The Bucks are back to being shorthanded today as they prepare to face the league's top team less than 24 hours after suffering a 6-3 loss to the Corpus Christi IceRays last night.
You can read more about last night's game in my story, Bryan Benway's press release, Greg Rajan's story and his blog post.
As far as today's game, Benway's preview clarifies that forwards Mark O'Leary and Igor Agarunov will not play today.
O'Leary missed last night's game, as well, and apparently has a lower-body injury.
Agarunov was injured when he was run into the boards late in the second period last night and will sit out with an upper-body injury.
That, of course, does not make things any easier for the Bucks (19-14-7, 45 points) facing the Jackalopes (33-6-4, 70 points) on so little rest.
The Bucks have gotten at least a point from each of their games against the Jackalopes, losing two in shootouts and winning their most recent meeting 6-1.
But that was Dec. 5, and this is now, and it is safe to say that if the Bucks play the same way they did last night, there is no way they can win.
I won't be able to live blog this game, but you can follow on Pointstreak, watch on CHL-TV or listen on Imagen 94.1, and I'll try to post something after it ends.
On another note, the Toronto Maple Leafs have gone trade crazy, and I can't help but wonder if Vesa Toskala could play badly enough as backup for the Anaheim Ducks to lead them to taking Jean-Philippe Levasseur back from his loan to the Springfield Falcons. Guess we'll see.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Game No. 40 - Bucks vs. IceRays
Starters: Bucks - Kevin Desfosses (G), Kevin Dieude-Fauvel (D), Todd Griffith (F), Jay Holladay (D), Robin Richards (F), Neil Trimm (F); IceRays - Kurtis Dulle (D), R.G. Flath (F), Morgan MacLean (F), Adam Powell (F), Kris Tebbs (G), Jason Tessier (D).
First Period: Curtis Billsten is back in No. 12 tonight, and Mark O'Leary is out of the lineup. Can't say I know why, but I'll ask about that later if I have time to go downstairs after the game and before the Bucks leave for Odessa. ... Bucks get the first power play of the game 59 seconds into it, as Darryl Smith managed to draw a penalty skating in on Tebbs with Jeff Bes. Ryan Garbutt is in the box for hooking. ... Billsten got the best chance of that one so far when he took a shot Tebbs wasn't able to fully control, but he couldn't get in to knock in his own rebound before Tebbs gathered the puck. ... Eric Giosa just missed the net on a slapper for which Dieude-Fauvel battled into the zone to get the puck to him. ... As of this point, the IceRays fans in the LEC are definitely louder than the Bucks fans. ... According to the scoreboard, the Bucks hold a 7-0 advantage on shots as of 4:18 in the period, but there was a shot that Desfosses had to stop that just hasn't been recognized by the off-ice officials for some reason. ... The first one that was noted just came, about 4:40 into the period. Pad save by Desfosses. ... Both teams have missed the net wide on a couple slap shots so far, and shots on goal are now 7-4. ... Holladay just did a great job on a 2-on-1 for the IceRays, knocking the puck away from right out front of his goalie. ... Not sure what Bes was trying to do when he just went in 1-on-1 with Tebbs and flipped the puck straight up in the air, but that was arguably the best chance of the night so far. ... IceRays get their first power play with Dieude-Fauvel going to the box for hooking at 7:57. ... First goal of the game is a shortie for the second night in a row, as Looby knocked one in just seconds after a faceoff to give the Bucks a 1-0 lead at 9:04 in the period. Trimm won that faceoff, then Billsten deflected it over to Looby, who rocketed it past Tebbs. Desfosses looks more excited about the goal than any of the skaters involved in scoring it, haha. ... Defenseman Paul Elliott just helped Desfosses keep a loose puck that as creeping toward the goal line from crossing it. Close call there. ... Penalty killed. ... Greg Rajan has just informed me that Looby's goal was the first the Bucks have scored on the IceRays in 139:17 of play between the teams. ... Shots have been going back and forth since they knotted up for the first time at 7 and are now 12-11 in favor of the IceRays. ... Maxime Lincourt just took himself out flying into his own goalie's net and slammed Justin Quenneville into the boards, where the two of them fell into a heap for a few seconds. They both seem to be fine, though. ... Smith is looking more like the frustrated player he had been earlier in the season again tonight. He fell behind on one play to get in a shoving match and just slammed his stick into the boards in anger after a play was called offsides. ... Quenneville and Chad Woollard just tried to score on a two-man tic-tac-toe play, but Woollard ended up in the net instead of the puck. ...Bucks get their second power play at 16:11 in the period as Matt Smyth goes to the box for cross-checking Smith into the boards behind the IceRays' net. ... The second power play unit is coming out first because most of the top unit was on the ice for the penalty, and they are generating much better chances than the first does most of the time. ... Well, a random mix of guys from the first and second units has managed to score a goal, one of the "garbage" variety with several players hacking away at a loose puck in the crease, at 18:09 in the period. Robin Richards was the one who knocked it in, and Bes is getting the primary assist for his initial shot on goal. Smith is getting the secondary. That might change if it turns out someone else got a stick on the puck in the crease before Richards knocked it home. Bucks lead 2-0 with 1:51 to play in the period. ... End of the period, Bucks lead 2-0, shots tied at 16. Is it just me, or did that period seem to take forever? ... Apparently Garbutt took a penalty for taking the puck out of the net following Richards's goal and shooting it? Ten-minute no-category misconduct. They were very subtle about that somehow.
Second Period: The IceRays are on the board, as Kyle Peto knocked in a rebound from a shot by Woollard just 1:16 into the second. Chad Costello gets the secondary assist on that one. Bucks lead 2-1. ... And now it is tied, as MacLean deflected a puck past Desfosses from the side of the crease to which he was not paying attention. Powell and Smyth get the assists. Game tied 2-2 at 3:38 in the period. ... Everyone in attendance just got to witness a pathetic display of defense by Dieude-Fauvel and Holladay, who both lost a race to the puck against Powell, who started off well behind the two of them, and couldn't even keep him from scoring. I'm sure Desfosses feasibly could have stopped that himself, but those guys practically seemed to give up on the play. They aren't giving any assists yet, but MacLean had stolen the puck on a drop pass by Lincourt intended for Smith in the Bucks' offensive zone. ... Coach Ruskowski called a time out after that goal, but Desfosses is staying in the game. ... Kind of ironic that after being praised for finally keeping a lead last night, the Bucks go from being up 2-0 to down 3-2 in a matter of 5:25. ... Tessier is headed to the box for hooking to put the Bucks on the first power play of the period at 8:30. ... Okay, I guess Richards is just a member of the top power play unit at this point. Not sure what he's supposed to bring if he keeps failing to corral the passes Bes and Smith send his way, but if they would just shoot more, he might do some more good. ... Unwilling to be responsible for another goal being allowed, Holladay just took a holding penalty at 11:10 to put the IceRays on their first power play of the period not long after the Bucks came off theirs. ... The IceRays just put on a bit of a skills show, leading to a slap shot from the point by Dulle, but Desfosses deflected that out of play. ... Penalty killed. ... Smyth just blasted a shot right by Desfosses to make it 4-2 in favor of the IceRays at 16:16. Chris Richards and Ryan Bennett get the assists. ... During a delayed penalty call, Igor Agarunov went down in the corner boards and has yet to get up. Play kept going around him, so Bobby Moore couldn't run to his side until a whistle blew. He is getting up slowly, but seems very disoriented. ... Okay, Agarunov just skated back to the bench, so I guess he wants to think he's okay. I'll keep you posted as to how many shifts he plays in the third, but with only 1:14 left in the second, I don't expect to see him out there again. ... Oh, the penalty was slashing on Quenneville, by the day. Bucks on the power play. ... Not anymore, as Robin Richards just took out Tebbs, knocking off his mask in the process, sending himself to the box for roughing with 1:33 to go on Quenneville's penalty. ... People are just wiping out into the boards left and right, with Griffith just sending himself in hard on an attempted check gone awry. Took him a minute to gather himself from that one. ... After the whistle, we have some yelling and shoving, with Elliott the most verbally violent aggressor. Interesting. ... End of the period, IceRays lead 4-2, up 27-26 on shots.
Third Period: The Bucks just do not look good right now. Garbutt has scored to make it 5-2 at 2:49 in the period, with some guys already well in the minus column for the Bucks on the ice. Bennett gets the primary assist, and it seems Chris Richards should get a secondary eventually. ... Flukey goal makes it 5-3 as a shot by Smith got caught up on Tebbs then flew into the net behind him at 3:44. Appropriately, the guys did not celebrate very much; we'll see if they can string something more together. Looby has what is currently the lone assist. ... Lincourt just hit the crossbar. ... IceRays get a power play with Robin Richards headed to the box for holding at 8:59. ... Nothing happened there, and now the Bucks get one with Powell off for tripping at 11:57. ... Bucks will get 1:12 of a 5-on-3 now with Bennett joining Powell in the box at 12:45 on a hooking call. ... The pushing and shoving to follow stoppages in play has taken a bit of a violent turn, with some punches thrown on the last one, but no penalties are being called. ... Mohr just lost the puck trying to pull a spin move against the wall moving into the Bucks' zone, giving up a 2-on-1 break for Quenneville and Later. Quenneville carreid the puck up and shot it himself, Desfosses stopped it, and Later then crashed into him, which prompted Rivet to look for a penalty. Pretty sad for a team on a 5-on-3 to give up a 2-on-1. The power play definitely needs work. ... Quenneville was just destroyed on the boards by Griffith, and he is not getting up. Yet again, the ref missed the fact that a player was down and let play continue. ... Quenneville was just helped up by the IceRays' trainer and seemed to shove her away as he skated toward the bench. Let's assume that means he's a bit disoriented. ... Sorry I forgot to post this before, but Agarunov has not been on the ice this period, and I am fairly certain he is not on the bench. ... More words and shoves being exchanged, and Lincourt seems pretty unhappy as he mouths off at Flath right now. ... Bucks have pulled Desfosses. ... Garbutt just knocked in an empty-netter at 18:55 to make it 6-3. The IceRays fans in attendance certainly seem happy. ... Robin Richards decided now was a good time to jump Powell right off a faceoff. He landed one punch that brought Powell to the ground, then that got broken up. If Richards was going to do something like that, he should have done it sooner. Powell now has a Gordie Howe hat trick tonight. ... Richards got two for roughing, two for instigating and a 10-minute misconduct in addition to the five for fighting.
Game Over: Bucks lose 6-3, dropping their sixth straight to the IceRays, to fall to 19-14-7 (45 points). IceRays improve to 17-18-6 (40 points). No time for quotes, but I'm pretty sure I know what Ruskowski would have to say after that effort.
Game Day No. 40
The Bucks are set to face the Corpus Christi IceRays for the 11th time this season in a little over an hour at the LEC.
The Bucks(19-13-7, 45 points) are 3-1 in their last four games, all against tough opponents, but are 3-6-1 against the IceRays (16-18-6, 38 points) this season, including three straight losses and two straight shutouts.
It's easy to assume that the IceRays' loss of Kevin Nastiuk will help the Bucks greatly tonight, but Kris Tebbs knows them pretty well from his time with the IceRays last season and his week with the Bucks this season, so we'll see how that works out.
The IceRays' new backup was Francois Lemoy, but now Greg Rajan is reporting they have traded for former Buck Kevin Beech, so he will likely be taking over that role. He will not be in Laredo tonight, though, so it's pretty safe to guess the Bucks will face Tebbs.
Kevin Desfosses is expected to make his third straight start for the Bucks.
The Bucks' 3-1 win last night will only keep them in that tie for third place, or get them higher, if they continue to win, and you can bet Coach Ruskowski has gotten that point across.
You can read more about the victory in my story and Bryan Benway's press release and more about tonight in his preview and the Pointstreak pre-game notes.
I'll be live blogging tonight, and you can also follow the game on Pointstreak, watch on CHL-TV or listen on Imagen 94.1 FM.
The team sold two tickets for the price of one for tonight to everyone at last night's game, so we'll see if that helps boost attendance at all.
The Bucks(19-13-7, 45 points) are 3-1 in their last four games, all against tough opponents, but are 3-6-1 against the IceRays (16-18-6, 38 points) this season, including three straight losses and two straight shutouts.
It's easy to assume that the IceRays' loss of Kevin Nastiuk will help the Bucks greatly tonight, but Kris Tebbs knows them pretty well from his time with the IceRays last season and his week with the Bucks this season, so we'll see how that works out.
The IceRays' new backup was Francois Lemoy, but now Greg Rajan is reporting they have traded for former Buck Kevin Beech, so he will likely be taking over that role. He will not be in Laredo tonight, though, so it's pretty safe to guess the Bucks will face Tebbs.
Kevin Desfosses is expected to make his third straight start for the Bucks.
The Bucks' 3-1 win last night will only keep them in that tie for third place, or get them higher, if they continue to win, and you can bet Coach Ruskowski has gotten that point across.
You can read more about the victory in my story and Bryan Benway's press release and more about tonight in his preview and the Pointstreak pre-game notes.
I'll be live blogging tonight, and you can also follow the game on Pointstreak, watch on CHL-TV or listen on Imagen 94.1 FM.
The team sold two tickets for the price of one for tonight to everyone at last night's game, so we'll see if that helps boost attendance at all.
Quotes from Last Night
Because the Bucks' 3-1 win over the Texas Brahmas ended fairly late relative to my deadline last night and players jumped in the showers immediately thereafter to prepare for the jersey auction, I was only able to talk to Coach Ruskowski.
Here's what he had to say:
On the overall effort: I hope we left a good impression on the crowd because we’d sure like to have them back. Every time we have a good crowd, we play a lot better. This may not have been our best performance, but it was good enough to win, and it’s a good hockey team out there that we beat. It was surprising that all the goal scoring was in the first period, and after that nothing happened.There were some guys on our team who really struggled, and there were some guys like (Todd) Griffith who scored today, which really helped us in the offensive zone. We just have to play a little smarter. Going into the third period, we’re ahead by two goals, and we start taking penalties? We should be drawing penalties, not taking penalties. That was unfortunate, and we need to be smarter than that. Hopefully we can learn from that, even though we've done it before, we have to learn to control ourselves and control what we have to do to be successful, with being disciplined and not taking penalties.
On finally being able to keep a lead: It was our goaltending. He played fantastic again. He played really, really well, and I was really happy with him. Every time he couldn’t see the puck, he made himself big, and when you make yourself big, you block more of the net. That’s exactly what he did. Right now, he’s hot; I just hope he stays hot for a long, long, long, long, long, long time.
On all the scoring happening in a short span: There’s really no explanation for it. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't With the team they have, only letting them score one goal in the first period, then keeping them off the board for two periods, especially with all the penalties against us, that was a pretty good feat for us. Our penalty killing was excellent, absolutely terrific. They did a tremendous job. We got some lucky bounces where guys were going to get the puck and it bounced over their stick or it bounced and they couldn't get a good shot off, so we were lucky the good Lord blessed us, and hopefully He will continue to bless us down the road.
On the power play: Not so good. We've got into a situation where we have more confidence. We just make the same plays over and over again. We're not creative, we're not moving around; there were some guys open for a quick pass, but we didn't seem to see them. We're just trying to shoot on net or go back door where there's not a guy wide open. We have to be more conscientious and more aware of where the guys are on the ice and try to get them a good pass.
