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January 2002 Game Commentaries
Bucs Fall to Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids, IA (1.4.02): Pre-game: OK, this my first time writing a game write up on any sport. So you will have to bear with my sometimes-endless ramblings. First, I must do my disclaimer, I am neither Sarah Bendy, nor Trevor Grimm, so don’t be fooled into think this is Sarah or Trevor. Another thing, since this is my first time, I might do a different approach next game (if I don’t get fired after this rambling). I wrote this while the game is in progress. I might consider next time, taking notes and writing the whole thing after the game. If you have any comments, feel free to email me.
Things seem to be a little exciting on the radio announcers end to start off the broadcast. I am assuming Brad Oistad and Rob Lettington had some technical difficulties to start off the broadcast. So there was no pre-game radio show.
This weekend, the Bucs can gain ground on the two teams in the eastern division that are ahead of them. Friday, we are in the east leading Cedar Rapids Roughriders’ stable, then Saturday night they return home to play for the first time this season in Des Moines, the Green Bay Gamblers. Roughriders are 5 points ahead of the Bucs, while the Gamblers are 2 points ahead of the Bucs. LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
Starting goalies: Chris Gartman (DM), Jan Chabera (CR)
1st Period: First off, Cedar Rapids’ superstar goalie Bobby Goepfert is in Canada at the Viking Cup. But we still have to play the game. We cannot take anyone for granted, considering the Bucs play on the road this season. Cedar Rapids seems to have the Bucs’ number this season and last season. Cedar Rapids goes with Jan Chabera in net while Des Moines goes with our workhorse Chris Gartman. Chabera has a 1-2-0 record with a GAA 4.26 and an 86.6 save pct. Bucs had the pressure on early but were unable to get the puck past Chabera. At the 7 minute mark of the first Cedar Rapids took a tripping penalty. The Bucs were unable to capitalize on the power play. Right has the power play was coming to an end, Cedar Rapids’ Chris Snavely had the puck on his stick on a break away and scored has the penalty to the Roughriders ended to make it 1-0 Roughriders at the 9 minute mark. Then at the 14:05 mark Cedar Rapids’ Bickley, on an innocent dump from center ice, has the puck find the back of the net. Gartman miss played the puck. The period ended with Cedar Rapids 2-0 lead. Bucs need to re-group.
2nd Period: Both teams keep up the play, but no goals for the first half of the second period. Then at the 11:18 mark, Andy Jurek puts the Bucs on the board. It is still, 2-1 Roughriders. Brad and Rob didn’t have enough time to announce the goal by Jurek and Bucs scored again 17 seconds later. At the 11:35 mark Jeff Genovy from Alex Matieroukine tying the game 2-2. At the 12:33 mark, Andy Nelson gets called for a questionable hooking call. Bucs kill off the penalty, but like the early special team play for the Bucs, the Roughriders score as Nelson gets back on the ice. The Roughriders’ goal from Todd Bentley and assists to Danny O’Brien and Chase Watson at the 14:34 mark gives them the lead 3-2. The period ends 3-2 Roughriders.
3rd Period: At the 3:03 mark, what the Bucs don’t want to happen happens. Roughriders score to make it 4-2. Coach Ferguson switches goalies; Jason Brown comes in at the 3:03 mark of the third. Then things keep going the wrong way for the Bucs, Roughriders’ Bickley scores again at the 4:55 mark to make it 5-2. Can the Bucs change the road woes? Chase Watson pretty much puts the nail in the coffin giving the Roughriders the 6-2 lead with an assist to Danny O’Brien midway in the third. The assist by O'Brien gives him a playmaker. It appears now the Roughriders have the upper hand for year's series with the Bucs (barring a major comeback by the Bucs). If the Bucs and Roughriders were to tie in points in the standings at the end of the season, the Roughriders will have the advantage. Cedar Rapids will have 7 points against Des Moines, compared to Des Moines' current 3 points vs. Cedar Rapids. If the game finishes has it is now, Des Moines will have to win the next two meetings versus Cedar Rapids in regulation by a combined total of 6 or more goals to have claim to the series' title. Though it might not mean a lot now, it could come into play later in the season as the end draws near. A little glimmer of hope by the Bucs at the 17:25 mark of the third, Michael Hutchins scores cutting the lead in half, 6-3. But, it is probably too little, too late. It is, Roughriders win 6-3. Both teams end the game 0 for 2 on the power play.
