Hockey in Laredo, Texas

Coach Terry Ruskowski arrived in Laredo well ahead of the first ever hockey game in town. It was October, 2002, when the Laredo Bucks played the Corpus Christi team in the new Laredo Entertainment Center. Other than a few Yankee immigrants, no one in the LEC that night completely understood what was going on. The Canadian players, skated from one end of the arena to the other, with an occasional referee whistle, causing a stop in the action, for some esoteric rule violation. But it was great fun cheering for our home team--like having only one high school in town to root for. There was even an officially condoned fight during the game, with the Buck player throwing the most punches at the Corpus player! (I remember thinking,at the time, that this was not a real fight, only a "staged presentation" so the locals would understand that, yes, fighting during a professional hockey game was cool, if later the cause of penalty minutes in the "box").

That first season, 2002-2003, the Bucks won an unexpected 41 games, and the size and hockey knowledge of the fan audience grew and grew.

With the start of the next season, Laredo fans were ready for their team to go all the way. The Bucks, in 2003-2004, not only won the most games in the entire Central Hockey League, but won the post season championship on a cold rainy night with a capacity 8002 fans, and another 2000 standing outside watching on video screens! The team players were treated like rock stars wherever they ventured in town--seldom having to pay for their meals, etc..
The "3 Amigos" forward line of Captain Chris Grenville, Brent Cullaton, and Jeff Bess were the super stars, and they seemed to be thoroughly enjoying Laredo admiration.

It's 2009, and attendance at the games is down, the players seem less well known, and team success has diminished. Still, every now and then, the capacity crowd returns for another joyous return to the excitement of the early seasons. "Go Bucks Go".