On facing Corpus tonight: I think, first of all, we have to get it out of our minds that they beat us five in a row. That's one thing we're going to emphasize. We’re going to go at them and hopefully get the good bounces and the good Lord with us so we can win another hockey game then take it on the road.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Game No. 39 - Bucks vs. Brahmas
Starters: Bucks - Jeff Bes (F), Kevin Desfosses (G), Paul Elliott (D), Maxime Lincourt (F), Mike Looby (D), Darryl Smith (F); Brahmas - Matt Burto (F), Jordan Cameron (F), Justin Kinnunen (D), Craig Minard (D), Joe Palmer (G), Tyler Skworchinski (F).
First Period: Curtis Billsten is wearing No. 41 tonight instead of his usual 12, assumably because they didn't have a pink No. 12 jersey. ... Even referee Jon MacIsaac is wearing pink tonight. The linesmen must feel left out. ... Cameron knocked Bes over right off the faceoff, which didn't seem to make the latter party all too happy but also didn't draw a penalty. ... A misplay of the puck left Nathan Perrott all alone skating in toward Desfosses from along the right wall, but he took a bad-angle shot that Desfosses was able to stop easily. ... The Bucks are being outshot 5-1 so far. ... Two consecutive icing calls on the Brahmas as the Bucks are starting to get some chances on offense. ... In addition to the top line for the Bucks, groupings tonight are Neil Trimm - Mark O'Leary - Todd Griffith and Billsten - Eric Giosa - Igor Agarunov. With the roster full again, Robin Richards doesn't play regular shifts. ... Richards is, however, going out for the Bucks' first power play shift of the game on Smith's right wing with Bes on the right. Interesting. Jarred Mohr and Adam Rivet are at the points... or at least will be if the Bucks can ever set up on this. Power play caused by a hooking call against Jordan Cameron at 8:58. ... This will now be a 5-on-3 for 1:28 as Jason Deitsch joins Cameron in the box after tripping Mohr as the Bucks skated back into the offensive zone. ... A solid clear to start the 5-on-3 does not bode well for the Bucks' chances. ... Second unit, which somehow includes Richards again, out for a faceoff with 59 seconds left on the 5-on-3. ... Cameron out of the box already, and the Bucks have only gotten one shot on the net during this advantage. ... Penalties killed with relative ease. ... The defensive pairing on Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel and Jay Holladay has done a great job of holding the puck in at the blue line so far tonight. ... Palmer just faced a couple big tests but stopped them. ... Lincourt just ripped a wrister right into Palmer's right post. ... Griffith has taken the Bucks' first penalty of the night, hooking at 14:22, while trying to hack at the puck, which was being carried by James Hiebert. ... Does MacIsaac have a thing for 5-on-3s? The Brahmas get one for 1:25 now with a holding-the-stick call against Looby at 14:57. ... Luckily for the Bucks, the Brahmas did about as much with that as the Bucks did with their own 5-on-3. Okay, maybe a little more, but not enough to score. First penalty has expired with the score still 0-0. ... Well, make it 1-0, but in the Bucks favor as Griffith absolutely owned the Brahmas defenders he was skating against to send the puck five-hole on Palmer shorthanded goal with 12 seconds left on Looby's penalty. Griffith was aided by the fact that he had Smith trailing, which kept some of the Brahmas' attention away from him. That was a really nice individual effort. Bucks lead 1-0 at 16:45 in the period. ... Trimm has tacked on another one just 77 seconds later, whipping a rebound from a shot by Giosa past Palmer for his first goal since returning from his second IR stint of the season. Bucks lead 2-0 with 1:58 to play in the first. ... Bucks going on a late power play with Elias Godoy going off for interference at 18:28 ... Seems that power plays just aren't working out for these teams, as some nifty work by Cameron has cut the Bucks' lead to 1-0 with exactly one minute left in the period. Not much Desfosses could do with a pretty decent goal scorer given the chance to walk in on him like that. Skworchinski is getting the lone assist, for now, on that one. ... Ummm, these last few minutes have been a little nuts. With Palmer being screened by just about everyone on the ice, Griffith ripped a shot from the circle for his second goal of the night with 37.5 on the clock. That was basically another one-person affair, but they are giving an assist on this one, as Giosa sent him the puck befor he did all the work with it. That was a power play goal, by the way. Now Griffith just needs to score even-strength, on a penalty shot and in a shootout. Haha. ... End of the period, Bucks lead 3-1, up 14-11 on shots. ... Pointstreak says Trimm's goal was also scored on the power play, but unless there was a penalty never called or announced, that is not the case. ... That got fixed pretty quickly, and an assist on that goal has been added for Richards. ... Apparently Pointstreak says Pier-Olivier Pelletier is in goal for the Bucks (just noticed when they printed out the first period game sheet), but I can assure you that is not the case unless Coach Ruskowski filled out his starting lineup wrong and Pelletier is borrowing Desfosses's pads... and his face.
Second Period: Billsten to the box for high-sticking only 10 seconds into the period. ... Penalty killed, with the majority of those two minutes spend in the Brahmas' zone. If you consider the fact that Griffith's second goal was an even-strength-style score that just so happened to get the net during a power play, both teams have been pretty sad on the man-advantage thus far. ... And now the Bucks are getting their first of the period, fourth of the game, with Luke Sellars headed to the box to serve two for hooking at 3:20. ... Between the exceptionally high attendance and the thunderstix, this is the loudest this arena has been in a very long time. ... Kinnunen and Scott Thauwold just got a great shorthanded chance, but Thauwold couldn't gather the pass I think Kinnunen was hoping would lead to a shot. ... Penalty killed. ... Griffith nearly got the hat trick when his stick deflected a shot/pass from Holladay toward the net, but no such luck. Yet. ... And he just got another chance, skating in on Palmer all alone, but Palmer poke checked the puck away before he could get a clean shot off. ... About five seconds later, Griffith was tripped up while skating back on defense and definitely wanted a call. He stayed down for a while but appears to be okay. ... Lincourt just got his best chance of the night on a feed from Bes, who had to do some nifty work to get it with a Brahmas defenseman in his face, but Lincourt missed the net. ... After a shot at the other end, some shoving began. Looks like we've reached that portion of the evening. .. What is with penalties right off faceoffs tonight? Giosa to the box at 9:56 for tripping. ... Ross Rouleau has evened things up at 4-on-4 for a while by taking an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at 11:32. Bucks will get 84 seconds on the power play once Giosa gets out. ... Penalty killed. ... Deitsch just got a short breakaway chance and for some reason braked, faked a slap shot then went in and shot the puck directly into Desfosses's pads. Not a very good way to use that chance on his part. ... Hiebert has started shoving Bucks around after the whistles, resulting in some obligatory face time on the Jumbotron. ... Perrott headed to the box now for high-sticking at 15:26. ... I believe we just witnessed the Bucks' first shot from the point on a power play tonight. Okay, at least the first in recent memory. Palmer made a kick save on it, and no one seemed to feel compelled to keep the puck in after that. ... Elliott took one of his own, which also went in on net, toward the end of the power play, which will be extended with Cameron going to the box for cross-checking at 17:25 with one second left on the initial penalty. ... A puck that hit inside the post was just waved off, but I really thought it caught net when it went in, and so did the Bucks on the ice. Would have been a goal for them. Guess we'll never know now, as there was no stoppage in play or replay of any kind. ... End of the period, Bucks lead 3-1, up 27-22 on shots.
Third Period: Perrott to the box for slashing at 2:07. ... And now Griffith is off for two minors, interference and unsportsmanlike conduct, at 2:39. ... Not a whole heck of a lot going on as the eighth minute comes off the clock. Three shots for each team so far this period. ... Mohr has been called for interference at the 9-minute mark to give the Brahmas their eighth power play of the game. Bucks have had eight, too. ... Seriously, has there been one power play tonight during which the shorthanded team didn't have the best scoring chance? ... A high-sticking double-minor on Griffith has put the Bucks on another four-minute penalty kill, though this one will affect them the full four minutes, at 12:16. It's almost like no one wants to stay fully on Ruskowski's good side. ... As I say that, Elliott has been called for slashing at 13:53, which will give the Brahmas a full two-minute 5-on-3. Dan Wildfong has called a time out to talk to his team while Ruskowski paces anxiously behind his. Rivet is having some words with MacIsaac as the players file back into position, but I don't see that doing any good. ... Hiebert just did the Bucks a favor, taking a holding call at 13:57, before his team could get anything going on that 5-on-3. It'll be a 4-on-3 now, lots of open ice. ... The penalty fest continues with Deitsch going off for elbowing at 14:59. Two men in each box right now, making it 3-on-3 for 54 seconds. ... Back to even-strength with 3:01 left on the clock. ... Shots have evened up for the first time since the first period at 33. ... Palmer has been pulled with nearly two minutes left in regulation. ... Deitsch just whiffed on a nice feed right on the doorstep, then Desfosses gloved a second-chance shot from another player to stop the clock with 39.3 seconds left. Brahmas have built a 36-33 shot. ... Ruskowski has called a time out, which gives Wildfong the opportunity to draw out a play. Interesting decision. ... A miss of the net by A.J. Gale gave the Bucks a little help, but they have put this one away.
Game Over: Bucks win 3-1, improve to 19-13-7 (45 points) and move into a tie for third place with the Brahmas, who fall to 20-16-5 (45 points). How big were the final three minutes of the first period? ... Okay, final 3:15. Ruskowski wasn't all-out thrilled with their play, but he was happy to win. Desfosses and the penalty killers got some kudos, but the power play and the guys who took penalties in the third definitely did not. You can check out my story in tomorrow's Times for more on tonight, including quotes, or check back here tomorrow afternoon for me to post what Ruskowski had to say. ... By the way, as far as I know, this was the Bucks' first win on the night of a jersey auction this season.
Game Day No. 39
The Bucks are a few hours away from a big opportunity to move up in the Southern Conference standings and prove that they are capable of playing well consistently, not just when they feel like doing so.
The Texas Brahmas (20-15-5, 45 points) enter the LEC two points ahead of the Bucks (18-13-7, 43 points) for third place in the conference, and if the Bucks win tonight, they'll be tied for that spot with two games in hand on the Brahmas.
Last time the Bucks had a chance to tie the Brahmas in the standings was before their first meeting this season, which the Bucks went on to lose 2-0 at the LEC. It's worth noting that was only one of six road wins for the Brahmas this season.
The Bucks won the teams' most recent meeting, on Jan. 3, 4-3.
As you can probably tell by reading the quotes I've posted, everyone sees this weekend as a really big one, and it all starts with tonight.
You can read more about the matchup in my preview, Bryan Benway's preview and the Pointstreak pre-game notes.
Getting Maxime Lincourt's shot back in the lineup could be a big asset for the Bucks if his line can click, which seems inevitable if Darryl Smith keeps playing at the pace he did last week and Jeff Bes keeps setting his linemates up the way he normally does.
Lincourt will start on that top line with Bes and Smith, but, as noted yesterday, Coach Ruskowski said that could change depending on how things work out early in the game.
Special teams are always a concern, and they did seem to be the area Ruskowski most wanted to see improve, so we'll see how the Bucks do tonight against a power play that ranks 11th in the league at 13.28 percent and penalty kill that ranks sixth, just behind their own, at 84.82 percent.
The Bucks have an 84.83 percent kill rate, ranking fifth, and are third on the power play at 21.30 percent.
Kevin Desfosses will be in goal for the Bucks, and they will be taking their shots on either Brett Jaeger or Joe Palmer.
Though tonight obviously needs to be the focus right now, I'm sure everyone can't help but think of the two other games this weekend, which will pit the Bucks against Kevin Nastiuk-less IceRays for the first time this season and against the league's top team in the Odessa Jackalopes for the first time since a shocking 6-1 win on Dec. 5, 2009.
The Bucks are 1-1-0 against the Brahmas and 1-0-1 against the Jackalopes (32-6-3, 67 points) this season, and 3-6-1 against the IceRays, having faced Nastiuk in all but the first of their previous meetings, the two most recent of which were shutout losses.
The only time the Bucks saw Desfosses as an opponent was when he replaced Nastiuk late in a 6-3 win for the Bucks on Nov. 29.
But anyway, I'll be live blogging tonight's game, and you can also follow it on Pointstreak, watch on CHL-TV or listen on Imagen 94.1 FM.
Oh, and Bucky is still on the roof, and has been joined by Bucks majority owner Glenn Hart, as they attempt to sell the last tickets for tonight's "Pink in the Rink" game.
The Texas Brahmas (20-15-5, 45 points) enter the LEC two points ahead of the Bucks (18-13-7, 43 points) for third place in the conference, and if the Bucks win tonight, they'll be tied for that spot with two games in hand on the Brahmas.
Last time the Bucks had a chance to tie the Brahmas in the standings was before their first meeting this season, which the Bucks went on to lose 2-0 at the LEC. It's worth noting that was only one of six road wins for the Brahmas this season.
The Bucks won the teams' most recent meeting, on Jan. 3, 4-3.
As you can probably tell by reading the quotes I've posted, everyone sees this weekend as a really big one, and it all starts with tonight.
You can read more about the matchup in my preview, Bryan Benway's preview and the Pointstreak pre-game notes.
Getting Maxime Lincourt's shot back in the lineup could be a big asset for the Bucks if his line can click, which seems inevitable if Darryl Smith keeps playing at the pace he did last week and Jeff Bes keeps setting his linemates up the way he normally does.
Lincourt will start on that top line with Bes and Smith, but, as noted yesterday, Coach Ruskowski said that could change depending on how things work out early in the game.
Special teams are always a concern, and they did seem to be the area Ruskowski most wanted to see improve, so we'll see how the Bucks do tonight against a power play that ranks 11th in the league at 13.28 percent and penalty kill that ranks sixth, just behind their own, at 84.82 percent.
The Bucks have an 84.83 percent kill rate, ranking fifth, and are third on the power play at 21.30 percent.
Kevin Desfosses will be in goal for the Bucks, and they will be taking their shots on either Brett Jaeger or Joe Palmer.
Though tonight obviously needs to be the focus right now, I'm sure everyone can't help but think of the two other games this weekend, which will pit the Bucks against Kevin Nastiuk-less IceRays for the first time this season and against the league's top team in the Odessa Jackalopes for the first time since a shocking 6-1 win on Dec. 5, 2009.
The Bucks are 1-1-0 against the Brahmas and 1-0-1 against the Jackalopes (32-6-3, 67 points) this season, and 3-6-1 against the IceRays, having faced Nastiuk in all but the first of their previous meetings, the two most recent of which were shutout losses.
The only time the Bucks saw Desfosses as an opponent was when he replaced Nastiuk late in a 6-3 win for the Bucks on Nov. 29.
But anyway, I'll be live blogging tonight's game, and you can also follow it on Pointstreak, watch on CHL-TV or listen on Imagen 94.1 FM.
Oh, and Bucky is still on the roof, and has been joined by Bucks majority owner Glenn Hart, as they attempt to sell the last tickets for tonight's "Pink in the Rink" game.
Player Quotes
As promised, here are some of the quotes I got from players this week, in order of when I spoke to them:
Darryl Smith
On his play last week: I think, not even on a personal level, but on a team level, it was really big for me. We’ve had a lot of injuries on our team, and we’ve been kind of hurting for guys lately, so especially with the ‘A’ on my sweater, just being a counted-on guy, it was important for me to step up. I was just trying to get pucks on net, and things went well of me.