Bucs road woes continue 3-10-2 away from the Madhouse on Hickman. The Bucs are 12-1-1 at home. Bucs try and start a new winning streak tomorrow at the Madhouse on Hickman versus the Green Bay Gamblers.
Written by Kevin Kasel
 Box Score
Genovy & Matieroukine Each Get 2 Goals in 4-1 Win
Urbandale, IA (1.5.02): Jeff Genovy and Alex Matieroukine each scored 2 goals to give the Bucs a 4-1 victory over the Green Bay Gamblers. The win gave the Bucs a 2-1 lead in the series, having beaten the Gamblers 9-2 at Green Bay October 27. The win in Green Bay was 1 of only 3 wins all year on the road for the Bucs. At home, the Bucs are 13-1-1, and tonight they showed why. It only took Jeff Genovy 56 seconds to get on the board, and it was all Bucs for the rest  of the period. The Bucs put tremendous pressure on the gambler net, working hard on every shift. The hard work paid off as Jeff Genovy scored again with one minute left in the period.
The Gamblers showed why they are in second place in the East division as they came out hard for the second period. They skated hard and fast, getting quality shots on Chris Gartman. Chris came up with some fantastic saves to keep the Bucs in the game. Alex Matieroukine dropped the gloves for the second game in a row and again made his boxing opponent pay the price. The Bucs then took 3 straight penalties to add to their troubles. The Gamblers did score one goal on a powerplay when McKenzie took a great pass and found himself all alone for the tip-in.
The Bucs turned up the heat for the third period and Alex Matieroukine scored a powerplay goal amidst a pile of bodies. Green Bay called a time-out with 2 and a half minutes left in the game to discuss strategy. The Bucs would not let them set-up and kept the puck away from Gartman. They finally did get it in the Buc zone and pulled their goalie for an extra attacker. Evan Stoflet and Chris Collins (who ended up with 3 assists on the night), broke the puck out to Matieroukine who skated the puck across the Gambler blue-line. With a defender all over him, he somehow got the puck into the empty-net to give the Bucs a 4-1 lead. With that, the Gamblers brought back their goalie and both teams let the clock run down. This one was over.
Genovy (Collins, Matieroukine), Genovy (Matieroukine, Collins), Matieroukine (PP), and Matieroukine (EN) (Collins, Stoflet) scored for the Bucs. Gartman was in goal and faced 30 shots.
Written by Steve Bendy
Box Score
Bucs win on the road, 6-5 over Sioux Falls.
First win on the road for the Bucs since November 24 at Topeka.
Date: 01/11/02. Des Moines Buccaneers @ Sioux Falls Stampede
Pre-game: To start off, there were some major changes in the Buccaneers line-ups. One change, Sean Kotary is back and will see some ice time tonight. Sean has been out with a broken hand since November 16th. The other line-up change is the trade with our archrivals, Omaha Lancers. Ryan Bennett, the recent addition to the Bucs over the Christmas break was traded to Omaha for forward, Marty Guerin. They picked up Marty at the hotel in Sioux City today en route to Sioux Falls.
Information on the newest Buccaneer, Marty Guerin:
Date of birth: May 25, 1983
Hometown: Lansing, MI
Height: 6’ 0”
Weight: 200 lbs.
Stats on Guerin for 2001-02: 31 games played, 12 goals, 23 point, 16 PIMs and 5 power-play goals.
