Bees flunk tests on Kids' Day

HIDALGO - Midway through the second period of an embarrassing Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees 7-3 loss to the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, the Dodge Arena speakers blared "If you're happy and you know it." On cue, the capacity Kids' Day crowd of 5,600 started clapping its hands and stomping its feet.

But behind the Bees' bench, coach Paul Fixter wore the same look he has for much of this season. His team trailed 5-1, and his expression was one of resigned anger, knowing that RGV was turning in one of its worst performances of the season in one of its biggest games.

After the game, Fixter sounded somewhat relieved that most of the people in attendance were not hockey fans, but students getting rewarded for their performance in school.

"We had been playing good hockey, and to come up with a stinker like that, I probably should apologize to the kids. Hopefully, when they're old enough to buy season tickets, they've forgotten about this nightmarish game," Fixter said. "That was not what they came here to see, that's for sure.

"Thank God they just came here to have fun and scream. I hope they're all able to sleep tonight, hope they don't have nightmares."

The loss, combined with Amarillo's win Tuesday over the Tulsa Oilers, eliminates RGV from the postseason race. Tuesday's defeat means the Bees' maximum point total is now 51 points, with the fifth-place Gorillas also at 51 and Austin one back at 50. Since Austin, which has assured itself of earning more wins than RGV, and Amarillo meet March 20, it is assured that one of the teams will gain enough points to end the Bees' season. 

And looking at the way the Bees (16-35-7) played Tuesday, they don't deserve anything better.

The Mudbugs (41-12-5) scored four goals by the 5:39 mark of the first period, making the last 54 minutes nothing more than a well-organized scrimmage for the CHL's best team, which also clinched the Northeast Division title.

The first two scores in that early stretch came against Bees goalie A.J. Bucchino, who was pulled after allowing those goals in only three shots.

Bucchino admitted "he wasn't in goal mentally" for the start of the game.

"It's hard, after a season like this, to do that to a team," said Bucchino, who returned for the third period after David Lemanowicz stopped 16 of 21 shots. "It kind of deflates them. So, I take responsibility for how they got momentum into the game."

There weren't, however, too many people in the building that seemed to notice.

The kids counted down the final 10 seconds of the game and cheered when the buzzer sounded. If season ticket holders had done that, it would have been a sarcastic show of disapproval. The students, however, probably didn't care that the Bees had been pushed to within one point of elimination.

 "I like playing in front of fans who don't know the difference," Bucchino joked. "Coach Fixter said he was glad that it was kids in the stands that didn't really understand and that they'd probably forget about it when they go to bed tonight. It's embarrassing. I myself was embarrassed personally from my standpoint for how I performed."

ICING: The Bees' bench was one player short Tuesday. Forward/defenseman Dennis Maxwell served the second of a two-game suspension for his actions late in Saturday night's 5-3 win over Austin.

Defenseman Josh Garbutt missed his second consecutive game after leaving the ice Saturday night bleeding from above his left eye. Fixter said Garbutt is day-to-day.

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