On the effect of last week’s wins: I think that’s going to be a huge confidence builder for us. They are the top teams in the North, and we came out with four of six points, and even the game we lost, everybody was happy with the way we played. We battled really hard for those wins, and especially on a long road trip against good teams, that should be a big confidence builder.
On being honored for his efforts: Obviously, they’re really nice; it’s great to get noticed for the things you do during the season, and it’s something you can look back on in a few years and say that you’ve done. It’s nice to be recognized throughout the league and even amongst my teammates.
On his play this season: I sure wasn’t happy with the way I started the season. I’ve had trouble scoring and things like that. Being able to turn it around in a week like this is a matter of getting confidence back, being able to relax with the puck and take my time with it. Things like that will definitely help me, and help the team.
Jeff Bes
On having Brent Cullaton last week: Him coming in and playing, first of all, brought in some veteran leadership and a high quality of play. He's so patient with the puck, he sees the play unfold and maybe hangs onto the puck that extra second. It was really good. The younger guys look up to the older players coming in, and he came in, played very well. He's played in a lot of different leagues and at a higher level, so he knows what he's talking about. He earned a lot of respect last weekend with the way he played. Personally, it was like old times out there playing with him. It's not very often you get to play with a player that you know where they're going to be and what they're going to do all the time, and certainly Cully and I have that connection. It was a lot of fun to play, and he really contributed in the two wins that we had.
On Smith's play: You know what, Darryl's a good player, he's just been getting a lot of chances that haven't been going in. He's been working really hard, and really battling, and as Player of the Week, six goals, two assists - he played phenomenal. A couple of those goals were unassisted, one-man shows, great plays on his part. He's starting to get his confidence back, and with him scoring, it gives our team that much better of a chance to win.
On the team's confidence level: Playing against the best teams in the Northern Conference and beating them... we had a chance to win that second game in Colorado, but unfortunately that didn't happen, but we were in the game right up to the end. The team's feeling really good about themselves. I'm not going to lie to you, it was a hard, tough trip, but we did what we needed to do. We played the system, we stuck to the system, we used our game plan and executed our game plan, and we were successful. I think the guys now realize that if we do that, we have a chance to win each and every night.
On this weekend's games: This weekend, and throughout the rest of the season, every game is important. We're playing in the Southern Conference, there are teams behind us trying to catch us, we want to catch the teams in front of us. We want to make the playoffs and set ourselves up to be ready for playoffs and win a championship here, so we look at it one game at a time, but each and every game from now on for the rest of the season is a big and important game.
Paul Elliott
On coming out of retirement: I just had the opportunity to. I'm working with another company right now, and the owners are good friends of our family, and they were really understanding with it. I got the opportunity to talk with the team here, and some of the guys, and for the last bit of the year, three or four months. Like I said, just got the opportunity and was able to do it, and I figured, 'Why not?'
On what he brings to the team: Staying at home. I've never been one to fool myself and say I'm a big scoring defenseman or anything; I'll leave that to Rivs and Looby and those guys. My job out there is to stop goals from happening. It's not flashy a job, but it's one I think I do fairly well, and that's what I bring.
On how things are going so far: Good. We had a couple rough patches against Corpus Christi, but other than that, I think the team's played great. Obviously, the last road trip was a huge road trip for us. Beating Colorado two out of three times (on the season) and playing them well the third time, our team's starting to turn around, and I think we're doing really well.
On this weekend: These games are incredibly important. Texas is two points ahead of us; we win (tonight), we’ve got two games in hand and we’re tied with them. Then Corpus coming in again on Saturday, they’re always a battle, then playing the No. 1 team, Odessa Sunday … it’s a huge weekend for us, and we have to perform well.
On solving the IceRays: We have to match them. It's nothing they do special or spectacular, they just work hard, and they do what they do well. We just have to do the exact same thing. If we play the way we did against Colorado and Rapid City, I think we'll be fine.
Kevin Desfosses
On signing his new contract: I was really happy with the opportunity the team was giving me, and now that they’ve given me the chance to stay here the rest of the season, I’m even more grateful, more happy about it. It's a new start, and in life, you don't need to take anything for granted, especially in pro hockey, things can turn around pretty quickly. So I'm taking one shot at home, one game a time, and not looking too far forward, just worry about tomorrow and that's all you can worry about.
On his play so far: The team has been playing better since I came over here, we’ve gotten some players back from the injured list, maybe it was that. Also, I came in, and I wanted to prove myself and play well, and I think it’s worked out pretty well with the team and the chemistry with me. But, like we said, it happened in the past. Things in the past stay in the past, so we’ll try to get a new good streak over the weekend and over the next few games.
On this weekend (and the rest of the season): These are four-point games, and there are only 26 games left in the season, so we have to play every game like it’s the last one. As far as (tonight), they’re right ahead of us in the standings, and it’s a four-point game, if we win, we can tie them, so it’s a big opportunity for us to move into the third seed because we don’t want to stay fourth, we always want to move forward and climb the ladder. It’s a big challenge for as a team and as group coming off the road trip and a good week of practice. We need to be ready for tomorrow, come out flying and play the system, and everything should work out well.
Obviously, some of that Elliott stuff is a bit belated, but because his comeback was so sudden and immediately preceded the craziness of the All-Star Game, this was the best chance I'd had to talk to him so far.
I'll be back with a game day blog in a little bit.
Darryl Smith
On his play last week: I think, not even on a personal level, but on a team level, it was really big for me. We’ve had a lot of injuries on our team, and we’ve been kind of hurting for guys lately, so especially with the ‘A’ on my sweater, just being a counted-on guy, it was important for me to step up. I was just trying to get pucks on net, and things went well of me.
On the effect of last week’s wins: I think that’s going to be a huge confidence builder for us. They are the top teams in the North, and we came out with four of six points, and even the game we lost, everybody was happy with the way we played. We battled really hard for those wins, and especially on a long road trip against good teams, that should be a big confidence builder.
On being honored for his efforts: Obviously, they’re really nice; it’s great to get noticed for the things you do during the season, and it’s something you can look back on in a few years and say that you’ve done. It’s nice to be recognized throughout the league and even amongst my teammates.
On his play this season: I sure wasn’t happy with the way I started the season. I’ve had trouble scoring and things like that. Being able to turn it around in a week like this is a matter of getting confidence back, being able to relax with the puck and take my time with it. Things like that will definitely help me, and help the team.
Jeff Bes
On having Brent Cullaton last week: Him coming in and playing, first of all, brought in some veteran leadership and a high quality of play. He's so patient with the puck, he sees the play unfold and maybe hangs onto the puck that extra second. It was really good. The younger guys look up to the older players coming in, and he came in, played very well. He's played in a lot of different leagues and at a higher level, so he knows what he's talking about. He earned a lot of respect last weekend with the way he played. Personally, it was like old times out there playing with him. It's not very often you get to play with a player that you know where they're going to be and what they're going to do all the time, and certainly Cully and I have that connection. It was a lot of fun to play, and he really contributed in the two wins that we had.
On Smith's play: You know what, Darryl's a good player, he's just been getting a lot of chances that haven't been going in. He's been working really hard, and really battling, and as Player of the Week, six goals, two assists - he played phenomenal. A couple of those goals were unassisted, one-man shows, great plays on his part. He's starting to get his confidence back, and with him scoring, it gives our team that much better of a chance to win.
On the team's confidence level: Playing against the best teams in the Northern Conference and beating them... we had a chance to win that second game in Colorado, but unfortunately that didn't happen, but we were in the game right up to the end. The team's feeling really good about themselves. I'm not going to lie to you, it was a hard, tough trip, but we did what we needed to do. We played the system, we stuck to the system, we used our game plan and executed our game plan, and we were successful. I think the guys now realize that if we do that, we have a chance to win each and every night.
On this weekend's games: This weekend, and throughout the rest of the season, every game is important. We're playing in the Southern Conference, there are teams behind us trying to catch us, we want to catch the teams in front of us. We want to make the playoffs and set ourselves up to be ready for playoffs and win a championship here, so we look at it one game at a time, but each and every game from now on for the rest of the season is a big and important game.
Paul Elliott
On coming out of retirement: I just had the opportunity to. I'm working with another company right now, and the owners are good friends of our family, and they were really understanding with it. I got the opportunity to talk with the team here, and some of the guys, and for the last bit of the year, three or four months. Like I said, just got the opportunity and was able to do it, and I figured, 'Why not?'
On what he brings to the team: Staying at home. I've never been one to fool myself and say I'm a big scoring defenseman or anything; I'll leave that to Rivs and Looby and those guys. My job out there is to stop goals from happening. It's not flashy a job, but it's one I think I do fairly well, and that's what I bring.
On how things are going so far: Good. We had a couple rough patches against Corpus Christi, but other than that, I think the team's played great. Obviously, the last road trip was a huge road trip for us. Beating Colorado two out of three times (on the season) and playing them well the third time, our team's starting to turn around, and I think we're doing really well.
On this weekend: These games are incredibly important. Texas is two points ahead of us; we win (tonight), we’ve got two games in hand and we’re tied with them. Then Corpus coming in again on Saturday, they’re always a battle, then playing the No. 1 team, Odessa Sunday … it’s a huge weekend for us, and we have to perform well.
On solving the IceRays: We have to match them. It's nothing they do special or spectacular, they just work hard, and they do what they do well. We just have to do the exact same thing. If we play the way we did against Colorado and Rapid City, I think we'll be fine.
Kevin Desfosses
On signing his new contract: I was really happy with the opportunity the team was giving me, and now that they’ve given me the chance to stay here the rest of the season, I’m even more grateful, more happy about it. It's a new start, and in life, you don't need to take anything for granted, especially in pro hockey, things can turn around pretty quickly. So I'm taking one shot at home, one game a time, and not looking too far forward, just worry about tomorrow and that's all you can worry about.
On his play so far: The team has been playing better since I came over here, we’ve gotten some players back from the injured list, maybe it was that. Also, I came in, and I wanted to prove myself and play well, and I think it’s worked out pretty well with the team and the chemistry with me. But, like we said, it happened in the past. Things in the past stay in the past, so we’ll try to get a new good streak over the weekend and over the next few games.
On this weekend (and the rest of the season): These are four-point games, and there are only 26 games left in the season, so we have to play every game like it’s the last one. As far as (tonight), they’re right ahead of us in the standings, and it’s a four-point game, if we win, we can tie them, so it’s a big opportunity for us to move into the third seed because we don’t want to stay fourth, we always want to move forward and climb the ladder. It’s a big challenge for as a team and as group coming off the road trip and a good week of practice. We need to be ready for tomorrow, come out flying and play the system, and everything should work out well.
Obviously, some of that Elliott stuff is a bit belated, but because his comeback was so sudden and immediately preceded the craziness of the All-Star Game, this was the best chance I'd had to talk to him so far.
I'll be back with a game day blog in a little bit.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Ruskowski's Thoughts
Sorry for the delay in quote posting, but I've compiled Coach Ruskowski's thoughts on everything from last week's road trip to his goalie moves to this weekend's games. These quotes are from conversations throughout this week, including today after practice.
On Darryl Smith being named Player of the Week: He played very well, no question about that. That line, when (Brent) Cullaton was on there with (Jeff) Bes, just complimented each other’s play so well. They were making smart, positive plays. It was great to see those guys, especially Cullaton and Bes, reunite. I'm very proud of my players, and very proud when they get recognition. It's good for the city, good for the organization and good for him knowing that when he produces as well as he did, he'll get recognized.
On Smith's progression this season: I think we put a lot of pressure on him because of injuries, people who left the team and what he did last year. It's a lot to put on his shoulders, but now he's feeling more relaxed. He's an excellent hockey player, and it was only a matter of time before he'd get back in the groove. We hope he stays there because we sure do like him playing that way.
On the team's pressure to score: What happens is a line going well takes pressure off everyone else, and everyone else kind of seems more at ease. I think the reason why we did so well (on the road trip) was because the pressure was off because Smith did it, Bes did it, Cully did it and everyone else fell in line.
On last week's road trip: It was huge. Going into those games, we knew they were No. 1 and 2 in the North division standings and both teams are playing very, very well. To get four points out of six, I'm hoping it's a confidence builder for us and helps things move in a positive way. Everyone is feeling good about themselves.
On Tuesday's practice: I was just trying to get the guys healthy, keep the guys sharp. We didn't go awfully long today, but we got what we had to do, just get the guys' legs underneath them, passing, just the fundamentals back together. Tomorrow, we'll get more into forechecking, defensive coverage, breakouts and power play. We'll work on that the next two days, but today was just a chance to get out there. It was a long road trip, it was a hard road trip, they played very well, so we just want to keep them as fresh as possible, as positive as possible and just keep the rust off them. Tomorrow and Thursday, we get back at it again.
On non-IR players' injuries: I wish I could say things were looking up, but there are still some lingering injuries we have that if they just twist it a little bit, it could be a possible situation where they'll be out for a while, so I have to monitor in a way where it's not going to be a whole lot of physical drills (in practice), but more positional drills.
On Kyle Gajewski (pre-trade): I'll have to talk to Bobby (Moore) on that, he's got to find out how he felt after the practice, if he had a headache or didn't have a headache, then we'll go from there. From there, we'll go and do what we have to do.
On goalie play last week: I thought both our goalies played very well. It was a situation where Pier (Pelletier) went in there, and I think they had three power-play goals, one of them was 5-on-3, and that goal, I don't think anybody could have stopped that goal. But I thought he played pretty steady, and the guys felt the same way. He's a big boy, he's still learning the game a little bit, but I thought he played and I thought (Kevin) Desfosses played well, too, really well. He feels he's playing with confidence right now, so he's going to keep going as long as he can.
On Cullaton's contributions: He's the type of guy that knows the system, I don't have to tell it to him, and handles the puck very well. He's smart with the puck, he's just a smart, good hockey player. It made the people around him a lot better, too. Instead of just dumping the puck in our wrapping it around, he was making that positive pass right on a guy's stick. Instead of having that shot on net on a bad angle, he was giving a guy a shot from a better angle. He's just a smart hockey player that knows how to play the game very well, and he was a great influence on the younger guys, and actually the whole team when he was out there. I think he has a different perspective of the game now, now that he's a coach. He knows what I have to go through and what the players have to go through to be successful, and I think that he gave that and showed that when he was in the dressing room and on the ice.
On Cullaton's possible return for the playoffs: We'll definitely talk. (Said with a large smile, by the way.)
On areas that could still improve: I think our penalty killing was good, but not as great as it should be, and our power play was okay, but not as good as it should be. We have a lot of success shooting the puck from the point, but we don't do it all the time and I just don't know why we don't do it all the time. We're going to try to rectify that tomorrow and Thursday, especially Thursday, to see if we can get more shots from the point, get a little more creative with the power play and have more opportunities to score.
On playing up/down to opponents: I sure hope (we don't start playing down again). As a coach, you're always hoping they go on from playing good to trying to get better and better. What you want to do is have a team going into the playoffs with momentum and confidence. Right now, we have a little bit of that. It's not good and concrete yet, but if we do well this weekend, I think that'll be a huge benefit for the confidence. We just have to worry about playing hard every shift of every game and doing the system as well as we can. That's what we have to focus on, and hopefully if we do that, we will get better.