Bucs need to start winning road games, and why not start tonight? I don’t think we lost anything with the trade. We gained a player with very good offensive numbers and has USHL experience. Marty played for Omaha last season. LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
Starting goalies: Gartman (DM), Sedevie (SF)
1st Period: Bucs start off strong, getting shots going at the net. Bucs also get a power play early, but are unable to capitalize. At the 6:21 mark the 17-year-old (soon to be 18) Graz, Austria native, Thomas Vanek feeds Eric Przepiorka to give the Stampede the 1-0 lead. About two minutes later Sioux Falls’ Przepiorka gets his second goal of the night to make it 2-0 with helpers to Jason Moul and Vanek. Things don’t seem to be starting off very good for the Bucs, but it is early. At the 17:41 mark, Andrew Leach gets 4th goal of the season and gets the Bucs on the board with assists to Andy Nelson and Justin Nikle. Then Vanek comes in all by himself with very little room to get the puck in the net, finds the twine at the 19:14 mark. On that goal Przepiorka and Jake Wilkins have helpers. Sioux Falls is now leading 3-1. The Minnesota Golden Gophers have themselves a heck of player in Vanek next season, http://www.ushl.com/ushl0102/pr/1024ushl.htm.
2nd Period: Bucs get an early power play as a Sioux Falls’ player takes a roughing penalty at 0:52. Bucs are unable to convert, but shortly after the penalty ends, Sean Kotary gets on the stat sheet for the first time since November 16th with a goal, with an assist to Ross Carlson at 3:06 to cut the lead to 3-2. I guess, Kotary wasn’t happy in only being in the goal column, 30 seconds after the goal he gets called for cross-checking. Sioux Falls capitalizes on the power play with four seconds remaining on the man advantage; goal to Marty Sertich with an assist to Jeff Corey. 7:28 the Bucs get a bounce in their favor, Erik Johnson throws the puck out front and Justin Nikle finds the back of the net to cut the lead 4-3 Sioux Falls’ favor. Then at the 8:41 point the Bucs thought they tied it up, but the referee was immediately waving it off. He blew it dead and thought it was frozen by Sedevie. Then with about 6 minutes remaining in the period things get a little chippy as Rico Fatticci & Carlson get called for “delay of game”. About 30 seconds later, Kelly Sullivan and Alex Matieroukine drop the gloves, both land rights and each get 2 points for take-downs as well. On a bad clearing attempt by Gartman, Quinn Fylling has an easy wrap-around to give the Stampede a 5-3 lead with 3:10 left in the period. Period ends Sioux Falls favor, 5-3.
3rd Period: Bucs get the game to within one at the 1:52 mark on a goal that was reviewed that counted. Chris Collins scored goal, with a helper to Matieroukine. Not even a minute later, Bucs get another bounce of the puck in their favor as the Stampede’s goalie goes for a skate and Ryan Dingle gets credit for a goal with an assist to Carlson to tie the game 5-5 at the 2:43 point. Around the midway point, Brad runs out of breath, as there is constant action in the Bucs offensive end, but no goal for their effort. They keep up the pressure and Jeff Genovy on about the 4th rebound gives the Bucs the lead with an assist to Matieroukine at the 14:52 point, 6-5. This is the first lead for the Bucs in the game. The game gets real chippy around the 15:30 mark as Andy Jurek and Cody Blanshan both get five minute fighting, misconduct and a game ejection (fighting after the 5 minute mark of the third). Jurek will probably miss the next two games. Then a few seconds later, Leach gets called for high sticking at 15:51. Bucs kill off the penalty. Late in the third, Stampede pulls their goalie for the extra attacker. Bucs survive the pressure and hold on and win 6-5. First win away from the Madhouse on Hickman since November 24, 2001. Tomorrow we face the league leading Sioux City Musketeers in Sioux City.
Written by Kevin Kasel
Box Score
Bucs fall to league leaders in Sioux City 6-4
Bucs give up 2 short-handed goals.
Date: 01/12/02: Des Moines Buccaneers @ Sioux City Musketeers
Pre-game: First off, I am listening to the game in Ankeny, IA via the Internet! I, like some others in the Des Moines metro area, have to listen to our games via the Internet instead on the radio. Last night, I was fortunate enough to be able to listen to the game on the radio. I hope they (whoever they maybe be) can get this problem fixed! OK, now onto the game talk.
