Bucks 2008-09 Season In Review
April 9, 2009 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Laredo Bucks News Release
LAREDO, TX- Although the Laredo Bucks did not accomplish their ultimate goal of winning a third President's Cup Championship, the team had another successful Central Hockey League season in 2008-09.
The Bucks finished the regular season with a 36-23-5 (77 points) mark, and qualified for the playoffs for the seventh straight year. The Bucks fell to Odessa in six games in the Southern Conference Semi-Finals.
*OCTOBER 2008*
On October 5th the CHL and the PHPA agreed to end the players strike, which began September 30th.
The Bucks opened their 2008-09 training camp on October 6th with 26 players vying for 19 roster spots. Laredo would go 1-2 in the pre-season.
Laredo opened the regular season at the LEC on October 17th, with seven players returning from the 2007-08 campaign. This marked the first time in team history that the Bucks played their first regular season game at home. Darryl Smith would pick up a hat trick in his first professional game, as the Bucks pounded Rocky Mountain 7-1 on opening night.
Laredo would win their first-ever meeting with the Rapid City Rush in a 3-2 overtime victory on October 26th. Jason Dixon scored the game-winner 26 seconds into OT.
On October 29th the Bucks made a splash when they signed former NHL Draft Pick Rick Kozak. Kozak, who played two seasons with Mississippi, finished with 44 points (21-23=44) in 43 games for the Bucks.
The Bucks would go 5-2 in October, including picking up three wins against Division Rival Corpus Christi.
*NOVEMBER 2009*
The Bucks would enjoy a five-game winning streak from November 8th to 22nd. Laredo's most impressive win in that stretch was a 4-0 shutout of Bossier-Shreveport on November 15th. Sebastien Centomo stopped all 30 shots he faced, and was rewarded by winning the CHL Goaltender of the Week Award on November 17th.
Laredo made one of the biggest trades of the season when they acquired Veteran Marty Standish from Oklahoma City on November 14th. Standish, who played in 445 career games for the Blazers, decided not to report to Laredo after the deal had been finalized.
The Bucks ended November by sweeping a two-game series in Arizona in a rematch of the 2008 Southern Conference Finals. Laredo beat the Sundogs 5-4, and 5-2, gaining some measure of revenge against the Defending President's Cup Champions.
Laredo finished the month with an 8-2 mark, putting them at 13-5 thru 17 games.
*DECEMBER 2008*
The Bucks would enjoy their longest winning streak of the season in early December, when they won six straight games (11/28-12/10), and 11 of 12 to jump into first place past the Texas Brahmas.
Smith was named CHL Player of the Week on December 8th, as he picked up nine points (5-4=9) in three games. Smith scored the game-winning goal in the Bucks 2-1 shootout win at Texas on December 6th.
On December 17th the Bucks made waves throughout the hockey world when they named Terry Ruskowski the new Team President. Ruskowski took over for John Beckelhymer, who left the team to pursue other business interests.
The team announced that Ruskowski will continue as General Manager and Head Coach, as well as oversee the business operations of the franchise.
Smith's big month continued on December 30th when he was called up to the AHL's Houston Aeros. The Bucks rookie phenom played four games with the Aeros.
Laredo had two players voted as All-Star Starters on December 30. Smith and Sebastien Centomo were chosen as starters for the CHL All-Star team, who would play the Colorado Eagles on January 14th.
The Bucks would close out 2008 with a 8-3 win over Rio Grande Valley on New Year's Eve. Laredo went 8-2-4 in the month of December.
*JANUARY 2009*
Laredo would fall out of first place in the first game of 2009, when they lost at home to Texas 4-1 on January 3rd.
On January 9 the Bucks donated $10,000 to WINGS of Laredo, thanks to 6,500 fans attending the "Pink in the Rink" game at the LEC. WINGS provides treatment for un-insured or under-insured breast cancer patients in Laredo.
Two-Time CHL MVP Jeff Bes would reach a couple of milestones in January, when he scored his 500th CHL point on January 10th, and his 900th career point on January 16th. Both of Bes' milestone points came in Bucks wins over Corpus Christi.
Smith was voted the All-Star Game MVP in the CHL's 8-4 loss to Colorado on January 14th. Smith scored a goal and handed out an assist in the game, with Centomo making 16 saves in net.
Laredo would pick up their biggest comeback win of the season on January 21st, when they came back from a 4-1 deficit to beat Texas in a shootout 5-4 at the LEC. Alex Goupil tied the game with 1:33 left in the third period, and Mike Gooch scored the game winner in the shootout.
The Bucks received devistating news on January 26th when Bes went down with a season ending injury in Laredo's 4-3 loss at Bossier. At the time of his injury Bes led the CHL in scoring with 60 points (14-46=60) in 39 games. Including the playoffs the Bucks went 17-14-1 with out Bes in the lineup.
Laredo finished January with a 5-6-1 record.
*FEBRUARY 2009*
The Bucks made a huge splash around the CHL on February 2nd when they re-acquired former Team Captain Brent Cullaton from the Rocky Mountain Rage. Cullaton Captained the Bucks from 2003-2006, and help lead them to two President's Cup Titles.
In his return to the Bucks on February 5th Cullaton handed out an assist in Laredo's 7-1 romp over Corpus Christi.
Laredo would go 3-2 on their season high five game road trip in the middle of February. Laredo swept New Mexico, lost to Texas, and split a pair of games with Amarillo from February 13th-21st.
The Bucks went 7-5 in February.
*MARCH 2009*
Laredo began March like they ended February, as they suffered through an 0-4-1 stretch from February 28th to March 8th.
The Bucks brought back another familiar face on March 8th, when they re-signed James Hiebert for the rest of the season. Hiebert had not played all season, and put up six (2-4=6) points in the Bucks final eight games.
Laredo would finish the regular season strong, as they won five of their last six regular season games to claim the third seed in the Conference.
Ruskowski would win his 500th career game on March 17 at the LEC, when Adam Rivet's overtime goal led the Bucks to a 4-3 win over Texas. After the game Coach Rosco addressed the fans on the ice, thanking them for their continued support.
Smith would add two more accolades to his resume, when he was named Rookie of the Year and to the All-Rookie team on March 19th. Smith finished with 70 points (36-34=70) to lead all CHL rookies. His 36 goals were second-most in the entire league.
The Bucks would end the regular season on March 21st with a 5-2 win at Odessa, in what would be a playoff preview. The two teams combined for 101 penalty minutes, with Laredo picking up 70 of them.
*2009 PLAYOFFS*
Laredo would fail to reach the Southern Conference Finals for the first time in their seven-year history, as they fell in six games to Odessa.
The Bucks took a 2-0 series lead winning the first two games in Odessa, before falling in four straight (three at home).
The series was an epic one, as five of the six games were decided by one goal (Bucks 1-4), with four of the six contests going to overtime (Bucks 1-3).
Laredo's season would end with a 4-3 overtime loss on April 7th.
The Bucks donated $20,000 to charity on April 1, when 6,527 fans attended the "Pack the House for Charity" playoff game. The Bucks donated $10,000 each to the Sacred Heart Children's Home, and the South Texas Food Bank.
*Bucks 2008-09 Season Notes*
-36-23-5 (77 points) regular season record (most losses in franchise history)
-21-9-2 Home Record (0-3 playoffs)
-15-14-3 Road Record (2-1 playoffs)
-Qualified for playoffs for seventh straight season
-Darryl Smith (Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie Team, All-Star game MVP)
-Terry Ruskowski (500th win on March 17)
-Jeff Bes (season-ending injury Jan. 26th)
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