On this weekend's 3-in-3: How's that for a road trip? Play here Saturday and play in Odessa at 4 o'clock the next day... wow. Tough scheduling there. We just have to play hard, and we have to win. That's it. Texas is who we're fighting to get up there in that third spot, and it's a must-win game for us. We have to play to our potential and better. We have to have not just one effort, but second and third efforts to get the puck in and score or try to get the puck out and make a play. I'm just hoping that we play very hard in front of our home crowd so we can show them we are improving and getting better.
On trying to sell out "Pink in the Rink" night: We were in Rapid City, and they had a sellout, and I was thinking, 'Wow, we used to be that way.' I was kind of envious of them, to be honest with you. To have that kind of response and that kind of crowd come to the game... like I said, we used to be that way, and we hope to get back to that way very soon. It's a huge advantage for us to have a big crowd being vocal and being supportive and yelling and screaming and cheering. I think that just gives our guys more incentive to play the best they can play.
On signing Desfosses to a full-term deal: He certainly deserved that spot. When I picked him up, I really didn't know what I was getting because I hadn't seen him play. I heard a lot about him in the summer time, and actually his name came up more than once, and I tried to see what he was interested in salary-wise and talk to his agent, but we didn't come to any kind of conclusion, so he went to Corpus, but he didn't play very much and he's the type of guy who needs to play to be effective. The good Lord blessed us by bringing him here. We had an opportunity, and he's played very well for us. He seems to be confident, and when things are going his way, he's very good. He seems to be square to the puck all the time. To me, and I'm not a goalie, so I can't critique goalies very well, but I played against enough of them to know that they're always square to the puck and their rebound control is always good. That's the exact kind of goalie he is. His rebounds are always good, he goes to the corner to smother, and he's always square to the puck, to the shooters, not side to side or whatever. I like that, and I think that's very important to be a successful goalie in any league.
On trading Gajewski: I couldn't keep three, it's not healthy to keep three, because you have animosity about who's going to play and who's not going to play, and I had to make room on the roster for guys coming in off the injured reserve. It was just a situation where I thought maybe a bigger goalie would be good. I think Pelletier played very well for us in his last game. It certainly wasn't his fault that we lost in Colorado; he played very, very well. We just thought we had to make the move to keep the two best goalies that we had, or who could be the best goalies down the road. It's not an easy move. I think Juice is a very good goalie, and given the right opportunity again, I think he'll really show that. I just hope we don't play against him.
On his current goalie duo: I think I'm pretty confident. They like each other, they get along with each other. I like to see them, I think it's very healthy that goalies try to push each other on who's the best and who's going to play, who's not going to play. I think if they do that a little bit more, it will push them a little bit more to practice harder even though they practice hard, but to perform better on the ice, especially in the games. But I don't think they need that; they're pretty confident kids, they work hard and practice, and I think that they'll do very well.
On this weekend's starters: I'm sure the plan is to, in back-to-back games, go with Desfosses, then all the way up to Odessa, I'll probably go with Pelletier.
On Maxime Lincourt's status: I was just taking him off the injured reserve list. The doctor gave him the okay to play.
On the effect of Lincourt's return: He'll be very important if he does his job the way he's supposed to be doing it, scoring goals, taking hits, giving hits, being part of the offensive zone but also defensively. He has to play strong defense. If he can get back on track scoring goals, that will definitely help us in the offensive zone, there's no question about it.
On the top line: This week was a situation where the doctor hadn't cleared Lincourt yet, and I didn't know when he was going to come to practice, so I wanted to make sure everyone had a line to play with, so that's why I put (Neil) Trimm there, because he's a left-hand shot. I may put him there in the game; he's smart, good with the puck, so I might put him there in the game, but I'll probably put Lincourt there to start.
On tomorrow night's game against the Texas Brahmas: This is important for three reasons - first of all, to catch them for the playoffs, second of all to build more confidence and show our team that if you work hard good things will happen and you'll win hockey game, and third of all because we'll have a good crowd because we're doing "Pink in the Rink" for WINGS of Laredo. What we want to do is make sure we put on a really good performance to get the people back in the stands again, and that's a huge, huge reason why we have to play well and we have to win and put on a good performance for the fans here.
On sustaining momentum: They have to realize that yesterday's goals don't win today's hockey games and they have to put on their skates, grab their lunch pails and go back to work. Once we understand that and realize that - that it doesn't just come easy for us, you have to work for it - hopefully the confidence will come, and the wins will come with it. We have to realize that no game is easy. Lady Luck can fall on you so many times, the good Lord can bless you so many times, but we have to have him on our side and have hard work, desire and the ability to do what it takes to be successful. That comes with confidence, obviously, but knowing that each day you come to work, you have to work as hard as you can to be successful.
I will post quotes from my player interviews this week - Bes, Desfosses, Smith and Paul Elliott - later tonight or as early as possible tomorrow.
On Darryl Smith being named Player of the Week: He played very well, no question about that. That line, when (Brent) Cullaton was on there with (Jeff) Bes, just complimented each other’s play so well. They were making smart, positive plays. It was great to see those guys, especially Cullaton and Bes, reunite. I'm very proud of my players, and very proud when they get recognition. It's good for the city, good for the organization and good for him knowing that when he produces as well as he did, he'll get recognized.
On Smith's progression this season: I think we put a lot of pressure on him because of injuries, people who left the team and what he did last year. It's a lot to put on his shoulders, but now he's feeling more relaxed. He's an excellent hockey player, and it was only a matter of time before he'd get back in the groove. We hope he stays there because we sure do like him playing that way.
On the team's pressure to score: What happens is a line going well takes pressure off everyone else, and everyone else kind of seems more at ease. I think the reason why we did so well (on the road trip) was because the pressure was off because Smith did it, Bes did it, Cully did it and everyone else fell in line.
On last week's road trip: It was huge. Going into those games, we knew they were No. 1 and 2 in the North division standings and both teams are playing very, very well. To get four points out of six, I'm hoping it's a confidence builder for us and helps things move in a positive way. Everyone is feeling good about themselves.
On Tuesday's practice: I was just trying to get the guys healthy, keep the guys sharp. We didn't go awfully long today, but we got what we had to do, just get the guys' legs underneath them, passing, just the fundamentals back together. Tomorrow, we'll get more into forechecking, defensive coverage, breakouts and power play. We'll work on that the next two days, but today was just a chance to get out there. It was a long road trip, it was a hard road trip, they played very well, so we just want to keep them as fresh as possible, as positive as possible and just keep the rust off them. Tomorrow and Thursday, we get back at it again.
On non-IR players' injuries: I wish I could say things were looking up, but there are still some lingering injuries we have that if they just twist it a little bit, it could be a possible situation where they'll be out for a while, so I have to monitor in a way where it's not going to be a whole lot of physical drills (in practice), but more positional drills.
On Kyle Gajewski (pre-trade): I'll have to talk to Bobby (Moore) on that, he's got to find out how he felt after the practice, if he had a headache or didn't have a headache, then we'll go from there. From there, we'll go and do what we have to do.
On goalie play last week: I thought both our goalies played very well. It was a situation where Pier (Pelletier) went in there, and I think they had three power-play goals, one of them was 5-on-3, and that goal, I don't think anybody could have stopped that goal. But I thought he played pretty steady, and the guys felt the same way. He's a big boy, he's still learning the game a little bit, but I thought he played and I thought (Kevin) Desfosses played well, too, really well. He feels he's playing with confidence right now, so he's going to keep going as long as he can.
On Cullaton's contributions: He's the type of guy that knows the system, I don't have to tell it to him, and handles the puck very well. He's smart with the puck, he's just a smart, good hockey player. It made the people around him a lot better, too. Instead of just dumping the puck in our wrapping it around, he was making that positive pass right on a guy's stick. Instead of having that shot on net on a bad angle, he was giving a guy a shot from a better angle. He's just a smart hockey player that knows how to play the game very well, and he was a great influence on the younger guys, and actually the whole team when he was out there. I think he has a different perspective of the game now, now that he's a coach. He knows what I have to go through and what the players have to go through to be successful, and I think that he gave that and showed that when he was in the dressing room and on the ice.
On Cullaton's possible return for the playoffs: We'll definitely talk. (Said with a large smile, by the way.)
On areas that could still improve: I think our penalty killing was good, but not as great as it should be, and our power play was okay, but not as good as it should be. We have a lot of success shooting the puck from the point, but we don't do it all the time and I just don't know why we don't do it all the time. We're going to try to rectify that tomorrow and Thursday, especially Thursday, to see if we can get more shots from the point, get a little more creative with the power play and have more opportunities to score.
On playing up/down to opponents: I sure hope (we don't start playing down again). As a coach, you're always hoping they go on from playing good to trying to get better and better. What you want to do is have a team going into the playoffs with momentum and confidence. Right now, we have a little bit of that. It's not good and concrete yet, but if we do well this weekend, I think that'll be a huge benefit for the confidence. We just have to worry about playing hard every shift of every game and doing the system as well as we can. That's what we have to focus on, and hopefully if we do that, we will get better.
On this weekend's 3-in-3: How's that for a road trip? Play here Saturday and play in Odessa at 4 o'clock the next day... wow. Tough scheduling there. We just have to play hard, and we have to win. That's it. Texas is who we're fighting to get up there in that third spot, and it's a must-win game for us. We have to play to our potential and better. We have to have not just one effort, but second and third efforts to get the puck in and score or try to get the puck out and make a play. I'm just hoping that we play very hard in front of our home crowd so we can show them we are improving and getting better.
On trying to sell out "Pink in the Rink" night: We were in Rapid City, and they had a sellout, and I was thinking, 'Wow, we used to be that way.' I was kind of envious of them, to be honest with you. To have that kind of response and that kind of crowd come to the game... like I said, we used to be that way, and we hope to get back to that way very soon. It's a huge advantage for us to have a big crowd being vocal and being supportive and yelling and screaming and cheering. I think that just gives our guys more incentive to play the best they can play.
On signing Desfosses to a full-term deal: He certainly deserved that spot. When I picked him up, I really didn't know what I was getting because I hadn't seen him play. I heard a lot about him in the summer time, and actually his name came up more than once, and I tried to see what he was interested in salary-wise and talk to his agent, but we didn't come to any kind of conclusion, so he went to Corpus, but he didn't play very much and he's the type of guy who needs to play to be effective. The good Lord blessed us by bringing him here. We had an opportunity, and he's played very well for us. He seems to be confident, and when things are going his way, he's very good. He seems to be square to the puck all the time. To me, and I'm not a goalie, so I can't critique goalies very well, but I played against enough of them to know that they're always square to the puck and their rebound control is always good. That's the exact kind of goalie he is. His rebounds are always good, he goes to the corner to smother, and he's always square to the puck, to the shooters, not side to side or whatever. I like that, and I think that's very important to be a successful goalie in any league.
On trading Gajewski: I couldn't keep three, it's not healthy to keep three, because you have animosity about who's going to play and who's not going to play, and I had to make room on the roster for guys coming in off the injured reserve. It was just a situation where I thought maybe a bigger goalie would be good. I think Pelletier played very well for us in his last game. It certainly wasn't his fault that we lost in Colorado; he played very, very well. We just thought we had to make the move to keep the two best goalies that we had, or who could be the best goalies down the road. It's not an easy move. I think Juice is a very good goalie, and given the right opportunity again, I think he'll really show that. I just hope we don't play against him.
On his current goalie duo: I think I'm pretty confident. They like each other, they get along with each other. I like to see them, I think it's very healthy that goalies try to push each other on who's the best and who's going to play, who's not going to play. I think if they do that a little bit more, it will push them a little bit more to practice harder even though they practice hard, but to perform better on the ice, especially in the games. But I don't think they need that; they're pretty confident kids, they work hard and practice, and I think that they'll do very well.
On this weekend's starters: I'm sure the plan is to, in back-to-back games, go with Desfosses, then all the way up to Odessa, I'll probably go with Pelletier.
On Maxime Lincourt's status: I was just taking him off the injured reserve list. The doctor gave him the okay to play.
On the effect of Lincourt's return: He'll be very important if he does his job the way he's supposed to be doing it, scoring goals, taking hits, giving hits, being part of the offensive zone but also defensively. He has to play strong defense. If he can get back on track scoring goals, that will definitely help us in the offensive zone, there's no question about it.
On the top line: This week was a situation where the doctor hadn't cleared Lincourt yet, and I didn't know when he was going to come to practice, so I wanted to make sure everyone had a line to play with, so that's why I put (Neil) Trimm there, because he's a left-hand shot. I may put him there in the game; he's smart, good with the puck, so I might put him there in the game, but I'll probably put Lincourt there to start.
On tomorrow night's game against the Texas Brahmas: This is important for three reasons - first of all, to catch them for the playoffs, second of all to build more confidence and show our team that if you work hard good things will happen and you'll win hockey game, and third of all because we'll have a good crowd because we're doing "Pink in the Rink" for WINGS of Laredo. What we want to do is make sure we put on a really good performance to get the people back in the stands again, and that's a huge, huge reason why we have to play well and we have to win and put on a good performance for the fans here.
On sustaining momentum: They have to realize that yesterday's goals don't win today's hockey games and they have to put on their skates, grab their lunch pails and go back to work. Once we understand that and realize that - that it doesn't just come easy for us, you have to work for it - hopefully the confidence will come, and the wins will come with it. We have to realize that no game is easy. Lady Luck can fall on you so many times, the good Lord can bless you so many times, but we have to have him on our side and have hard work, desire and the ability to do what it takes to be successful. That comes with confidence, obviously, but knowing that each day you come to work, you have to work as hard as you can to be successful.
I will post quotes from my player interviews this week - Bes, Desfosses, Smith and Paul Elliott - later tonight or as early as possible tomorrow.
Today
Today's practice lasted a little over an hour and featured a variety of drills, including a lot of odd-man rushes and a shootout contest to end the day, or at least the coach-organized portion of it.
The mood was definitely upbeat on the ice, and Coach Ruskowski seemed pleased with what he saw, which included forward Maxime Lincourt getting back in the swing of things.
Ruskowski had Neil Trimm on the top line with Jeff Bes and Darryl Smith at practice today, but he said that isn't definitely the way it will be tomorrow. My next post, a Ruskowski quote overload, will have a bit more info on that.
Lincourt scored a couple nice goals during the odd-man rush drills, and it looks like his wrist shot is not feeling any lingering effects from the upper-body injury that has sidelined him since Dec. 27 and for a few games before then.
In the shootouts, newly-crowned No. 1 goaltender Kevin Desfosses stopped everything he faced until Robin Richards ended the contest with a heavy shot that sailed in right under the crossbar.
He made a couple nice moves, during that drill and others, but a great poke check on Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel really stood out.
Pier-Olivier Pelletier was also scored on by Richards, but in his case because of poor positioning committing to a shot too early, and also by Todd Griffith, Jay Holladay and Jeff Bes.
Griffith made some nice deke moves that could earn him a shot if any of this weekend's games go into a shootout.
This weekend's 3-in-3 is the first of seven straight for the Bucks, who have only had one thus far this season, and there will also be a few other games sprinkled in on week days as they go down the final stretch.