Our opponent tonight, Sioux City Musketeers are currently 25-7-2: good for 52 points for first place in the USHL. Sioux City has 142 goals for and 82 goals against. Sioux City also leads the league in team PIMs with 886. Sioux City’s Art Femenella is currently in second in the USHL in PIMs, 121 minutes. Sioux City is also loaded with skaters who know how to score: (#2 scorer in the USHL) Brad Zancanaro 14 goals, 34 assists for 48 points (#3 scorer in the USHL) Brandon Schwartz 20 goals, 22 assists for 42 points, (# tied 9 scorer in the USHL) John Zeiler 13 goals, 20 assists for 33 points and (# tied 12 scorer in the USHL) Matt Ciancio 13 goals, 18 assists for 31 points. Those that don’t know, Sioux City has a very small ice rink (approximately 179’ x 79’). Des Moines’ ice is approximately 200’ x 85’.
On a side note: Sioux City’s Matt Ciancio sister, Alison Ciancio (19 years old) was killed in an auto accident early this month. Our prayers go out to the Ciancio family.
Starting goalies: Brown (DM), Franck (SC)
1st Period: Well, nothing happens the first few minutes, but around three minutes in Sioux City starts cycling and keeping the pressure on and Jason Brown finds out what a shot from the blue line is like. With the small ice, a shot from the blue line is a good shot. Bucs are able to break out 3 on 2; Jeff Genovy has a chance but is unable to bury the puck. Bucs get called for the first penalty of the game. The penalty to Ross Carlson is for holding, but no damage done. Then a minute later, Bucs have a great chance, but Kris Bouchard is tried up and unable to pull the trigger. Then there is lots of back and forth action in this pinball arena. Not much happens until late in the period. At the 17:04 mark, Des Moines gets their first power play opportunity of the game. Femenella is able clear the puck that Brandon Schwartz is able to pick it up at center and able to feed Brad Zancanaro for the short-handed goal to give the Musketeers the lead 1-0 at the 18:35 point. The period ends with the Musketeers’ favor 1-0.
2nd Period: Early in the second period, Chris Collins gets called for a minor at the 1:53. Des Moines was able to kill off the penalty. 5:29 into the period, Brad Zancanaro gets called for cross-checking. A minute-half into the power play, Sioux City is able to score short-handed AGAIN! Goal to John Zeiler with assists to Ryan Geris and Brandon Polich. Bucs are unable to capitalize on the power play. Few minutes later, Michael Hutchins gets whistled and put in the sin bin and the Bucs are able to kill off the penalty. Then a few minutes later, Justin Fletcher pulls down a Buccaneer on a break away and the Bucs go to the power play again. The previous two power play opportunities for the Buccaneers, the outcome is not what the Bucs wanted, giving up goals. This time Brett Skinner is able to capitalize on the power play with assists to Chris Collins and Jeff Genovy at the 13:41 point to cut the lead in half 2-1 Sioux City. Then at the 15:37, mark on a great individual effort, Andy Nelson wins the face-off in the Musketeers zone and fights for the puck and puts it over Franck’s shoulder to tie it up 2-2. But about a minute later John Zeiler, with a helper to BJ Greaves, is able to put the Musketeers back in the lead 3-2 with a wrap around. Musketeers keep putting the puck on net and are rewarded at the 19:31 mark as Brandon Schwartz gives the Musketeers a two-goal lead 4-2. After the buzzer players matched up: Skinner-Geris, Hutchins-Polich, Matieroukine-Fletcher and Genovy-Femenella for a wrestling/fighting match.
