Monday Practice Notes

This morning's practice was a bit less rough than I would have expected, and Coach Ruskowski actually didn't seem to be in too bad of a mood.

The guys worked a lot on traps and breakouts this morning, and Ruskowski said they will continue to do the same for the rest of the week, with a lot of focus on passing and special teams, as well.

When I asked him what he thought the major differences were between the first weekend and this past one, Ruskowski said that the guys were too tentative against Corpus and Allen, whereas they were more consistently aggressive for their first two games.

He's obviously still keeping a close eye on a few of the guys, and Peter-James Corsi was skating with Maxime Lincourt and Justin Styffe today instead of subbing into lines, which could mean he'll come off the IR as soon as his 14 days are up on Friday... which could mean someone else will be going home.

Speaking of Lincourt, he was obviously a standout in Saturday's OT loss, with three assists and the goal that sent the game into overtime. Ruskowski was impressed with his effort and said he was one player who seemed to play a lot better at home than on the road.

All in all, Ruskowski was far more displeased with the loss in Corpus than he was with the loss to the undefeated Americans, who are definitely a big storyline in the league right now.

As far as the observant anonymous commenter who thought Ian Clarke was still wandering around the LEC this weekend, you are correct. Clarke was hurt during the preseason, so the team is obligated to take care of him during his rehab. However, that does not mean he will be playing for the Bucks this season.