Tomorrow night is a battle for third place in the Southern Conference with the Texas Brahmas (20-15-5, 45 points), while Saturday's, game will pit them against the Corpus Christi IceRays (16-17-6, 38 points), against whom the Bucks (18-13-7, 43 points) are winless in their last six tries.
In a bit of good news for the Bucks, and ironic news for the IceRays, who waived Desfosses on Jan. 8, goaltender Kevin Nastiuk - who has shut the Bucks out twice this season - has left the team to play in Germany.
You can read more about that in Greg Rajan's initial blog report, story for the Caller-Times and reactionary blog.
It's a shame this didn't happen before I left the LEC this morning, though I'm sure no one would admit to being relieved about it anyway.
Anyway, sorry I haven't posted much about the fact that tomorrow night is the "Pink in the Rink" game, but you can read more about that in the Bucks' press release and purchase tickets at the LEC or by calling 718-BUCK (2825).
If the game sells out, which it is reportedly close to doing, the Bucks will donate $10,000 to WINGS (Women Involved in Nurturing, Giving, Sharing) of Laredo for the second straight year.
Just like last year, Bucky is camped out on the roof until all the tickets are sold, and he has been joined by players and city officials.
That should do it for this post; stay tuned for some quotes, which I promise will be up within the hour.
The mood was definitely upbeat on the ice, and Coach Ruskowski seemed pleased with what he saw, which included forward Maxime Lincourt getting back in the swing of things.
Ruskowski had Neil Trimm on the top line with Jeff Bes and Darryl Smith at practice today, but he said that isn't definitely the way it will be tomorrow. My next post, a Ruskowski quote overload, will have a bit more info on that.
Lincourt scored a couple nice goals during the odd-man rush drills, and it looks like his wrist shot is not feeling any lingering effects from the upper-body injury that has sidelined him since Dec. 27 and for a few games before then.
In the shootouts, newly-crowned No. 1 goaltender Kevin Desfosses stopped everything he faced until Robin Richards ended the contest with a heavy shot that sailed in right under the crossbar.
He made a couple nice moves, during that drill and others, but a great poke check on Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel really stood out.
Pier-Olivier Pelletier was also scored on by Richards, but in his case because of poor positioning committing to a shot too early, and also by Todd Griffith, Jay Holladay and Jeff Bes.
Griffith made some nice deke moves that could earn him a shot if any of this weekend's games go into a shootout.
This weekend's 3-in-3 is the first of seven straight for the Bucks, who have only had one thus far this season, and there will also be a few other games sprinkled in on week days as they go down the final stretch.
Tomorrow night is a battle for third place in the Southern Conference with the Texas Brahmas (20-15-5, 45 points), while Saturday's, game will pit them against the Corpus Christi IceRays (16-17-6, 38 points), against whom the Bucks (18-13-7, 43 points) are winless in their last six tries.
In a bit of good news for the Bucks, and ironic news for the IceRays, who waived Desfosses on Jan. 8, goaltender Kevin Nastiuk - who has shut the Bucks out twice this season - has left the team to play in Germany.
You can read more about that in Greg Rajan's initial blog report, story for the Caller-Times and reactionary blog.
It's a shame this didn't happen before I left the LEC this morning, though I'm sure no one would admit to being relieved about it anyway.
Anyway, sorry I haven't posted much about the fact that tomorrow night is the "Pink in the Rink" game, but you can read more about that in the Bucks' press release and purchase tickets at the LEC or by calling 718-BUCK (2825).
If the game sells out, which it is reportedly close to doing, the Bucks will donate $10,000 to WINGS (Women Involved in Nurturing, Giving, Sharing) of Laredo for the second straight year.
Just like last year, Bucky is camped out on the roof until all the tickets are sold, and he has been joined by players and city officials.
That should do it for this post; stay tuned for some quotes, which I promise will be up within the hour.
Lincourt to Play
I'm still at the LEC, so I can't type too much right now, but just wanted to give you a heads up that Maxime Lincourt has been taken off the injured reserve and will play this weekend.
Lincourt has missed over a month with an upper-body injury.
In other injury news, Evan Schwabe is off his crutches, which should mean he is progressing fairly well.
More on Lincourt's return and everything else going on later.
Lincourt has missed over a month with an upper-body injury.
In other injury news, Evan Schwabe is off his crutches, which should mean he is progressing fairly well.
More on Lincourt's return and everything else going on later.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Gajewski Traded to Eagles
A goalie decision has been made, as Kyle Gajewski was traded to the Colorado Eagles for future considerations earlier today.
This leaves the Bucks with two rookie netminders, Kevin Desfosses and Pier-Olivier Pelletier on their roster.
Here's the press release:
Bucks Trade Gajewski To Eagles
LAREDO, TX- The Laredo Bucks of the Central Hockey League announced Wednesday that they have traded goaltender Kyle Gajewski to the Colorado Eagles in exchange for future considerations.
The 22-year-old Gajewski (pronounced gah-JOO-ski) appeared in 13 games for the Bucks this season posting a 5-5-2 record with a 3.96 G.A.A and a .883 sv. %. Gajewski picked up the Bucks only shutout win of the season on December 17th when he set aside all 33 shots he faced in Laredo’s 2-0 win at Corpus Christi.
Gajewski, a native of London, Ontario, stopped 30 or more shots in seven of his 13 appearances this season while giving up five or more goals five times this season.
Gajewski was an OHL All-Star in 2007-08 with Sault-Ste Marie, where he set career highs in wins (39), and goals against average (2.44), while going 39-16-4.
Last season the 22-year-old Gajewski (pronounce GA-JU-ski) split time between three teams in his rookie year in the ECHL, playing with Cincinnati, Johnstown, and Florida.
Gajewski, 5’10, 155 pounds, went a combined 12-11-2 in 29 games last season. He spent the majority of the campaign with Cincinnati, playing in 21 games with a 7-10-1 record, to go along with a 3.82 G.A.A, and a .874 sv. %. Gajewski went 1-1 with Johnstown (3.40 G.A.A, .917 sv. %), and 4-0 with Florida (2.67 G.A.A, .905 sv. %).
The London, Ontario native had a stellar four-year junior career with Sault-Ste Marie, where went a combined 114-71-31 with 12 shutouts, three in each of his four seasons.
This leaves the Bucks with two rookie netminders, Kevin Desfosses and Pier-Olivier Pelletier on their roster.
Here's the press release:
Bucks Trade Gajewski To Eagles
LAREDO, TX- The Laredo Bucks of the Central Hockey League announced Wednesday that they have traded goaltender Kyle Gajewski to the Colorado Eagles in exchange for future considerations.
The 22-year-old Gajewski (pronounced gah-JOO-ski) appeared in 13 games for the Bucks this season posting a 5-5-2 record with a 3.96 G.A.A and a .883 sv. %. Gajewski picked up the Bucks only shutout win of the season on December 17th when he set aside all 33 shots he faced in Laredo’s 2-0 win at Corpus Christi.
Gajewski, a native of London, Ontario, stopped 30 or more shots in seven of his 13 appearances this season while giving up five or more goals five times this season.
Gajewski was an OHL All-Star in 2007-08 with Sault-Ste Marie, where he set career highs in wins (39), and goals against average (2.44), while going 39-16-4.
Last season the 22-year-old Gajewski (pronounce GA-JU-ski) split time between three teams in his rookie year in the ECHL, playing with Cincinnati, Johnstown, and Florida.
Gajewski, 5’10, 155 pounds, went a combined 12-11-2 in 29 games last season. He spent the majority of the campaign with Cincinnati, playing in 21 games with a 7-10-1 record, to go along with a 3.82 G.A.A, and a .874 sv. %. Gajewski went 1-1 with Johnstown (3.40 G.A.A, .917 sv. %), and 4-0 with Florida (2.67 G.A.A, .905 sv. %).
The London, Ontario native had a stellar four-year junior career with Sault-Ste Marie, where went a combined 114-71-31 with 12 shutouts, three in each of his four seasons.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Desfosses Sticking Around
Sorry so late posting this, it's been a rough day, but the Bucks have signed goaltender Kevin Desfosses, who was on a five-game tryout, to a contract for the rest of the season.
Desfosses has been quite impressive in all four of his starts for the Bucks so far, which have turned into a 38-save performance in 6-2 win over the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees; a 31-save performance in a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to his former team, the Corpus Christi IceRays; a 42-save performance in a 4-2 win over the Colorado Eagles; and a 36-save performance in a 5-3 win over the Rapid City Rush.
He is 3-1-0 with a goals-against average of 2.00 and a save percentage of .948 in his time with the Bucks and will likely be looked at as the top goalie on the team's roster regardless of who else is still around at the end of the week.
His companion in goal will, of course, be either Kyle Gajewski, the only netminder to survive Bucks' training camp, or Pier-Olivier Pelletier, a rookie who has only played four games for the Bucks in the month since he was signed.
Gajewski, the lone goalie on the roster with pro experience prior to this year, is 5-5-2 with one shutout, a GAA of 3.96 and a .883 save percentage.
He has not played since suffering a head injury in a 6-5 shootout win over the Eagles on Jan. 8, but he did get back on the ice today for practice, his first since that game.
Trainer Bobby Moore was set to check up on Gajewski after practice and help Coach Ruskowski decide if he should be back out there tomorrow.
Today's practice was a good one for him to participate in considering his condition, because it lasted only 45 minutes and was not very intensive at all.
Tomorrow is expected to be a bit of a different story, though Ruskowski does still have some injury concerns with his skaters and might not be able to do everything he wants to do to its full extent.
Meanwhile, Pelletier is 0-3-1 in his time with the Bucks, having been at the bad end of some tough-luck losses. He has a GAA of 4.20, worse than Gajewski's, but his save percentage is a tiny bit better at .890.
Ruskowski maintains that he is confident in both of his options, so they might really be fighting for a roster spot at practice this week, unless he keeps Gajewski out of things a bit longer to test Pelletier some more.
Since I'm on the topic of goalies, I just realized I forgot to share the Springfield Falcons' box score from the other night, which finally saw Jean-Philippe Levasseur face a low number of shots, as he made only 15 saves and still got a 2-1 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack.
But anyway, in another, unrelated and not unexpected roster move, the Bucks placed forward Brent Cullaton on team suspension.
He took a break from his coaching gig with the Boulder Jr. Bison to help the team out last week and really came through, helping them to a 2-1 record against the league's top teams with two goals and an assist.
He played on a line with former long-time linemate Jeff Bes and reigning Rookie of the Year and Player of the Week Darryl Smith, who he played with last year without Bes, and they combined for 17 points and a plus/minus of plus-13 in those games.
Cullaton will now resume his coaching duties, but as long as the Bucks make the playoffs, you can expect to see him in Laredo later this year.
I talked to Bes and Ruskowski about Cullaton's contributions, last week and the big weekend to come after practice today, and I'll share those quotes as soon as I can. Because it is a big prep sports night, that might not be until after practice tomorrow, but I'll do my best.
Desfosses has been quite impressive in all four of his starts for the Bucks so far, which have turned into a 38-save performance in 6-2 win over the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees; a 31-save performance in a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to his former team, the Corpus Christi IceRays; a 42-save performance in a 4-2 win over the Colorado Eagles; and a 36-save performance in a 5-3 win over the Rapid City Rush.
He is 3-1-0 with a goals-against average of 2.00 and a save percentage of .948 in his time with the Bucks and will likely be looked at as the top goalie on the team's roster regardless of who else is still around at the end of the week.
His companion in goal will, of course, be either Kyle Gajewski, the only netminder to survive Bucks' training camp, or Pier-Olivier Pelletier, a rookie who has only played four games for the Bucks in the month since he was signed.
Gajewski, the lone goalie on the roster with pro experience prior to this year, is 5-5-2 with one shutout, a GAA of 3.96 and a .883 save percentage.
He has not played since suffering a head injury in a 6-5 shootout win over the Eagles on Jan. 8, but he did get back on the ice today for practice, his first since that game.
Trainer Bobby Moore was set to check up on Gajewski after practice and help Coach Ruskowski decide if he should be back out there tomorrow.
Today's practice was a good one for him to participate in considering his condition, because it lasted only 45 minutes and was not very intensive at all.
Tomorrow is expected to be a bit of a different story, though Ruskowski does still have some injury concerns with his skaters and might not be able to do everything he wants to do to its full extent.
Meanwhile, Pelletier is 0-3-1 in his time with the Bucks, having been at the bad end of some tough-luck losses. He has a GAA of 4.20, worse than Gajewski's, but his save percentage is a tiny bit better at .890.
Ruskowski maintains that he is confident in both of his options, so they might really be fighting for a roster spot at practice this week, unless he keeps Gajewski out of things a bit longer to test Pelletier some more.
Since I'm on the topic of goalies, I just realized I forgot to share the Springfield Falcons' box score from the other night, which finally saw Jean-Philippe Levasseur face a low number of shots, as he made only 15 saves and still got a 2-1 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack.
But anyway, in another, unrelated and not unexpected roster move, the Bucks placed forward Brent Cullaton on team suspension.
He took a break from his coaching gig with the Boulder Jr. Bison to help the team out last week and really came through, helping them to a 2-1 record against the league's top teams with two goals and an assist.
He played on a line with former long-time linemate Jeff Bes and reigning Rookie of the Year and Player of the Week Darryl Smith, who he played with last year without Bes, and they combined for 17 points and a plus/minus of plus-13 in those games.
Cullaton will now resume his coaching duties, but as long as the Bucks make the playoffs, you can expect to see him in Laredo later this year.
I talked to Bes and Ruskowski about Cullaton's contributions, last week and the big weekend to come after practice today, and I'll share those quotes as soon as I can. Because it is a big prep sports night, that might not be until after practice tomorrow, but I'll do my best.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Smith Named Player of the Week
I'm sure some of you saw this coming because I definitely did, but Darryl Smith has been named the Central Hockey League Player of the Week for games played Jan. 18-24.
Smith had six goals and two assists for eight points in three crucial games for the Bucks, two of which were wins against the top two teams in the Northern Conference.
You can read a bit more about that in the Bucks' press release.
There was no practice this morning, but I was able to talk to Smith on the phone briefly, and he seems to think he's getting back to the way he was able to play in his phenomenal rookie campaign last year.
He also believes that those big wins last week will be a big confidence boost for the team, which is something they need considering the way things have been going this season and the fact that they play two teams who are never easy for them to beat this weekend.
There will be a story about Smith's honor, including quotes from him and Coach Ruskowski, in tomorrow's Times, and I'll be back to post more after practice tomorrow.
Smith had six goals and two assists for eight points in three crucial games for the Bucks, two of which were wins against the top two teams in the Northern Conference.
You can read a bit more about that in the Bucks' press release.
There was no practice this morning, but I was able to talk to Smith on the phone briefly, and he seems to think he's getting back to the way he was able to play in his phenomenal rookie campaign last year.
He also believes that those big wins last week will be a big confidence boost for the team, which is something they need considering the way things have been going this season and the fact that they play two teams who are never easy for them to beat this weekend.
There will be a story about Smith's honor, including quotes from him and Coach Ruskowski, in tomorrow's Times, and I'll be back to post more after practice tomorrow.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Game No. 37 - Bucks 5, Rush 3
Sorry for the lack of posts today, but the Bucks were able to pull off a big rally in the third period tonight to beat the Rapid City Rush, still the top team in the Northern Conference.
You can read about the game in Bryan Benway's press release or check out the box score for more.