3rd Period: The Buccaneers will be without the services of Michael Hutchins, Jeff Genovy and Alex Matieroukine to start off the 3rd period. Hutchins is serving two plus five for his part of the 2nd period end scuffle, Genovy will be out for 2 minutes and Matieroukine will sit for 10 minutes. There are no power plays, as Sioux City as players serving equal amount of time. Then 3:04 mark, another great individual effort, Brett Skinner gets the Bucs within one of the Musketeers, Nelson gets an assist. A few moments after the goal, they went to commercial, and as they get back, all we hear is Jason Brown is down on the ice with Joe Huff (Buccaneers’ trainer) assisting Brown. From what was said by Rob Lettington and Brad Oistad there was a rush and players ended up crashing into Brown and the net. Brown was taken off on a stretcher, sounds like precautionary measures. Side note to this part of my rambling, I was at my nephew’s Squirt (10 & under) hockey game today and his team played Sioux City’s team, about seven minutes left in the second period of their game a Sioux City player goes head first into the boards and was taken off by a stretcher. Chris Gartman comes in to replace Brown. Gartman is tested right off the bat on a semi-break and able to answer the call. Then the Bucs are able to start pressuring the Musketeers, but not able to get it puck in the net. Then it was Musketeers turn to pressure Gartman. Gartman is able to answer the calls. At the midway point of the period, Ryan Dingle is called slashing on a Buccaneer rush. The Bucs are able to kill the penalty off keeping the puck a lot of time in the Musketeers’ defensive zone. Jesse Modahl with an assist to Jeff Adduono is able to make it a two-goal game again at the 13:03 mark. Late in the 3rd, Genovy continues his goal-scoring streak with an assist to Nelson and Weston Tardy to cut the lead 5-4 Musketeers. Buccaneers pull their goalie with about a minute to go to get the extra attacker. The Musketeers get the empty-netter with about 4 seconds to seal the win 6-4.
Another great battle with the Musketeers, last time these two went at it in Des Moines on November 21, 2001, Sioux City had a lead about midway in the third 4-1, but Bucs rally and tie it and force it to overtime where they win. Bucs return home to face our archrivals, Omaha Lancers for the first time at the Madhouse on Hickman on Friday, January 18th.
Goals for Des Moines: Skinner (Collins, Genovy), Nelson, Skinner (Nelson), Genovy (Tardy, Nelson).
Written by Kevin Kasel
Box Score
Des Moines sweeps the season series with Tri-City
to get their 5th road win of the season 5-2.
Date: 01/19/02: Des Moines Buccaneers @ Tri-City Storm
Pre-game: Well, after last night’s comeback against the Lancers, we hope to see a more fired up team on the road. Last night was another great battle between the Lancers and Buccaneers. Omaha took a 3-0 lead by the end of the second period. And the Bucs came back and force the game to OT, but lost 4-3.
Now onto tonight’s game in Kearney, NE. The last time we were in Kearney, it was the first game of the season. We were able to come away with a 6-4 victory. Since then we have had two games versus Tri-City in Des Moines, which Des Moines won. Des Moines is currently 3-0 against the Storm this season. Other note: Erik Johnson will see limited action tonight.
Other USHL related news; the USHL All-Star rosters have been released. Des Moines will send five players to Sioux Falls, SD for the game on February 5th. For Team USHL: D, Michael Hutchins (#6); F, Chris Collins (#5) and F, Jeff Genovy (#22). For Team World: D, Brett Skinner (#14) and F, Alex Matieroukine (#15). Congratulations to these five Buccaneers. For more information please visit, http://www.ushl.com/ushl0102/pr/0118ushl.htm. Pleas notes, the numbers in the parenthesizes () are the numbers they will wear at the All-Star game.
LET THE GAMES BEGIN.
Starting goalies: Gartman (DM), Sterling (TC)
1st Period: Not a lot happening early. Bucs didn’t get many shots early, which they need on the road. Both teams seems to get one shot and out the other team comes out. Then at around the halfway point Tri-City forces the puck deep in the Bucs zone and are able to cycle the puck for a while. Des Moines tries to clear the puck, but Matt Bydlon is able to hold it in and take the shot and finds the back of the net to give the Storm the 1-0 lead. The around the six and half mark the new defensemen, Josh Chambers, is whistled for a five-minute major for cross-checking. Bucs have an opportunity 2 on zero but Chris Collins unable to get a shot away. Bucs catch another break, as a Storm player gets called for cross-checking at the four-minute mark to have both teams skate four a side. The period ends 1-0 Storm favor.
