HIDALGO — Ladislav Kouba and the Wichita Thunder just weren’t a good fit.

In eight games with the Thunder, Kouba managed no points and a -7 plus/minus rating. His quick wrist shot, which has produced two goals for the Killer Bees, was non-existent for the Thunder.

“Coming here’s the best thing that could have happened to me,” he said. “It’s pretty close to home for me.”

Kouba, who spent parts of the last two seasons with the Laredo Bucks, still makes his home there. He said adjusting to Wichita was difficult, and the transition was made harder by the Thunder’s struggles. On Sunday, the Thunder fired coach Mark French after a 4-13 start.

Now with the Bees (8-10-3), his fourth team in two seasons, Kouba feels comfortable playing hockey again. One reason, other than being 2 1/2 hours from Laredo, could be some of his teammates. Goalie David Lemanowicz and forward Nick Warriner spent time with Kouba in Laredo.

“He’s got a great shot,” Warriner said. “With him, you just have to get him to shoot the puck, shoot the puck and shoot the puck. With a shot like that, he’s going to score goals.”

Kouba proved that Friday on his first shot with the Bees. His wrist shot, which he put over Arizona goalie Andrew Gallant’s left shoulder, evened the game at 1.

“I think that’s one of my strengths, my quick release,” Kouba said. “I try to put pretty much everything upstairs.”

Kouba’s shot has impressed Bees coach Paul Fixter, whose team has averaged only 2.7 goals per game and has lacked consistent scoring.

“Ladi certainly showed what he’s capable of doing,” Fixter said. “He’s a big, strong player who has good speed and a hell of a shot. And the goal was a beautiful shot.”

Not so easy

For reasons Lemanowicz can’t figure out, he always seems to face more than a normal amount of shots.

During his last five starts, Lemanowicz has faced 40, 40, 40, 39 and 38 shots. Only once in his 10 starts has Lemanowicz faced less than 30 shots on goal, with that relatively easy night coming Nov. 2 against Corpus Christi.

The number of pucks Lemanowicz has had to stop may explain his 4-5-1 record and 3.27 goals against average despite a solid .915 save percentage.

“I guess that’s the way the hockey gods want it,” Lemanowicz said after making 37 stops Friday night in the Bees’ 4-3 win over Arizona.

One night after making those 37 stops, Lemanowicz stopped 35 of 40 shots in a 5-2 loss at Austin. The defeat was Lemanowicz’s sixth in his last seven starts after starting 3-0 to start the season.

All-Stars?

Six Bees players are listed on the CHL All-Star Game ballot. The forwards are Rob Voltera, Dennis Maxwell and Travis Banga, while the defensemen are T.J. Eason and Jon Hedberg.

Goalie Jeff Van Nynatten, who has started 11 games, is the Bees’ representative in goal. Lemanowicz, meanwhile, has started 10 times.

The 2008 CHL All Star game is scheduled for Jan. 16, 2009, in Broomfield, Col., home of the Rocky Mountain Rage.

So long

The Bees won’t play at home again until Dec. 28 against the Corpus Christi Rayz. Only one of their games, Friday at Amarillo, will be in the state of Texas. On Saturday, the Bees travel to New Mexico, then head for a two-game series the next weekend at Arizona.

Brian Sandalow covers the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956)-683-4436.