You can read about the game in Bryan Benway's press release or check out the box score for more.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Game No. 37 - Bucks at Eagles
Sorry for the lack of game day post... busy times at the office. Bryan Benway's preview can provide you some background on this matchup between the Bucks (17-12-7, 41 points) and the Colorado Eagles (23-8-3, 49 points).
You can follow the game on Pointstreak, watch on CHL-TV or listen on Imagen 94.1 for more consistent updates than I will probably be able to provide.
First Period: Couple fights to get things started with Robin Richards taking on former Buck Alex Penner at 4:24 and Jay Holladay and Fraser Filipic following that one up with a fight of their own at 4:26. ... Curtis Billsten has the Bucks on the board with a goal set up by Eric Giosa at 7:53. ... Darryl Smith headed to the box at 8:11 for hooking to put the Eagles on the game's first power play. ... Eagles get another advantage with Billsten called for tripping at 13:00. ... That one came back to bite the Bucks, as Steve Haddon has tied the game with a goal assisted by Brett Lutes and Aaron Schneekloth at 13:40. Eagles outshooting the Bucks 11-6. ... Pier-Olivier Pelletier is in net for the Bucks, by the way. ... Not sure if Jean-Philippe Levasseur should even be on anyone's mind anymore at this point, but he's stopped 30 of 32 shots faced so far to keep the Springfield Falcons in a game you can follow here. ... Bucks got their first power play when Kevin Ulanski went off for hooking at 15:33 but didn't score, then Mike Looby and Lutes took incidental interference and hooking penalties at 19:38 to make it 4-on-4 to close out the period. Todd Griffith and Jason Beatty closed the period out with a fight after the final whistle. This seems to be a pretty physical game so far. ... End of the period, game tied 1-1, Eagles up 12-7 on shots. ... My blog jinx has struck again, as the Falcons lost 3-2 with Levasseur making 33 saves on 36 shots faced.
Second Period: Sorry, but no way I can keep up with these penalties, as the game has turned into quite an all-out brawl. What I can tell you is that Aaron Schneekloth has scored twice, once at even-strength at 5:26 and once on the power play at 19:28, to give the Eagles a 3-1 lead. Then Jeff Bes scored, on assists from Paul Elliott and Jarred Mohr, to make cut that to one. End of the period, Eagles lead 3-2, Eagles up 26-16 on shots.
Third Period: Smith scored twice for the Bucks in the final period, once to tie the game 3-3 at 8:44, but Schneekloth was able to net a hat trick, Ed McGrane had a goal and Ryan Tobler added an empty-netter to give the Eagles the advantage.
Game Over: Bucks lose 6-4, fall to 17-13-7 (41 points). You can read more about the game in Bryan Benway's press release. They'll face the Rapid City Rush in their first-ever game in South Dakota tomorrow night.
You can follow the game on Pointstreak, watch on CHL-TV or listen on Imagen 94.1 for more consistent updates than I will probably be able to provide.
First Period: Couple fights to get things started with Robin Richards taking on former Buck Alex Penner at 4:24 and Jay Holladay and Fraser Filipic following that one up with a fight of their own at 4:26. ... Curtis Billsten has the Bucks on the board with a goal set up by Eric Giosa at 7:53. ... Darryl Smith headed to the box at 8:11 for hooking to put the Eagles on the game's first power play. ... Eagles get another advantage with Billsten called for tripping at 13:00. ... That one came back to bite the Bucks, as Steve Haddon has tied the game with a goal assisted by Brett Lutes and Aaron Schneekloth at 13:40. Eagles outshooting the Bucks 11-6. ... Pier-Olivier Pelletier is in net for the Bucks, by the way. ... Not sure if Jean-Philippe Levasseur should even be on anyone's mind anymore at this point, but he's stopped 30 of 32 shots faced so far to keep the Springfield Falcons in a game you can follow here. ... Bucks got their first power play when Kevin Ulanski went off for hooking at 15:33 but didn't score, then Mike Looby and Lutes took incidental interference and hooking penalties at 19:38 to make it 4-on-4 to close out the period. Todd Griffith and Jason Beatty closed the period out with a fight after the final whistle. This seems to be a pretty physical game so far. ... End of the period, game tied 1-1, Eagles up 12-7 on shots. ... My blog jinx has struck again, as the Falcons lost 3-2 with Levasseur making 33 saves on 36 shots faced.
Second Period: Sorry, but no way I can keep up with these penalties, as the game has turned into quite an all-out brawl. What I can tell you is that Aaron Schneekloth has scored twice, once at even-strength at 5:26 and once on the power play at 19:28, to give the Eagles a 3-1 lead. Then Jeff Bes scored, on assists from Paul Elliott and Jarred Mohr, to make cut that to one. End of the period, Eagles lead 3-2, Eagles up 26-16 on shots.
Third Period: Smith scored twice for the Bucks in the final period, once to tie the game 3-3 at 8:44, but Schneekloth was able to net a hat trick, Ed McGrane had a goal and Ryan Tobler added an empty-netter to give the Eagles the advantage.
Game Over: Bucks lose 6-4, fall to 17-13-7 (41 points). You can read more about the game in Bryan Benway's press release. They'll face the Rapid City Rush in their first-ever game in South Dakota tomorrow night.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Game No. 36 - Bucks at Eagles
First Period: Kevin Desfosses and Mike Mole are your starting goaltenders. ... Bucks on the board early as Darryl Smith scored at 2:53 on assists from Jeff Bes and Mike Looby. That's their first even-strength goal against the Eagles since Dec. 26, 2008. ... Anyone else getting a really choppy audio feed? ... Bucks get the first power play of the game with Ed McGrane going to the box for hooking at 9:22. ... Fresh off that kill, the Eagles will get a power play with Jarred Mohr taking a slashing call at 11:38. ... Ryan Tobler to the box for hooking at 14:37 to give the Bucks their second power play. ... And now Smith has his second of the night, scoring on the power play at 14:49. Adam Rivet gets what is currently the lone assist. Bucks lead 2-0. ... Igor Agarunov has been called for hooking at 16:27 to put the Eagles back on the advantage. ... Brent Cullaton already on the board for the Bucks with a goal at 18:45 in the period assisted by Todd Griffith and Bes. ... End of the period, Bucks lead 3-0, down 14-11 on shots. Let's see if they can hold this lead a bit better than last time they played the Eagles.
Second Period: Paul Elliott went to the box for interference at 3:24, but the Bucks killed that off, and not much else has happened that I can tell. Had to give up on the audio feed because I could barely hear words among all the other sounds I was getting. ... Couple penalties exchanged just past the midway point, with Ryan McLeod going off for hooking at 11:59 and Mike Looby heading to the box for hooking at 13:48. ... In a bit of a surprise to me, personally, Rivet has taken an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and abuse of officials misconduct 1t 18:52. No other penalties were called on anyone. I wasn't listening to that, but I might try to get the audio feed back to see if Bryan Benway explains what happened with Rivet.
Third Period: Desfosses has taken a delay of game penalty at 6:18 to give the Eagles their first power play of the period. ... Former Buck Alex Penner headed to the box now for interference for cheap shotting Mohr at 8:05. Bucks will be on a power play as soon as Griffith, who was serving the penalty for Desfosses, hits the ice. ... McLeod just knocked in a rebound, according to Benway on a lucky bounce off his body, to get the Eagles on the board at 14:23. First goal Desfosses allowed tonight, on what I believe was the Eagles' 37th shot. Steve Haddon and Adam Hogg get the assists. ... Right after the game came close to being 3-2, it is, as Riley Nelson knocked in a power-play goal assisted by Brett Lutes at 17:33. Agarunov went to the box for hooking at 15:59. ... Agarunov got them that one back with his first goal since the home opener on Oct. 24 at 18:32. Curtis Billsten and Eric Giosa get the assists.
Game Over: Bucks win 4-2, improve to 17-12-7 (41 points). If you consider the fact that the Bucks wanted a strong goalie performance, scoring from forwards who were playing below their standards, good special teams and, of course, a win, tonight, I'd say things went about as well as they could have hoped. Only their second win ever at the Budweiser Events Center, and they'll go for a third on Friday. ... Desfosses finished with 44 saves on 46 shots as the Bucks were outshot 46-29, including 18-9 in the final period. ... The Bucks were 1-for-4 on the power play while holding the Eagles to 1-for-7.
Game Day No. 36
Sorry so late getting to this post, but the Bucks (16-12-7, 39 points) are just a few minutes away from the first of two straight games against the Colorado Eagles (23-7-3, 49 points).
You can read about the matchup in my preview, Bryan Benway's preview and the Pointstreak pre-game notes.
Tonight will feature the return debut of Brent Cullaton, who was signed earlier today.
Now, for some quotes...
Coach Ruskowski
On Justin Styffe: He’s getting an operation done this week. They’re going to put a screw into his leg, he broke his leg, so I’m expecting him out for 6-8 at weeks, at least, maybe longer.
On Neil Trimm: Trimm will play on Wednesday. He hasn’t had a whole lot of skating, so I’ll watch how I play him. But he’s going to be a body on the ice, and that’s exactly what we need right now.
On goaltending: We’re going to have to make a decision off this road trip about what I’m going to do with my goaltending situation. This week will tell me exactly who I should keep and who I should let go, so we’ll wait and see and see what happens after that. I think after this weekend he (Kyle Gajewski) will be healthy enough to play.
On Kevin Desfosses: If he keeps on playing the way he played the last two games, it’s pretty obvious what I have to do with that situation. He’s been very, very good, stellar in net. I like what I’ve seen from him.
On Cody Hamilton: He’s going to be up in the United Hockey League. I put him on waivers. I talked to his agent, and he asked me if I could put him on the waivers so he could play in the United Hockey League, I think in Dayton or something, I’m not sure.
I knew that he wanted to play somewhere else. I knew that. It’s just that I don’t think players should dictate where they want to go, so I wanted to wait a little bit longer to find out if I could trade him or what I could do with him.
On this week's games: They’re a very solid team, they’re a very good team in every aspect of the game, and they’re going to be really, really tough games for us up there. And going to Rapid City, apparently, I was talking to some guys at the All-Star Game, and they were saying Rapid City’s a very tough place to play in. We just have to play consistent hockey – not great hockey – but consistent hockey and just do the good fundamentals that we’re taught in practice and do the systems and play within ourselves and not of ourselves and make the game simple and effective. Sometimes we’re too eager to do things, and we’re out of position, and that causes us to scramble. You don’t want to scramble, you want to be in good position to make sure we’re always open to scoring but also in the defensive zone open to stopping them from scoring.
On practice: We will practice tomorrow a little bit, then we play, then practice Thursday, then play, then go up to Rapid City and play up there. Unfortunately, like I said before, we’re in a situation where I have to even watch how I practice because of the injury situation. There are things I need to practice but I can’t because I’m scared something will happen injury-wise. I have to pull away from that, just do different drills to keep the guys fresh, keep them as sharp as possible. But there’s things like defensive coverage that we really need to improve on and I’m scared to do that because I’m scared that we’re going to get more injuries, and it takes away from what I’m trying to teach them.
On scoring needs: They certainly have to (step up). I thought we did it in Rio Grande pretty well, but then coming back here we didn’t do a very good job against Corpus. They’re going to have to. If we’re going to win, they’re going to have to step up. Styffe wasn’t the type of guy who would do a lot of scoring, but brought other elements to the game that we really needed – the physical play, the never-quit attitude, and he’d stand up for himself and his teammates if it came down to having to do any scrapping or any sticking up for. Him and Richards were the first guys to stand in line and say, ‘Here I am.’ So we’ll miss that part, too.
On getting points this week: It would be huge. I would be so happy if we can do that. We’re playing against the two top teams in the league, and going up there, into their building, it’s going to be a tough fight. But to get some points out of there coming home, I’d be very happy with that situation, very happy. Then we go from there and see if we can get some more players to come play, and I’m hoping by that time Lincourt will be ready to start practicing, too. Then we can go back and start practicing what we need to practice and not worry about guys getting hurt again.
On special teams: Penalty killing and power play are going to be huge. If you’re struggling to score goals 5-on-5, the only way you can score is on the power play, and that’s what we have to really key on. When we get down and dirty and shoot the puck from the point and get guys to the net, we seem to have chances to score. When we don’t do that is when we’re struggling, so we’re going to keep it simple, shoot the puck from the point as much as we can, get the guys in front of the net and screen and get some deflections that way. Hopefully that will be good enough to get a couple points from this road trip.
Adam Rivet
On what went wrong Saturday: I don’t think a whole heck of a lot, to be honest with you. You can make excuses or whatever with the injuries and whatnot, but I think sometimes when you keep losing a guy every game, it kind of puts a little bit of a damper on the morale. But I think guys are still battling. Sometimes we play smarter than we should be, but I think guys are still working, trying to find a way. For some reason, that goalie’s had our number the last four, five games we’ve played him. He’s a good goalie, and he has played well against us. Kevin played really well for us and made some big saves; it just came up at the end of the game that we just couldn’t find a way to put the puck in the back of the net.
On special teams: It’s always important. Especially at this level, special teams are definitely a key component of going far in the playoffs. Power play chances are something that we have to capitalize on. If we have to sit back and relax and talk it over, work through the bumps and bruises of our power play and penalty kill, that’s what we have to do. I think we’ve been pretty successful on both power play and penalty kill, but we just have to keep working and keep our heads up and things will start falling.
On getting, and holding, leads: It’s always important, especially for us, to get the lead. I think our stats show that when we get the lead, our success rate is a lot higher. They always play well up there, and they’re just a good team. They have a lot of veteran players who have been around for a while, and when they were down here, we knew we weren’t going to keep them to one or two goals. We knew their capability of scoring multiple goals quickly was there. We found a way to win that game, but when we go up there, we definitely have to be stingier on defense and goaltending again comes up with big saves when we need them as well as offense being there on the power play and just 5-on-5.
On getting points this week: Obviously, we’d like to come back with six points, but whenever you go on a road trip of any kind of time, if you can come back .500, as much as you’re disappointed you let three go, you’re still happy coming away with three. I think we’re going to go up there with the objective to win all three, take it one game at a time and come back here with six points, but I think worst-case scenario we want to look at is coming back here with a .500 record.
Jeff Bes
On what went wrong Saturday: Obviously, we didn’t score a goal. We just didn’t stick to the game plan. Something we’ve been harping on and stressing all year long is that if we do the game plan, we’re going to get our chances and we’re going to score and have a good opportunity to win. It’s when we try to do too much, try to do things that are not within our realm, that we get in trouble, and that’s what was happening. Their goalie played well, give him a little bit of credit, but we didn’t play solid defensively, and all our offensive chances come from good, solid defense.
On sticking to the game plan against Colorado: That’s very important. We played them here, and it was obviously a lot of power play goals. Our power play was clicking very well. They’re one of the best teams, if not the best team, in the league, so we have to stick to the game plan, but we also have to execute the game plan to give ourselves a chance to win. It’s so integral and so important for us to do that to be successful. We can’t keep getting ourselves behind the eight ball and doing things that we shouldn’t be doing. Everybody’s bought into the program, now we just have to do it. That’s where we’re at right now. It’s just a matter of getting focused and doing what we need to do to win.