2nd Period: Bucs start off the second on a good note, as Justin Nikle is able to get one past Larry Sterling to tie the game 1-1 at the 0:42 mark. Both teams are able to cycle the puck, but are unable to convert it to a goal for the next few minutes. Sean Kotary comes in with one of the newest Keith Boyer, Kotary is able to get a shot on net, and the rebound sat on the open side with Boyer there to give the Bucs the lead 2-1 at the 9:51 point. Teams keep it interesting, but both goalies answer the calls to keep the score the same, 2-1 Bucs. Then Alex Matieroukine and Collins come in on a break, Matieroukine passes across to Collins, who wrist it past Sterling at the 14:08 mark to give the Bucs a 3-1 lead. That chases Tri-City’s Sterling out of the net. Tri-City brings in Noah Ruden. The Bucs keep the pressure up, with the points pinching in to keep the play going. No goals yet for the Bucs. Then with a few minutes left in the second period, Weston Tardy gets called for elbowing, which the Bucs are able to kill off. The period ends 3-1 Bucs.
3rd Period: The period starts off, with a Storm give away and Kotary able to get a shot off, but Ruden is able to answer the call. Bucs get their first power play opportunity at the 3:17 mark as Christian Toll gets called for high-sticking. Kyle Worner also gets called for a 10-minute misconduct at the same time. Tri-City is able to kill off the penalty. After the penalty is over, Tri-City is able to keep the pressure on the Bucs, but Gartman and the defense answers the calls. Bucs finally get a chance around the 13-minute mark, but Ruden is up to the challenge. Then halfway through, Gartman makes two big saves after a Buccaneer turnover that created a great opportunity for the Storm. 8:13 mark Michael Hutchins and Matt Scheer tie up and both get but in the sin bin for some rough play. The following face-off, another new Buccaneer gets his name in the books, Josh Chambers gets a shot from the point past Ruden with an assist to Kotary. Not a lot happens major happens for the next few minutes, but at the 17:05 mark Alex Matieroukine gets a tally with assists to Brett Skinner and Jeff Genovy to make it 5-1. At the 19:15 mark Weston Tardy gets called for another questionable call from the official, Craig martin, “playing without a helmet”. Tri-City is able to capitalize on this call scoring from Konrad Reeder (assist to Craig Martin, sorry couldn’t resist) at the 19:46 point to make the score 5-2 Bucs. That is how the game ends. Do the Bucs and their fans get Runzas for scoring 5 goals?
Bucs scoring tonight: Nikle, Boyer (Kotary), Collins (Matieroukine), Chambers (Kotary), Matieroukine (Skinner, Genovy).
Written by Kevin Kasel
Bucs Fall To Omaha in Overtime
Urbandale (1.18.02): With the realignment of USHL divisions, Omaha and Des Moines do not play each other as often as they have in the past. This year we are only slated to play Omaha 5 times - 1 pre season and 4 in the regular season. Since winning the pre season game by a score of 3-0, the Bucs have lost 2 to the Lancers, each by 1 goal. The Omaha and Des Moines fans have built a strong and healthy rivalry that goes back to when the Omaha Knights and Des Moines Oak Leaves faced off. Tonight there were a fair number of Lancer fans in the crowd, and they are always welcome.
 Omaha is currently in second place in the USHL’s Western Division, with a 23-8-2 record (48 points). No Omaha players are ranked among the USHL’s top scorers, but Lancer Chris Harrington is ranked third in the USHL among top-scoring defensemen. The Lancers are one of the hottest teams in the USHL and are closing in on Sioux City. For the Bucs, there were some new faces on the team. In a trade with Waterloo, we aquired Nate Hansen, a forward from Austin, Minnesota. (Hey Nate, Jeremy Peterson says hi - he is a graphic design student at DMACC). Keith Boyer is a 220-lb. forward from Shrewsbury, MA. Josh Cambers is also new, coming from the Plymouth Whalers (OHL). We wish Andy Nelson and Ross Carlson all the best as they play in Waterloo. Also, best wishes to Andy Jurek in the Bismarck Bobcats (AWHL).
Coach Ferguson said that tonights game would have a playoff feel, and would give the Bucs a chance to see how well they could play with the USHL leaders.
At the end of the first period, the Bucs were playing well, having had the momentum for most of the period. Still, when the buzzer sounded, neither team had put the puck in the net.
