Game No. 23 - Bucks at IceRays

Sorry for the lack of pre-game posts, but as of the start of the second period, the fifth of 14 meetings between the Bucks (12-6-4, 28 points) and Corpus Christi IceRays (8-11-4, 20 points) this season is tied at 0.

Since I didn't do the game day post, I'm going to put everything that I would have put there in this post, starting with the two goalie stories from this week and ending with my preview for tonight's game:

Levasseur recalled
The Laredo Bucks announced on Monday that No. 1 goaltender Jean-Philippe Levasseur, on loan to the team from the Anaheim Ducks organization, has been called up to the American Hockey League by the Springfield Falcons.
Levasseur, the reigning Central Hockey League Goalie of the Month, had a 10-3-3 record in his 16 starts for Laredo this season and was among the league leaders in several netminding categories.
As of Monday, the 22-year-old Quebec native led the league with a 2.31 goals-against average and was third in save percentage at .919.
Levasseur, a seventh-round NHL draft pick in 2005, is expected to suit up with the Falcons when they face the Lowell Bears tonight.
Though Ruskowski believes Levasseur is deserving of the opportunity he is being given and wishes the goalie nothing but the best at the next level, he is anxious to see how the loss will affect his team.
"We’ll see," Ruskowski said. "Sometimes the defense plays better because they know JP’s not there, so I hope that they’ll play hard and not give other teams many opportunities to score."
Levasseur’s departure will give backup Kyle Gajewski (2-3-1) a chance to start more games, and Ruskowski hopes to see the second-year professional thrive in his new role.
"I think he’ll do really well, I really do," Ruskowski said. "He’s played really well the past couple games, and I think he’ll do well."
The Bucks are expected to make an announcement regarding a new temporary backup before their game against the IceRays at the American Bank Center on Thursday.

Bucks call up goaltender Sibbald
The Laredo Bucks announced on Tuesday that they have called up goaltender Mark Sibbald from the Huntsville Havoc of the Southern Professional Hockey League.
Laredo has signed Sibbald in the absence of No. 1 goaltender Jean-Philippe Levasseur, who was called up to play with the American Hockey League’s Springfield Falcons on Monday.
Sibbald, a rookie out of Brown University, has been the SPHL’s top netminder this season, leading the league in nearly every statistical category.
The 25-year-old Ontario native has started 11 games this season and played a total of 668:55 en route to a 10-0-1 record.
Sibbald leads the SPHL with his 10 wins, 1.61 goals-against average and .951 save percentage.
“In my situation as a coach, you really watch around you in other leagues,” Bucks Head Coach/General Manager Terry Ruskowski said. “I’d been calling around, and everyone was talking so highly about this kid in Huntsville, said he was stopping everything. I kept watching and watching, and when JP called up, that was the first place I called.
“I knew he was playing really well, and now I want to see what he can do.”
Sibbald was expected to join the team before it left Laredo for Corpus Christi on Tuesday, but poor weather conditions turned his flight back to Houston.
As of Tuesday night, Ruskowski hoped to have his new goaltender in Corpus by today.
Sibbald will join fellow goalie Kyle Gajewski (2-3-2) on the Bucks’ roster, but Ruskowski is unsure how he will utilize the duo in Levasseur’s absence.
“I don’t even know,” Ruskowski said. “I haven’t even seen this kid practice yet. I’ll definitely play him in one of the games, but which games, I don’t know yet.”
Sibbald is joining Laredo from a lower-level league with no other professional experience, but Ruskowski doesn’t expect that to be a problem.
“I sure hope his talent will translate positively,” Ruskowski said. “Sometimes it doesn’t matter what league you’re playing in if you’re a goaltender. You just need to be square to the shooter and stop the puck.
"He’s ready to play, he’s shown that in the SPHL, and I’m hoping he can show that here.”

Swanson to IR
The Bucks also announced on Tuesday that defenseman Jeremy Swanson, who suffered a lower-body injury in a 4-3 loss to the Allen Americans on Saturday, has been placed on the 14-day injured reserve retroactive to that game.
With his roster down to five defensemen, Ruskowski plans to utilize one of his team’s more versatile players on the blue line in Swanson’s absence.
“My intention is to put (forward/defenseman Igor) Agarunov back there,” Ruskowski said. “If that doesn’t work out and Swanson’s not ready to come off the IR after Christmas, we’ll look around.”
Agarunov switching positions would leave Laredo short a forward, but Neil Trimm, who has been on the IR since Nov. 15, may be ready to come off in time for the team’s game against the Corpus Christi IceRays on Thursday.
“He’s gotten a few good days of practice,” Ruskowski said. “He skated hard (on Tuesday), so we’ll see how he feels (today), and he might be able to come off.”
Notes: Levasseur started in his first game with the Falcons on Tuesday and allowed six goals on 28 shots to suffer a 6-1 loss to the Lowell Devils. … Trimm was placed on the IR after suffering two lower-body injuries during a practice and had to rehabilitate both injuries before returning to the ice last week.

