Wednesday Notes

As some of you probably noticed, the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees took quite a beating at the hands of the Odessa Jackalopes in a 7-0 loss last night.

The fact that the Bees went 0-for-9 on the power play last night made me wonder if that 5-on-3 the Bucks killed off during their 5-3 win over the Bees on Saturday was really such a big deal, but I guess the Bees have more to wonder about than just that right now.

Prior to their loss last night, Brian Sandalow reported that the Bees will be adding veteran winger Joel Irving, who did not play in that game. You can also check out his blog for more on the loss.

Back in Bucks' land, things are going a bit more smoothly, but injuries are still a concern. Adam Rivet was back in full gear skating today and is expected to play this weekend, but Igor Agarunov was just out there to skate and did not participate in drills. He is day-to-day with his upper-body injury.

The Bucks had a full practice at the LEC today for the last time before their weekend games, as they will leave early tomorrow morning and practice in Corpus Christi tomorrow before their Friday night meeting with the IceRays. This time, it's Showtime Boxing that's kicking them out of the arena. Hopefully the ice will be in good shape on Saturday night.

Despite the injuries, most of the players seem to have a positive outlook heading into this weekend, and they are looking forward to playing in front of the Laredo crowd for the first time this season (or ever, as the case is for some).

Saturday's home opener will feature the return of tailgating and the red carpet event that were spoken about on here when announced, and it will also welcome the expansion Allen Americans to Laredo for the first time.

The Americans and Bucks, both 2-0, are two of the three undefeated teams remaining in the Southern Conference, but that could change by Friday night. You can check out the full standings here.

As far as the question from the anonymous commenter on the last post, here's what Coach Ruskowski had to say when I asked if he thinks he's still missing anything from the formula he wants on the ice this season:

"It's still early in the season, and there are still guys that are in a wait-and-see kind of scenario. It's still sometimes I'll like what I see from them, but then I say, 'Oh my gosh, what are you doing there?' It goes from, 'Oh, that was nice,' to 'Oooh, what was that? They have to be more consistent. I'm looking for consistency, and good consistency, not bad consistency. That's what'll make us a stronger team game in and game out.

"There are still some guys on probation, but I'm hoping they can continue to play well. I don't like making move. Trust me. You have to be on the phone trying to do all that... I just want to make my team and work on them and try to do new things with them and do little plays that we can develop and get better at. I don't like making moves, but some guys are still on probation, and I have to have three lines that can score.

"There are a lot of guys who are playing pretty consistently, but there are other guys who play really well then they don't play so well, and that's what I have to watch. I don't want to name names; they probably know who they are. But I need the consistency and the hard work on every shift of every game we play."


To be clear, he doesn't mean probation in the literal sense, just that a few guys need to prove something to him before they're guaranteed to stick around for the rest of the season. He said he was very happy with today's practice but still sees room for improvement in passing, which we all know is always a focus of his.

Jean-Philippe Levasseur was not in practice again today, and Bryan Benway said he should be arriving back in Laredo around 2 p.m. He will travel to Corpus with the team on Friday, but Ruskowski said if Kyle Gajewski gets a start this weekend, it'll be in that game. However, he also said he is not the least bit uncomfortable with Levasseur having missed practice and could possibly start him for both contests. No final decisions have been made on that situation yet.

Meanwhile, today is supposed to be my day off, and I came straight from an early practice to the office, so I'm going to try to leave soon. Most of the quotes I've gotten the past couple days have been for tab stories anyway, so I don't want to post them all on here yet. I'll try to get some leftover info up tomorrow, and I'll probably give Ruskowski a call to see if there's any update on his goalie choices or Agarunov's health.