3, Canadiens 2 (OT); Lightning 4, Maple Leafs 1; Rangers 4, Predators 2; Blues 3, Sharks 1; Stars 3, Hurricanes 2; Avalanche 2, Wild 1 (SO); Thrashers 4, Oilers 3 (OT).

CHL Scores from Friday, March 13: Bucks 6, Gorillas 1; IceRays 1, Killer Bees 0; RiverKings 3, Mudbugs 2; Brahmas 5, Thunder 2; Sundogs 5, Scorpions 3; Rush 3, Oilers 2; Eagles 7, Rage 3.

NHL Scores from Friday, March 13: Blue Jackets 5, Blackhawks 3; Canucks 4, Kings 2.

CHL Scores from Saturday, March 14: IceRays 4, Killer Bees 1; RiverKings 3, Mudbugs 2; Bucks 2, Brahmas 0; Jackalopes 7, Thunder 3; Eagles 9, Gorillas 0; Blazers 3, Rush 2 (SO); Oilers 6, Rage 5 (OT); Scorpions 3, Sundogs 1.

NHL Scores from Saturday, March 14: Flyers 4, Rangers 2; Bruins 2, Islanders 1; Red Wings 5, Blues 2; Senators 4, Penguins 3 (SO); Maple Leafs 8, Flames 6; Thrashers 4, Sabres 3 (SO); Capitals 5, Hurricanes 4 (SO); Devils 3, Canadiens 1; Lightning 4, Panthers 3 (SO); Stars 3, Wild 2 (OT); Predators 2, Coyotes 0; Avalanche 3, Oilers 2 (OT); Sharks 2, Kings 1 (OT).

Yesterday's CHL Scores: Jackalopes 5, Gorillas 2; Killer Bees 5, Mudbugs 3; Scorpions 2, Oilers 1; Brahmas 3, Thunder 1; Eagles 3, Blazers 0.

Yesterday's NHL Scores: Rangers 4, Flyers 1; Penguins 6, Bruins 4; Islanders 4, Blackhawks 2; Red Wings 4, Blue Jackets 0; Blues 5, Wild 3; Sharks 1, Ducks 0; Canucks 4, Avalanche 0.

Pack the House for Charity, Part 2

Very sorry for not getting this up on Wednesday, but the Bucks announced that afternoon that they will be hosting "Pack the House for Charity" night again for their first playoff game.

Obviously, they are unsure as of yet when that first game will be, but it could be as early as next Monday (March 23), so hopefully everyone can get out and buy tickets before then!

As with last year's event, Border Lease Services and Laredo Energy (majority owner Glenn Hart's company) have purchased all of the tickets to the game so that the Bucks can sell them for $5 apiece and give the entirety of the profits to the South Texas Food Bank and Sacred Heart Children's Home.

You can read my story from the press conference on Wednesday and my co-worker Nick Georgiou's story about the event last year, which resulted in $10,000 being donated to each charity.

These are obviously two great causes, and the tickets are just $5. I'm tempted to buy some myself, but I'd have no idea who to give them to, and just buying them and throwing them away defeats the purpose to an extent. Any suggestions?

Maybe It's Something

I imagine I'm not the only one who thought the Bucks needed to beat the Amarillo Gorillas on Friday but wasn't all too impressed when they came out with a 6-1 victory.

Shutting out the Texas Brahmas? That's a different story.

Robert Keith of the Texas Brahmas Insider had this to say about the Bucks' 2-0 win last night:

Well, I didn't see a comfortable face in the NYTEX Sports Centre all night as the Brahmas probably had their worst game in the venue this season.

I didn't see the game, but I'm guessing the Bucks don't mind grabbing an "ugly win" at a time like this. In Robert's photo album from the game, there are some neat fight shots (and some pictures of a bloodied-up Nathan Saunders after his tussle with James Hiebert).

This is for some reason my favorite:

I find it amusing that all the officials are tangled up while Hiebert's over on the side with an "Oh no, you didn't" face on.

Coach Ruskowski has said all season long that this team is too soft, and it seems getting Hiebert back in his lineup may have been just what the doctor ordered.

Hiebert obviously loves throwing his body around and doesn't mind dropping the gloves one bit, and it seems to already be rubbing off on the players around him.

He was obviously a bit out of shape to start but seems to become more and more of a factor with each game he plays, nabbing his first assist on Friday and scoring his first goal last night.

Keep in mind, this is all before Rick Kozak comes back, and you know he's going to love to be a part of this more physical style of play. If he's not back tomorrow night, he definitely should be for the doubleheader against the Brahmas this week.