The second period saw the Lancers score 3 unanswered goals, and it looked like we might be in for a rough night. One thing I have noticed about the Des Moines fans, is that they wait for the team to make something happen before getting loud. Tonight was no different. The crowd did not get loud until midway through the third period. Thats how long it took the Bucs to get on the board. Alex Matieroukine scored on an assist from Jeff Genovy. The crowd exploded and the coach said the team fed on the energy. Three and a half minutes later the Bucs made it 2-3, when Matieroukine scored again. The assists went to Genovy and Collins. Alex's goals were not soft - they were the pretty kind where the puck stetches the back of the net! With these 2 goals the Bucs were totally in control and it was everything the Lancers could do just to ice the puck. The crowd kept the noise up and a minute later Justin Nikle tied the game at 3-3.
The Lancers called a time-out as the Hastings had a talk with his players. Although the Bucs played hard, they were unable to score and the game went into overtime. The Bucs had a good chance to end it early, but Dominic Vicari stopped the scoring chance. The Lancers won it when Gartman went down to cover the puck and a pile-up in front of the net ensued. The puck squirted out and a lancer shot it up and in. Another great game ended, and the Bucs have proven that they are coming together as a team and will be a force to be reckoned with.
Written by Steve Bendy
Box Score
5-3 Win Gives Bucs 5 of 6 Points for Weekend
Urbandale, IA (1.20.02): The Bucs wrapped up a 3-game weekend with a 6:00 Sunday game at Metro ice Sports Arena. It was Des Moines Register Family Night: families enjoyed a youth hockey game between periods, facepainting, and free ice cream treats for the kids from Blue Bunny. It was crowded - close to sell-out, and it was just  a great atmosphere for families.
Kudos to Andrea Gengler, Jody Sweir and staff for making the magic happen. It truly is magic - The Bucs are non-profit, and s much of what happens is through the efforts of volunteers. All for the benefit of the players and ice sports. To underscore this attitude of service, I can still remember when Mikhail Saliyenko was traded to Dubuque in January of 1997. It was one of those things that the coach did for the good of the player, and it worked out well for Mikhail. Last week Ross Carlson was traded to Waterloo, and got a hat-trick against Omaha. Again, sometimes you have to do what is best for the player. That is what the Bucs are about. Not making money. Not increasing net worth for the owner so the team can be sold. No, Buccaneer hockey is much more than that. What we see on game day is such is a small part. But, it sure is fun to watch, isn't it?
The Bucs came out a bit slow, which is to be expected after the 2 tough games and a long bus ride. Trent Baker, in his first action of the season, was tested early and showed his quickness as he gobbled up the puck. Near the end of the first period, with 3:19 left, Alex Matieroukine picked up a loose puck in front of the net and gave the Bucs a 1-0 lead. Alex, scored again with 39 seconds left in the period to make it 2-0.
Kris Bouchard scored 3:15 into the second period when Erik Johnson centered him from behind the net. Goalie Ross Cherry did not have a chance. Less than 2 minutes later Justin Nikle, assisted by Keith Boyer and Sean Kotary made it 4-0. Tulsa did not give up and began to outwork the Bucs. It paid off 2 minutes later with a power play goal. The period ended with the Bucs leading 4-1.
The Bucs opened the period with a goal from newcomer Marty Guerin, assisted by Nate Hansen. Marty has been working very hard and it is good to see him get the first of what i am sure will be many goals. The Crude slowly climbed back into the game, scoring 2 goals to make it 5-3 with just 10 minutes left in the game. With 4:50 left in the game, tempers began to flair and there was a pile-up in front of the Tulsa goal. Everybody tied up, and Alex Matieroukine dropped the gloves. It was a bad decision as he will now have to sit out for the next 2 games. Tempers were so hot that the Crude goalie skated out to center ice, took off his helmet and gloves and motioned to Baker to come and fight. Baker kept his calm, and the Bucs got a 2 minute power play! Good job Trent! Tulsa pulled their goalie with 2 minutes to try to get a goal, but the Buc defense held, and this one was in the books. The Bucs are now 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, the best in the USHL.
