Killer Bees Notebook

HIDALGO - When former Atlanta Thrashers coach Bob Hartley became the first NHL boss fired this season, Rio Grande Valley’s Paul Fixter had a unique perspective.

Fixter last worked under Hartley as an assistant for the 2001 Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche before moving on to coach with the Avs’ AHL affiliate in Hershey, Pa. Fixter questioned the timing of the Oct. 17 dismissal, which came six games into the Thrashers’ season.

“I thought it was awfully early in the season. Not having been around the team I don’t know what direction the team was headed,” Fixter said of Atlanta, a team that was 0-6 when Hartley was fired. “Bob’s a friend and a colleague and you hate to see anybody lose their job, especially someone you’ve been with and won together.”

Fixter also reached out to Hartley, adding he hasn’t been able to speak to his former boss since he lost his job.

“If he wants to come visit, he’s got a place in my house,” Fixter said.

Hartley was fired by the Avs in December of 2002. One month later, he was hired by the Thrashers, a team he guided to its first playoff appearance last season. But the 0-6 start, which included ugly losses to Philadelphia (4-0) and Buffalo (6-0), sent the Thrashers to the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

Seeing his former boss get fired, despite Hartley’s career achievements, caused Fixter to reflect on his profession.

“That’s the business. It’s a results-oriented business,” Fixter said. “I tell the players this all the time. You have to produce. And if you don’t, changes happen. You see it all the time. You accept that is part of the business. It’s the ugly part of the business.”

Another Colorado coach Fixter helped win a Cup, current Los Angeles coach Marc Crawford, also is believed to be in trouble.

Knowing one of his former bosses is unemployed and that another is thought to be on the verge of losing his job because of a 3-6 start, made Fixter think out loud “I hope I’m not next.”

“It’s a reality check,” he said. “We are disposable. It’s not something you like to think about. You feel bad for any coach, but you feel worse when you know them on a pretty good level.”

No more Christi

When the Bees play Friday and Saturday night at Dodge Arena, they actually will be playing host to teams other than the Corpus Christi Rayz.

On Friday, the Bees play host to the Amarillo Gorillas. Then on Saturday, the Bees welcome the Austin Ice Bats to the Valley. Bees defenseman Jeremy Van Hoof sounded happy to see a team other than the Rayz.

“It’s going to be exciting,” Van Hoof said, smiling. “It always kind of wears on you playing the same team four games in a row. You get a lot of rivalries and a lot of hostility built up. I think it will be nice to see new faces.”

In two regular-season games against Corpus, the Bees won once and lost a shootout after dropping both preseason games against their division rivals.

Van Hoof sounded glad the Bees won’t have to see the Rayz until Nov. 17.

“It just wears on you to keep playing the same team over and over again unless it’s playoffs and you’re really going for something,” Van Hoof said. “Other than that, it’s always nice to change the game up and make it a bit more exciting.”

Three from two

With their Friday night win and Saturday shootout loss to Corpus, the Bees have three points in two games. They also sit one point behind the Southeast Division-leading Laredo Bucks.

“It was a good start,” Fixter said. “I like that we came back after being down 2-0 in Corpus. We found a way to get a point, a big point.”

In two preseason games against Corpus, the Bees struggled and were outscored 7-2. As Fixter said, however, something “clicked” between the preseason and games that actually mean something.

“The intensity level went up. I wasn’t too worried after the exhibitions,” Fixter said.

“I’m a lot more encouraged by what I’ve seen after the first two games.”

Brian Sandalow covers the Killer Bees for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956)-683-4436. For this and more local stories, visit www.themonitor.com.