Of course, you can't disregard Igor Agarunov's part in the team's (very) recent success, as he is now at a career-high 18 goals for this season and four points shy of the 38 he had during the 2006-07 season. He has five points in the past three games.

Andrew Martin seems to have had a pretty good game last night, as he earned his first shutout with the Bucks by stopping all 25 shots from a team that has scored a division-high 211 goals this season.

I'm guessing that tomorrow's game against the Corpus Christi IceRays is still going to be a big one, as the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees (31-24-5, 65 points) have a chance to move back within four points of the Bucks (33-22-5, 71 pts.) when they face the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs this afternoon.

Tomorrow, the Bucks are looking for three straight wins and also looking to beat the IceRays for the first time since Feb. 5.

As Greg Rajan has reported, the IceRays lost two defensemen in T.J. Reynolds and John Adams and picked up a forward in Nicholas Romano, who played in the IceRays' wins over the Killer Bees this weekend.

What the Bucks are probably more concerned with is the success that Jereme Tendler has had against them the few times he's played against them (with the IceRays and the Tulsa Oilers). He's had four goals and an assist for five points in three games, all at the LEC.

I'm going to close this post with the schedule for year-end award winner announcements, and I'm guessing Thursday will be the day that matters around here. Well, Tuesday, too.

Monday, March 16

Equipment Manager of the Year

Gunner Garrett Athletic Trainer of the Year

Tuesday, March 17

All-CHL Team

All-Rookie Team

Wednesday, March 18

Rick Kozuback Award

CHL’s Man of the Year

Thursday, March 19

CHL’s Coach of the Year

CHL’s Rookie of the Year

Friday, March 20

CHL’s Most Outstanding Defenseman

CHL’s Most Outstanding Goaltender (Scott Brower Award)

Monday, March 23

Joe Burton Scoring Champion

CHL’s Most Valuable Player

Almost every vote I've heard about for MVP has been different, so I have to admit I'm curious to see who wins that one. I guess the other two major awards are also hard to peg, but not as hard as MVP. We'll see what happens.

Game No. 60 - Bucks at Brahmas

Winning last night was big for the Bucks, but tonight's shutout win over the Texas Brahmas is huge, especially with two home games against the Brahmas later this week.

The Bucks increased their lead for the No. 3 seed to six points with the win. Guess Coach Ruskowski chose the right goalie for this game.

Tonight's recap, courtesy of Bryan Benway:

Bucks, Martin Shutout Brahmas

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS - The Laredo Bucks shut out the Texas Brahmas 2-0 Saturday night at the NYTEX Sports Centre.

The Bucks' win coupled with the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees' 4-1 loss to the Corpus Christi IceRays increases the Bucks lead to six points over the Bees for the third playoff spot in the Southern Conference.

The Bucks won their second game in a row to improve to 33-22-5 (71 points).
 
Andrew Martin picked up his first shutout of the season as he stopped all 25 Brahmas' shots to lead the Bucks to the win.
 
The Brahmas lost their second straight home game as they fall to 40-15-5 (85 points).
 
The Bucks jumped out in front for the second straight game when Igor Agarunov struck again.

Agarunov sent a rifle slap shot from the slot past Brett Jaeger to give Laredo a 1-0 lead 11:23 into the first. The goal was Agarunov’s 18th of the season.
 
It was just the 11th time the Bucks had scored first in their last 35 games.
 
Laredo is now 21-7 when scoring first this season.
 
The Bucks outshot the Brahmas 9-5 in the first period, with Texas not recording their first shot until seven minutes left in the period.
 
Laredo would increase its lead to 2-0 11:18 into the second when James Hiebert pulled up at the right circle on the power-play and slammed a slap shot past Jaeger. The goal was Hiebert’s first since returing to the Bucks.
 
The two teams combined for 47 penalty minutes in the second period, with Hiebert receiving a game misconduct penalty (Fighting aggresor) for fighting Nathan Saunders.
 
The Bucks were outshot 10-9 in the period.
 
The Brahmas pulled Jaeger for the final 1:30 of the game to try and tie the score, but could not get the equalizer.
 
The win gives Bucks President/General Manager and Head Coach Terry Ruskowski his 498th career coaching win.
 
Laredo outshot the Brahmas 26-25, with Jaeger stopping 24 of 26 Bucks shots.
 
The Bucks conclude their four-game road trip Monday night at Corpus Christi.


More on this and Monday's game tomorrow.