On special teams: Special teams win you championships, and they’re something you really have to be focused on. First and foremost, we have to limit the penalties that we do take. It gets guys out of rhythm. You’re not rolling your lines, doing a sustained offense and a good forecheck. You’ve got guys killing penalties and guys sitting on the bench. You have guys who are wearing themselves out killing penalties and guys who are sitting on the bench getting cold, so we have to limit the penalties. Obviously, you’re going to take one here and there, but we have to limit our penalties. For the power play, we really have to be focused on what we’re doing. We have to get it back to the point, we have to get shots from the point to open it up to where we can work our plays. That’s something we didn’t do last game and we really need to work on and focus on.
On the road trip: It’s a huge road trip, especially starting the second half of the season. We’re looking at it one game at a time. We believe that we can go out there and win all three games, and that’s what we have to do. But it starts with the first game. We have to set the tone, we have to be prepared, we have to keep our emotions in check, we have to have a little more discipline than we’ve had and just make sure that everybody’s prepared to go.
Those of you who didn't opt to attend tonight's watch party can follow the game on Pointstreak, watch on CHL-TV or listen on Imagen 94.1 FM.
You can read about the matchup in my preview, Bryan Benway's preview and the Pointstreak pre-game notes.
Tonight will feature the return debut of Brent Cullaton, who was signed earlier today.
Now, for some quotes...
Coach Ruskowski
On Justin Styffe: He’s getting an operation done this week. They’re going to put a screw into his leg, he broke his leg, so I’m expecting him out for 6-8 at weeks, at least, maybe longer.
On Neil Trimm: Trimm will play on Wednesday. He hasn’t had a whole lot of skating, so I’ll watch how I play him. But he’s going to be a body on the ice, and that’s exactly what we need right now.
On goaltending: We’re going to have to make a decision off this road trip about what I’m going to do with my goaltending situation. This week will tell me exactly who I should keep and who I should let go, so we’ll wait and see and see what happens after that. I think after this weekend he (Kyle Gajewski) will be healthy enough to play.
On Kevin Desfosses: If he keeps on playing the way he played the last two games, it’s pretty obvious what I have to do with that situation. He’s been very, very good, stellar in net. I like what I’ve seen from him.
On Cody Hamilton: He’s going to be up in the United Hockey League. I put him on waivers. I talked to his agent, and he asked me if I could put him on the waivers so he could play in the United Hockey League, I think in Dayton or something, I’m not sure.
I knew that he wanted to play somewhere else. I knew that. It’s just that I don’t think players should dictate where they want to go, so I wanted to wait a little bit longer to find out if I could trade him or what I could do with him.
On this week's games: They’re a very solid team, they’re a very good team in every aspect of the game, and they’re going to be really, really tough games for us up there. And going to Rapid City, apparently, I was talking to some guys at the All-Star Game, and they were saying Rapid City’s a very tough place to play in. We just have to play consistent hockey – not great hockey – but consistent hockey and just do the good fundamentals that we’re taught in practice and do the systems and play within ourselves and not of ourselves and make the game simple and effective. Sometimes we’re too eager to do things, and we’re out of position, and that causes us to scramble. You don’t want to scramble, you want to be in good position to make sure we’re always open to scoring but also in the defensive zone open to stopping them from scoring.
On practice: We will practice tomorrow a little bit, then we play, then practice Thursday, then play, then go up to Rapid City and play up there. Unfortunately, like I said before, we’re in a situation where I have to even watch how I practice because of the injury situation. There are things I need to practice but I can’t because I’m scared something will happen injury-wise. I have to pull away from that, just do different drills to keep the guys fresh, keep them as sharp as possible. But there’s things like defensive coverage that we really need to improve on and I’m scared to do that because I’m scared that we’re going to get more injuries, and it takes away from what I’m trying to teach them.
On scoring needs: They certainly have to (step up). I thought we did it in Rio Grande pretty well, but then coming back here we didn’t do a very good job against Corpus. They’re going to have to. If we’re going to win, they’re going to have to step up. Styffe wasn’t the type of guy who would do a lot of scoring, but brought other elements to the game that we really needed – the physical play, the never-quit attitude, and he’d stand up for himself and his teammates if it came down to having to do any scrapping or any sticking up for. Him and Richards were the first guys to stand in line and say, ‘Here I am.’ So we’ll miss that part, too.
On getting points this week: It would be huge. I would be so happy if we can do that. We’re playing against the two top teams in the league, and going up there, into their building, it’s going to be a tough fight. But to get some points out of there coming home, I’d be very happy with that situation, very happy. Then we go from there and see if we can get some more players to come play, and I’m hoping by that time Lincourt will be ready to start practicing, too. Then we can go back and start practicing what we need to practice and not worry about guys getting hurt again.
On special teams: Penalty killing and power play are going to be huge. If you’re struggling to score goals 5-on-5, the only way you can score is on the power play, and that’s what we have to really key on. When we get down and dirty and shoot the puck from the point and get guys to the net, we seem to have chances to score. When we don’t do that is when we’re struggling, so we’re going to keep it simple, shoot the puck from the point as much as we can, get the guys in front of the net and screen and get some deflections that way. Hopefully that will be good enough to get a couple points from this road trip.
Adam Rivet
On what went wrong Saturday: I don’t think a whole heck of a lot, to be honest with you. You can make excuses or whatever with the injuries and whatnot, but I think sometimes when you keep losing a guy every game, it kind of puts a little bit of a damper on the morale. But I think guys are still battling. Sometimes we play smarter than we should be, but I think guys are still working, trying to find a way. For some reason, that goalie’s had our number the last four, five games we’ve played him. He’s a good goalie, and he has played well against us. Kevin played really well for us and made some big saves; it just came up at the end of the game that we just couldn’t find a way to put the puck in the back of the net.
On special teams: It’s always important. Especially at this level, special teams are definitely a key component of going far in the playoffs. Power play chances are something that we have to capitalize on. If we have to sit back and relax and talk it over, work through the bumps and bruises of our power play and penalty kill, that’s what we have to do. I think we’ve been pretty successful on both power play and penalty kill, but we just have to keep working and keep our heads up and things will start falling.
On getting, and holding, leads: It’s always important, especially for us, to get the lead. I think our stats show that when we get the lead, our success rate is a lot higher. They always play well up there, and they’re just a good team. They have a lot of veteran players who have been around for a while, and when they were down here, we knew we weren’t going to keep them to one or two goals. We knew their capability of scoring multiple goals quickly was there. We found a way to win that game, but when we go up there, we definitely have to be stingier on defense and goaltending again comes up with big saves when we need them as well as offense being there on the power play and just 5-on-5.
On getting points this week: Obviously, we’d like to come back with six points, but whenever you go on a road trip of any kind of time, if you can come back .500, as much as you’re disappointed you let three go, you’re still happy coming away with three. I think we’re going to go up there with the objective to win all three, take it one game at a time and come back here with six points, but I think worst-case scenario we want to look at is coming back here with a .500 record.
Jeff Bes
On what went wrong Saturday: Obviously, we didn’t score a goal. We just didn’t stick to the game plan. Something we’ve been harping on and stressing all year long is that if we do the game plan, we’re going to get our chances and we’re going to score and have a good opportunity to win. It’s when we try to do too much, try to do things that are not within our realm, that we get in trouble, and that’s what was happening. Their goalie played well, give him a little bit of credit, but we didn’t play solid defensively, and all our offensive chances come from good, solid defense.
On sticking to the game plan against Colorado: That’s very important. We played them here, and it was obviously a lot of power play goals. Our power play was clicking very well. They’re one of the best teams, if not the best team, in the league, so we have to stick to the game plan, but we also have to execute the game plan to give ourselves a chance to win. It’s so integral and so important for us to do that to be successful. We can’t keep getting ourselves behind the eight ball and doing things that we shouldn’t be doing. Everybody’s bought into the program, now we just have to do it. That’s where we’re at right now. It’s just a matter of getting focused and doing what we need to do to win.
On special teams: Special teams win you championships, and they’re something you really have to be focused on. First and foremost, we have to limit the penalties that we do take. It gets guys out of rhythm. You’re not rolling your lines, doing a sustained offense and a good forecheck. You’ve got guys killing penalties and guys sitting on the bench. You have guys who are wearing themselves out killing penalties and guys who are sitting on the bench getting cold, so we have to limit the penalties. Obviously, you’re going to take one here and there, but we have to limit our penalties. For the power play, we really have to be focused on what we’re doing. We have to get it back to the point, we have to get shots from the point to open it up to where we can work our plays. That’s something we didn’t do last game and we really need to work on and focus on.
On the road trip: It’s a huge road trip, especially starting the second half of the season. We’re looking at it one game at a time. We believe that we can go out there and win all three games, and that’s what we have to do. But it starts with the first game. We have to set the tone, we have to be prepared, we have to keep our emotions in check, we have to have a little more discipline than we’ve had and just make sure that everybody’s prepared to go.
Those of you who didn't opt to attend tonight's watch party can follow the game on Pointstreak, watch on CHL-TV or listen on Imagen 94.1 FM.
Watch Party Tonight
Just a reminder, there's going to be a watch party for the Bucks' game against the Colorado Eagles tonight at Hal's Landing.
The watch party, which will feature drink specials, giveaways and stuff like that, will start at 7:30, and the game starts at 8:05.
The watch party, which will feature drink specials, giveaways and stuff like that, will start at 7:30, and the game starts at 8:05.
Bucks Bring In Cullaton
The Bucks have signed a former player of theirs on several occasions, forward Brent Cullaton, to play with the team in its three games in Colorado and South Dakota this week.
Cullaton played three seasons with the Bucks before going to Europe then signing with the Rocky Mountain Rage, then returned to Laredo to "finish" his career the second half of last season.
Cullaton retired over the summer to coach the Boulder Jr. Bison, so this gives the Bucks two "retired" players on their roster and ups the number of players on the team who were also here last season to four.
In addition to his former Bucks teammates, which also include a few guys who were not here last year but were before and now are again, Cullaton will be reunited with former Rage defenseman Jarred Mohr.
Cullaton is expected to be in pretty good shape, as his other job requires plenty of skating, and he'll be in the lineup when the Bucks (16-12-7, 39 points) take on the Colorado Eagles (23-7-3, 49 points) tonight.
Here's the text from Bryan Benway's press release:
Cullaton Returns To Bucks
LAREDO, TX- The Laredo Bucks of the Central Hockey League announced Wednesday that they have signed former team captain Brent Cullaton. Cullaton, who retired at the end of last season, is expected to be in the line-up Wendesday when the Bucks travel to face the Colorado Eagles.
Cullaton, who Captained the Bucks to two President’s Cup Championships in 2004 and 2006, returned to play for Laredo in February thanks to a trade with Rocky Mountain. Cullaton will continue to be the Head Coach for the Boulder Jr. Bisons of the Western States Hockey League (WSHL).
“We are shorthanded right now and we need help this week,” said Bucks President/General Manager and Head Coach Terry Ruskowski. “Cully will give us a lift.”
Cullaton, a three-time CHL All-Star, is near the top of the Bucks record books in several categories. Cullaton is sixth in Bucks history in goals (71), assists (122), and points (193) in 130 regular season games.
The 35 year-old Cullaton put up 16 points (5-11=16) in 20 games in his return to Laredo this season. In his first game back in a Bucks uniform on February 5th, Cullaton picked up an assist in the Bucks 7-1 rout of Corpus Christi at the LEC.
Cullaton recorded 802 points (281-521=802) in his 12 professional seasons.
In 2007-08 with the Rage, Cullaton notched a career-high 92 points (21-71=92), and was named a finalist for CHL-MVP.
Cullaton led the Bucks in scoring in the 2004 playoffs, putting up 20 points (4-16=20). Cullaton scored points in five of the seven games in the Finals, including handing out two assists in Laredo’s game-seven win. Cullaton assisted on Dion Hyman’s overtime game-winning goal to clinch the Bucks first Championship.
In the 2006 Playoffs, Cullaton scored at least a point in 15 of the Bucks 16 games, to help lead them to their second President’s Cup Title.
Cullaton played three seasons with the Bucks before going to Europe then signing with the Rocky Mountain Rage, then returned to Laredo to "finish" his career the second half of last season.
Cullaton retired over the summer to coach the Boulder Jr. Bison, so this gives the Bucks two "retired" players on their roster and ups the number of players on the team who were also here last season to four.
In addition to his former Bucks teammates, which also include a few guys who were not here last year but were before and now are again, Cullaton will be reunited with former Rage defenseman Jarred Mohr.
Cullaton is expected to be in pretty good shape, as his other job requires plenty of skating, and he'll be in the lineup when the Bucks (16-12-7, 39 points) take on the Colorado Eagles (23-7-3, 49 points) tonight.
Here's the text from Bryan Benway's press release:
Cullaton Returns To Bucks
LAREDO, TX- The Laredo Bucks of the Central Hockey League announced Wednesday that they have signed former team captain Brent Cullaton. Cullaton, who retired at the end of last season, is expected to be in the line-up Wendesday when the Bucks travel to face the Colorado Eagles.
Cullaton, who Captained the Bucks to two President’s Cup Championships in 2004 and 2006, returned to play for Laredo in February thanks to a trade with Rocky Mountain. Cullaton will continue to be the Head Coach for the Boulder Jr. Bisons of the Western States Hockey League (WSHL).
“We are shorthanded right now and we need help this week,” said Bucks President/General Manager and Head Coach Terry Ruskowski. “Cully will give us a lift.”
Cullaton, a three-time CHL All-Star, is near the top of the Bucks record books in several categories. Cullaton is sixth in Bucks history in goals (71), assists (122), and points (193) in 130 regular season games.
The 35 year-old Cullaton put up 16 points (5-11=16) in 20 games in his return to Laredo this season. In his first game back in a Bucks uniform on February 5th, Cullaton picked up an assist in the Bucks 7-1 rout of Corpus Christi at the LEC.
Cullaton recorded 802 points (281-521=802) in his 12 professional seasons.
In 2007-08 with the Rage, Cullaton notched a career-high 92 points (21-71=92), and was named a finalist for CHL-MVP.
Cullaton led the Bucks in scoring in the 2004 playoffs, putting up 20 points (4-16=20). Cullaton scored points in five of the seven games in the Finals, including handing out two assists in Laredo’s game-seven win. Cullaton assisted on Dion Hyman’s overtime game-winning goal to clinch the Bucks first Championship.
In the 2006 Playoffs, Cullaton scored at least a point in 15 of the Bucks 16 games, to help lead them to their second President’s Cup Title.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Player Addition
Sorry for the lack of posting today, but most of what is covered in Bryan Benway's press release for this road trip was on here yesterday.
As I noted, the Bucks are hoping to sign a player to have on the roster just for the three-game road swing in Colorado and South Dakota.
Here's what Coach Ruskowski said about that on the record:
"I’ll probably sign a guy on the road trip if we coordinate it right and there are no travel issues, we’ll probably get a guy to come in on the road and play for us, at least the three games up there."
So, barring any travel problems, we can expect a player announcement sometime tomorrow morning/afternoon. Check back for that and a mountain of quotes from Ruskowski, Jeff Bes and Adam Rivet about what the team needs to do to get some wins this week and in the future.
As I noted, the Bucks are hoping to sign a player to have on the roster just for the three-game road swing in Colorado and South Dakota.