Bucks continue long road trip tonight
The Laredo Bucks will continue their season-high four-game road trip tonight with a game against the Corpus Christi IceRays at the American Bank Center.
Tonight’s meeting will be the fifth of 14 between the former division rivals this season, and Laredo (12-6-4, 28 points) is hoping to break the trend of the home team coming out on top to snap its current two-game losing streak.
"We’ve been practicing really hard, and the guys have been working really hard to do the things that we need to do to be successful," player/assistant coach Jeff Bes said. "We have to keep working on that. We need to work on our defensive coverage, work on our power play, work on our penalty kills. Everything we need to be working on we are working on, but we have to get to where it’s second nature and we’re sharp all the time doing it."
While the Bucks’ power play and penalty kill excelled in their 4-3 shootout win over Corpus Christi (8-11-4, 20 points) last Tuesday at the LEC, defensive coverage wasn’t quite up to par, and Laredo Head Coach/General Manager Terry Ruskowski does not want to see the same mistakes from his team tonight.
"It comes down to our defensive game," Ruskowski said. "If our defense moves the puck the way they’re capable of moving it, stopping the one-on-one is going to be a huge advantage for us. Defensive coverage has to be much better than it was."
Another problem in that game was one that has plagued the Bucks in many of their contests this season – allowing their opponent back into the contest after taking a lead into the final 20 minutes.
"We had a lead going into the third period, and we played on our heels a little bit and allowed them back into the game," Bes said. "What we need to do is keep playing on our toes, keep taking the play to them and keep playing our game.
"Right now, we’re having a tendency to not play our game, but to play to the caliber of whoever we’re playing against, whether it be the best team in the league or the worst team in the league. We really have to focus and concentrate on playing the way that the Laredo Bucks can play and executing our game plan."
Added team captain Adam Rivet, "We’re definitely going to have to be focused. They have a good team. Their record doesn’t indicate how good of the team they do have. We have to come out working hard and really capitalize on our opportunities, especially on the power play."
Scoring on the power play, which Laredo did three times last Tuesday and only once since, has been key to each game between these teams this season, but getting more goals in general is the Bucks’ objective after being held to two goals between their last two games.
"We have to score more timely goals," Ruskowski said. "We have lines that can score; they’ve shown it on paper, now it’s time to show it on the ice."
Added Rivet, "We know we can score, and we know sometimes the puck’s not going to bounce our way to get to the net, but you have to work hard to get those bounces."
The leading goal scorer for Laredo so far this season is Maxime Lincourt, whose nine tallies tie him for 30th in the league.
Goal support will be crucial for the Bucks in their next few games as their No. 1 goaltender, Jean-Philippe Levasseur (10-3-3), was called up to the American Hockey League on Monday, leaving backup Kyle Gajewski (2-3-1) and
Southern Professional Hockey League call-up Mark Sibbald to handle the team’s netminding duties in his absence.
In Gajewski’s last start, Laredo defeated the league’s top team in the Odessa Jackalopes (17-4-3, 37 points), 6-1, and Ruskowski hopes his skaters will show the same support for their goalie in the team’s upcoming games.
"Sometimes, with Juice or someone else in that position, they’ll play harder for him," Ruskowski said. "I’m hoping they’ll play hard in front of him and not give up many opportunities to score."
Notes: Tonight’s game is the Bucks’ third straight chance for franchise win No. 300. … Laredo has not won at the American Bank Center since a 2-1 shootout victory on March 16 and has not been able to beat the IceRays in regulation there since a 6-3 victory on Jan. 16.


You can check out Bryan Benway's preview and the Pointstreak pre-game notes for more on tonight's game, and since it is under way, you can follow it with the Pointstreak box score, watch on CHL-TV or listen on Imagen 94.1 FM.

Kyle Gajewski did get the start tonight, which means Mark Sibbald won't be getting his first with the Bucks until at least Saturday.

I'll try to update this before the game is over, but if I can't do that, I'll at least write more once it is.