Leading
The Herd
The Laredo Bucks are proving to be the top
team in the Central Hockey League by dominating the competition in their
quest for the 2004 President's Cup Championship.
Jonathan
Roybal
MinorLeagueNews.com
02.15.04
– Laredo TX, -- In just their second season of operations, the Laredo
Bucks have quickly established themselves as a force to be reckoned within
the Central Hockey League (CHL).
This is
a golden age for hockey in the Southern Texas town of Laredo, a city on
the Mexican border, which had never before hosted the sport professionally.
There
are many positive things going for the Bucks, on and off the ice, confirmed
by the fact that the team was named 2002-03 CHL Franchise of the Year.
The club
has the benefit of enjoying an affiliation with both the San Antonio Rampage
of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Florida Panthers of the National
Hockey League (NHL).
The Bucks
also play in one of the premier arenas in minor league hockey, the brand
new state-of-the-art Laredo Entertainment Center (LEC).
The 178,000
square foot, $36.5 million facility, seats 8,000 people for hockey and is
constantly filled near capacity, as the team's attendance ranks in
the top tier in all of minor league hockey.
The team's
accomplishments extend way beyond the box office though.
In 2002-03,
the team's first year of existence, Laredo advanced all the way to
the Southern Conference Finals before losing to the Austin Ice Bats in six
games.
This year,
the Bucks are ripping through the league, leaving opponents and league records
in their wake as they continue on their quest for their first CHL President's
Cup Championship.
To say
Laredo has been the top team of the Central Hockey League's 2004 regular
season would be an understatement.
The Bucks
lead the circuit in a plethora of categories, including both wins (40) and
points (85), while already making their reservation for the CHL playoffs
by clinching the Southeast Division title, becoming the fastest team in
league history to clinch a division title.
Laredo
is in prime position to earn home ice throughout the postseason and that
doesn't bode well for the other clubs in the league.
As the
home of the Bucks hockey club, the LEC has proved to be a formidable obstacle
for visiting teams over the past two seasons.
After
posting a Central Hockey League best 26-4-2 home record last year, the squad
has been almost unbeatable in Laredo in 2003-04.
The Bucks
are an amazing 24-1-1 this season at the Laredo Entertainment Center and
are currently riding a CHL record, 18 game home-winning streak.
What is
the secret behind the Bucks phenomenal run?
"We've
been very lucky, very fortunate and very blessed," rationalizes Bucks
Head Coach Terry Ruskowski. "We've been catching teams shorthanded
and catching some teams coming off long road trips, so they're not
as fresh as they should be."
Coach
Ruskowski also recognizes the crowd at the LEC for helping create a true
hometown advantage.
"Oh,
they are great fans. They're very supportive, very enthusiastic about
the team and about hockey." said Ruskowski. "What really amazes
me is that we play a lot of games against Rio Grande, Corpus Christi and
Austin because they're so close. There's times when we play
back to back against the same team on a weekday and we'll still get
5,600-5,700 coming out to watch."
The Bucks
average attendance of 6,214 ranks second among AA hockey franchises, trailing
only the Oklahoma City Blazers of the CHL.
"People
come out to have fun and they are really enjoying themselves at the games,"
stated Ruskowski. "The thing to do and the place to be seen in Laredo
is the LEC."
Although
the veteran coach knows better than to dump heaps of praise on a team while
they're still in the midst of a championship run, the players do eventually
get their share of the credit from Ruskowski.
"This
group of kids has really come together," acknowledges Ruskowski. "This
is basically a new team from last year, we only had about five players held
over from last season. The guys have been working real hard on the systems
we've put in place here. They're really starting to understand
it and it's working out real well."
If you
listen to the coach, he'll tell you that most of his team's
victories this season can be attributed to a simple formula.
"We've
had good goaltending, good defense, and the offense has been there when
we need it," says Ruskowski. "When you have that combination,
it equals success."
Among
the many players who have been mastering this combination is center Jeff
Bes.
Playing
in his 12th professional season, Jeff is enjoying one of his best campaigns
ever and is proving to be a legitimate MVP candidate.
Bes, who
had his CHL season high 24-game point streak ended last week, currently
leads the league in points (99) and assists (67).
"Jeff
is a veteran and sees the ice very well," states Joe Dominey, the
Laredo Bucks Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations. "He uses
his brain as a tool more than his body at this point in his career, and
his brain is as sharp as ever. He's really played well this season."
The Bucks
also have an emerging enforcer in rookie forward Mike Amodeo.
At 6-feet
and 210-pounds, Amodeo doesn't shy away from the rough stuff. He ranks third
in the CHL with 235 penalty minutes and has already suffered a number of
suspensions this year by the league.
"Mike's
a very smart fighter," says Dominey. "He's also extremely
versatile; he can mix it up and throw with both hands. When he goes out
there on the ice, suddenly things open up a little bit more for everyone
else."
For most
of the season the Bucks have featured a dominating first line, featuring
forwards Bes, Brent Cullaton, and Chris Grenville.
The trio
has been dubbed 'The Three Amigos' and along with defenseman
Serge Dube, were all selected to represent Laredo by participating in the
2004 CHL All-Star Game.
Last month,
the team was dealt a blow that will force the team to play with only 'Dos
Amigos' for the foreseeable future.
High scoring
forward Brent Cullaton was recalled to the San Antonio Rampage (AHL) on
January 15 and has since remained there for all but one game.
"Brent
has talked about wanting to come back for the playoffs, but that's
really up to San Antonio," admitted Dominey.
Like all
minor league bench bosses, Coach Ruskowski has learned to deal with the
pressure of trying to field a competitive team, while providing the affiliates
with fresh bodies.
"San Antonio
has had some injuries and have been relying on us more and more for players
to be called up," said Ruskowski. "I hope they can get healthy so we can
get our players back and stay on this roll as long as possible. Winning
is a habit and so is losing; we want to keep that winning habit going as
long as we can."
Ruskowski
knows how important it is for a team to go into the postseason firing on
all cylinders and playing their best hockey.
"First
off, you try to stay healthy as possible, stay fresh as possible, and don't
try to kill them in practice, " believes Ruskowski. "Make sure
they're in good shape and focused all the time."
The coach
is not really concerned with who their opponents might be in the postseason,
as long as the Bucks stick to their style of hockey.
"It
doesn't matter who you play, you got to stay focused on doing the
best you can do, not what the other team can do against you," said
Ruskowski.
Despite
all the regular season achievements and accolades, you get the feeling that
there is only one way the 2004 season will be viewed as truly successful
for this team.
That is,
if the Laredo Bucks are the one team at the end of the year standing at
center ice and hoisting the Ray Miron President's Cup Trophy after
winning the CHL championship.
"Obviously
we're going to lose some games down the road, but if we keep doing
our jobs to the best of our abilities, we'll be successful,"
declared Ruskowski.