Here's what Coach Ruskowski said about that on the record:
"I’ll probably sign a guy on the road trip if we coordinate it right and there are no travel issues, we’ll probably get a guy to come in on the road and play for us, at least the three games up there."
So, barring any travel problems, we can expect a player announcement sometime tomorrow morning/afternoon. Check back for that and a mountain of quotes from Ruskowski, Jeff Bes and Adam Rivet about what the team needs to do to get some wins this week and in the future.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Some Notes
The Bucks are in the air on their way to Colorado for a week-long road trip that will pit them against the top two teams in the Northern Conference.
The Bucks (16-12-7, 39 points) will face the Colorado Eagles (23-7-3, 49 points) on Wednesday and Friday, then drive over to South Dakota to play the Rapid City Rush (24-9-1, 49 points) on Saturday.
A few guys are obviously not making the trip out there, as Justin Styffe was placed on the 30-day injured reserve retroactive to Saturday and will have surgery to put a screw in his broken leg this week, Evan Schwabe is recovering from his lower-body injury in the All-Star Game, Maxime Lincourt is still a couple weeks from getting back on the ice and I'm pretty sure I didn't see Kyle Gajewski arriving at the LEC this morning, either.
Neil Trimm, however, will be playing this week after coming off the IR today. Coach Ruskowski said that Trimm hasn't really done much skating lately, but he is healed up and even having his body on the ice is better than nothing.
The Bucks are also looking to bring in some new help on their road trip and may sign a player just to have for those three games; I'll keep you posted on that situation.
Ruskowski said Gajewski should be ready to play again next week and by then he should have a better idea of what he wants to do with his goalie situation, but Kevin Desfosses is obviously making a strong case to stick around so far. He should play at least two of the games this week with three left in his five-game contract.
Some of you may have noticed something of interest other than the IR moves on the Bucks' transactions page today, as defenseman Cody Hamilton has been activated from his team suspension and waived.
Hamilton will be playing in the International Hockey League, and Ruskowski said he's letting him move on with his career but didn't want to allow that to happen right away because he doesn't think a player should just decide to up and leave a team with which he has contractual ties.
Obviously, that happened whether it should have or not, which reminds me that Lance Monych has started playing with his new team, the Heilbronn Falcons in Germany. I know most people said they didn't care where he went, but just thought I'd share that in case anyone does.
I don't know much German, but a quick glance over the team's site brought up a few familiar names in addition to Monych's, including those of former Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees defenseman Nic Dumoulin and one-time Arizona Sundogs forward Cory Urquhart, who you may remember as the man who lit up the 2008 playoffs.
Meanwhile, Jean-Philippe Levasseur picked up another victory for the Springfield Falcons last night, his third straight and third overall, in a 6-3 win over the Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penguins.
This was one of very few games in which his team outshot its opponent, possibly because a few key Baby Pens were up with the NHL club, but Levasseur still had to make 34 saves to get the victory and improve to 3-9-0 (Only shootout losses count as "ties" for AHL goalie records, and Levasseur's non-regulation losses have come in overtime).
Levasseur's goals-against average doesn't look horribly impressive at 3.40, but when you consider the fact that he's faced more than 30 shots in all but two games and his save percentage is nearing the .900 mark at .897, I'd say he's doing pretty well.
His game-by-game stats really show only one poor outing, and we can't really know for sure if that was the fault of Levasseur or the guys playing in front of him.
Devan Dubnyk hasn't been doing so well up in the NHL, but it seems the Edmonton Oilers will need to hold on to him for a while, especially according to this article:
Barring a trade, the loss of Khabibulin leaves Jeff Deslauriers and rookie Devan Dubnyk, who have been splitting the workload since Nov. 16, to tend the crease for the foreseeable future.
With that in mind, it's likely that Andrew Penner will be the first person sent down to the CHL if Dubnyk does return... so it's probably best not to get your hopes too high about Levasseur coming back.
As far as the Bucks' 1-0 loss to the Corpus Christi IceRays on Saturday, it seems the popular consensus is that sloppy play doomed the team more than some possibly questionable calls, but neither was really appreciated by Ruskowski.
Here are some of his quotes from my game story:
"I’m tired of hearing that (we can’t solve the IceRays). We have a problem with them, yes, but it’s because we don’t play well and because we’re shorthanded. This was one of the sloppiest games I’ve seen in a long time. We just didn’t pass well, didn’t execute well, and the only player who really stood out was our goaltender. Other than that, you couldn’t pick another guy that really stood out at all."
On Desfosses:
"I thought he played fantastic. He played great last night, too, so I’m really happy with him. He’s playing very, very well. I like the way he’s doing everything. He prepares himself, and he’s playing very well for me. If it wasn’t for him, the score would have been more lopsided than it was, but then you find out one of your other players probably broke a leg, so why not?"
On the injuries:
"It’s the most unbelievable thing I’ve ever seen. I have more guys in the stands than I do in the ice. It’s gotten to the point that I don’t have any place to put anybody because all our apartments are full (of injured players)."
On the dropoff in scoring from Friday's 6-2 win to Saturday's loss:
"It’s a Jekyll-and-Hyde team. I just can’t explain it. They play well one night, the next night, you can’t find a guy who stood out at all."
And on the officiating:
"You always wish the referees would get better as the season went on, but obviously that’s not the case. It wasn’t just him (Curtis Billsten on the eventual goal-scoring play); there were two other high sticks that went undetected. It just gets so frustrating when you see this happening against you, then a guy doesn’t even get hit in the face, he just pushes his head up, and your guy gets a penalty because the referee was in the wrong position and he just thinks it’s a high stick. Then we get high-sticked, and nothing happens right in front of him. It’s just frustrating to see that kind of effort from people who should be doing a better job."
On the subject of that stick to Billsten's face, here's what Greg Rajan posted on his game blog after talking to Justin Quenneville, whose stick did the hitting:
There were a few Laredo fans up in arms after the goal because Curtis Billsten took a stick to the face and was down at the Laredo blue line as Corpus went down the other way and scored. What happened was Billsten tried to lift Quenneville's stick and instead got hit in the face with it on the follow-through. That's not high-sticking as Quenneville didn't lose control of his stick and wasn't reckless with it. By rule, he has to be in control and responsible for his stick. You can't penalize him for Billsten lifting Quenneville's stick into the former's face. Given the chewing-out Billsten got from Terry Ruskowski upon his return to the bench, it appeared Rosco didn't care much for the Leveille-esque theatrics and Billsten not getting back into the play.
I asked Ruskowski about the fact that the goal was scored when they were a man down due to Billsten staying down at center ice, and Ruskowski said it was "just another one of those things," not calling Billsten out but not blaming the officials for that goal being scored.
By the way, Billsten's face appeared to be perfectly fine when I saw him this morning, so I guess the stick didn't hit him quite as hard as it originally seemed.
The IceRays also had some qualms with some of the officiating, specifically the elbowing penalty called on goaltender Kevin Nastiuk and served by R.G. Flath late in the game. Here's what Rajan posted about that:
Kevin Nastiuk now has a 130-minute, 13-second shutout streak going against Laredo. He had another strong night in net. A lot of the shots the Bucks got came from the outside, but Nastiuk was up to the task when challenged. He was plowed into late in the third and got that roughing minor for punching Darryl Smith. Here are Nastiuk's thoughts on the call:
"I didn't agree with the call. When the guy crashed the net, he drove his elbow into the back of my head. I was just sticking up for myself. If the ref's not going to protect the goalies, then someone has to."
Kind of reminds me Marc-Andre Fleury tackling Robert Nilsson last week because of the way the goalies both spoke about it after the fact. Obviously what Nastiuk did was not nearly as extreme as Fleury's body slam, though, haha.
Anyway, you can read Rajan's story for the Caller-Times for more on Saturday's game, which was a historic one for the Bucks-IceRays rivalry in a few ways, none of which favor the Bucks.
I spoke to Ruskowski, Jeff Bes and Adam Rivet before the team took off this morning, so I'll post some quotes from the three of them while I'm working on my notebook tomorrow. Shouldn't be anything new to report until then.
The Bucks (16-12-7, 39 points) will face the Colorado Eagles (23-7-3, 49 points) on Wednesday and Friday, then drive over to South Dakota to play the Rapid City Rush (24-9-1, 49 points) on Saturday.
A few guys are obviously not making the trip out there, as Justin Styffe was placed on the 30-day injured reserve retroactive to Saturday and will have surgery to put a screw in his broken leg this week, Evan Schwabe is recovering from his lower-body injury in the All-Star Game, Maxime Lincourt is still a couple weeks from getting back on the ice and I'm pretty sure I didn't see Kyle Gajewski arriving at the LEC this morning, either.
Neil Trimm, however, will be playing this week after coming off the IR today. Coach Ruskowski said that Trimm hasn't really done much skating lately, but he is healed up and even having his body on the ice is better than nothing.
The Bucks are also looking to bring in some new help on their road trip and may sign a player just to have for those three games; I'll keep you posted on that situation.
Ruskowski said Gajewski should be ready to play again next week and by then he should have a better idea of what he wants to do with his goalie situation, but Kevin Desfosses is obviously making a strong case to stick around so far. He should play at least two of the games this week with three left in his five-game contract.
Some of you may have noticed something of interest other than the IR moves on the Bucks' transactions page today, as defenseman Cody Hamilton has been activated from his team suspension and waived.
Hamilton will be playing in the International Hockey League, and Ruskowski said he's letting him move on with his career but didn't want to allow that to happen right away because he doesn't think a player should just decide to up and leave a team with which he has contractual ties.
Obviously, that happened whether it should have or not, which reminds me that Lance Monych has started playing with his new team, the Heilbronn Falcons in Germany. I know most people said they didn't care where he went, but just thought I'd share that in case anyone does.
I don't know much German, but a quick glance over the team's site brought up a few familiar names in addition to Monych's, including those of former Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees defenseman Nic Dumoulin and one-time Arizona Sundogs forward Cory Urquhart, who you may remember as the man who lit up the 2008 playoffs.
Meanwhile, Jean-Philippe Levasseur picked up another victory for the Springfield Falcons last night, his third straight and third overall, in a 6-3 win over the Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penguins.
This was one of very few games in which his team outshot its opponent, possibly because a few key Baby Pens were up with the NHL club, but Levasseur still had to make 34 saves to get the victory and improve to 3-9-0 (Only shootout losses count as "ties" for AHL goalie records, and Levasseur's non-regulation losses have come in overtime).
Levasseur's goals-against average doesn't look horribly impressive at 3.40, but when you consider the fact that he's faced more than 30 shots in all but two games and his save percentage is nearing the .900 mark at .897, I'd say he's doing pretty well.
His game-by-game stats really show only one poor outing, and we can't really know for sure if that was the fault of Levasseur or the guys playing in front of him.
Devan Dubnyk hasn't been doing so well up in the NHL, but it seems the Edmonton Oilers will need to hold on to him for a while, especially according to this article:
Barring a trade, the loss of Khabibulin leaves Jeff Deslauriers and rookie Devan Dubnyk, who have been splitting the workload since Nov. 16, to tend the crease for the foreseeable future.
With that in mind, it's likely that Andrew Penner will be the first person sent down to the CHL if Dubnyk does return... so it's probably best not to get your hopes too high about Levasseur coming back.
As far as the Bucks' 1-0 loss to the Corpus Christi IceRays on Saturday, it seems the popular consensus is that sloppy play doomed the team more than some possibly questionable calls, but neither was really appreciated by Ruskowski.
Here are some of his quotes from my game story:
"I’m tired of hearing that (we can’t solve the IceRays). We have a problem with them, yes, but it’s because we don’t play well and because we’re shorthanded. This was one of the sloppiest games I’ve seen in a long time. We just didn’t pass well, didn’t execute well, and the only player who really stood out was our goaltender. Other than that, you couldn’t pick another guy that really stood out at all."
On Desfosses:
"I thought he played fantastic. He played great last night, too, so I’m really happy with him. He’s playing very, very well. I like the way he’s doing everything. He prepares himself, and he’s playing very well for me. If it wasn’t for him, the score would have been more lopsided than it was, but then you find out one of your other players probably broke a leg, so why not?"
On the injuries:
"It’s the most unbelievable thing I’ve ever seen. I have more guys in the stands than I do in the ice. It’s gotten to the point that I don’t have any place to put anybody because all our apartments are full (of injured players)."
On the dropoff in scoring from Friday's 6-2 win to Saturday's loss:
"It’s a Jekyll-and-Hyde team. I just can’t explain it. They play well one night, the next night, you can’t find a guy who stood out at all."
And on the officiating:
"You always wish the referees would get better as the season went on, but obviously that’s not the case. It wasn’t just him (Curtis Billsten on the eventual goal-scoring play); there were two other high sticks that went undetected. It just gets so frustrating when you see this happening against you, then a guy doesn’t even get hit in the face, he just pushes his head up, and your guy gets a penalty because the referee was in the wrong position and he just thinks it’s a high stick. Then we get high-sticked, and nothing happens right in front of him. It’s just frustrating to see that kind of effort from people who should be doing a better job."
On the subject of that stick to Billsten's face, here's what Greg Rajan posted on his game blog after talking to Justin Quenneville, whose stick did the hitting:
There were a few Laredo fans up in arms after the goal because Curtis Billsten took a stick to the face and was down at the Laredo blue line as Corpus went down the other way and scored. What happened was Billsten tried to lift Quenneville's stick and instead got hit in the face with it on the follow-through. That's not high-sticking as Quenneville didn't lose control of his stick and wasn't reckless with it. By rule, he has to be in control and responsible for his stick. You can't penalize him for Billsten lifting Quenneville's stick into the former's face. Given the chewing-out Billsten got from Terry Ruskowski upon his return to the bench, it appeared Rosco didn't care much for the Leveille-esque theatrics and Billsten not getting back into the play.
I asked Ruskowski about the fact that the goal was scored when they were a man down due to Billsten staying down at center ice, and Ruskowski said it was "just another one of those things," not calling Billsten out but not blaming the officials for that goal being scored.
By the way, Billsten's face appeared to be perfectly fine when I saw him this morning, so I guess the stick didn't hit him quite as hard as it originally seemed.
The IceRays also had some qualms with some of the officiating, specifically the elbowing penalty called on goaltender Kevin Nastiuk and served by R.G. Flath late in the game. Here's what Rajan posted about that:
Kevin Nastiuk now has a 130-minute, 13-second shutout streak going against Laredo. He had another strong night in net. A lot of the shots the Bucks got came from the outside, but Nastiuk was up to the task when challenged. He was plowed into late in the third and got that roughing minor for punching Darryl Smith. Here are Nastiuk's thoughts on the call:
"I didn't agree with the call. When the guy crashed the net, he drove his elbow into the back of my head. I was just sticking up for myself. If the ref's not going to protect the goalies, then someone has to."
Kind of reminds me Marc-Andre Fleury tackling Robert Nilsson last week because of the way the goalies both spoke about it after the fact. Obviously what Nastiuk did was not nearly as extreme as Fleury's body slam, though, haha.
Anyway, you can read Rajan's story for the Caller-Times for more on Saturday's game, which was a historic one for the Bucks-IceRays rivalry in a few ways, none of which favor the Bucks.
I spoke to Ruskowski, Jeff Bes and Adam Rivet before the team took off this morning, so I'll post some quotes from the three of them while I'm working on my notebook tomorrow. Shouldn't be anything new to report until then.
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