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.