Written by Steve Bendy
Box Score
Bucs Beat Warerloo 4-2
Urbandale, IA (1.24.02): Waterloo opened the scoring 3 minutes into the second period, and built a 2-1 lead seven minutes later to challenge the Buccaneers home ice dominance. Kris Bouchard tied the game up with 5:31 remaining in the second period, and newcomer Keith Boyer gave the Bucs the lead 2 minutes later. His goal would be the game-winner as the Buc defense clamped down and held Waterloo scoreless the rest of the night. Nate Hansen added another goal midway through the third period and the Bucs went on to take a 4-2 victory.
Written by Steve Bendy
Box Score
Bucs Drop Another Road Game in Topeka.
Date: 01/25/02: Des Moines Buccaneers @ Topeka Scarecrows
Pre-game: Tonight the Buccaneers face for the third time this season, the Topeka Scarecrows. Bucs are currently 2-0 versus the Scarecrows. The last time the Bucs were in Topeka they came away with a 6-5 shootout on November 24, 2001. I believe the shootout went nine shooters before a winner was determined. The last meeting between these two was December 29, 2001 in Des Moines with the Bucs coming away with the 6-4 victory.
Tonight the Bucs will still without the serves of their leading scorer, Alex Matieroukine. Alex is serving the 2nd of his two game suspension for his fight after the 5-minute mark of Sunday’s game vs. Tulsa. Bucs will look for another balance attack as last night against Waterloo. Last night, four different scored for the Bucs with Sean Kotary with the playmaker.
Tonight Trent Baker will get his second start in a week. Trent, one of the newest Buccaneers from Lincoln, RI will give Chris Gartman a rest. The Bucs also look to continue their winning ways to extend their current winning streak to four. LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
Starting goalies: Baker (DM), Kelly (TO)
1st Period: The period starts off with a cross-checking penalty to Phillip Larson of Topeka. The Bucs are unable to get much going. The Bucs are only able to get one shot on net during the power play. Neither team gets much offense going. Topeka start to cycle but Vince Bellissimo gets whistled for elbowing to give the Bucs another power play. The Scarecrows are able to kill off the penalty to keep the game tied at zero a piece. Topeka has a great opportunity, but shoot the puck wide of the net. The Bucs are able to get shots, but not goals has they are out-shooting the Scarecrows by a two-to-one margin. Erik Johnson gets whistled for hooking around the six-minute mark, but the Bucs are able to kill off the penalty. A minute after the penalty ends, former Buccaneer and Lancer, Justin Schabes comes in on a breakaway and is able get Baker to commit and finds the back of the net to give the Scarecrows the 1-0 lead at 17:33. Then less than two minutes to go in the period Chris Collins gets called for slashing to put the Scarecrows on the power play. The period ends Topeka 1, Des Moines 0. Topeka will be on the power play to start off the second.
2nd Period: The Bucs are able to kill off the remaining 15 seconds of Collins slashing penalty. Then 2:35 mark, Tim Conboy of Topeka gets his name in the books for what he is known for ... PIMs. Conboy will sit 2 minutes for roughing. Bucs are able to capitalize on the penalty at the 3:18. Collins banks the shot off Matt Kelly with an assist to Brett Skinner to tie it 1-1. Then after the ensuing face-off Josh Chambers gets called for tripping to put Topeka on the power play. Topeka is able to capitalize on their opportunity this period as well to re-take the lead, 2-1 at 4:08. Goal from Bellissimo with assists to Peter Fruhauf and Conboy. Then as the game comes back from commercial, we find out the Bucs scored while we were away. Marty Guerin with assist to Jeff Genovy ties it up 2-2 at the 6:20 mark. Then around the 9-minute mark Phil Angell and Keith Boyer gets put in the sin bin for 2 minutes; Angell – holding, Boyer – roughing. Not much happens the next few minutes until Steve Czech got called for holding, but the Scarecrows kill off the penalty. Soon after the penalty is over, Steve Czech finds himself with an odd man rush and scores with assists to Emery Olauson and Phil Angell at the 15:21 mark to give Topeka the 3-2 lead. Then half-minute later Topeka gets whistled for a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct. But Topeka is able to kill off the penalty, but soon after they kill it off, Conboy does what he does best, gets called for another penalty, 2-minutes for hooking at 18:08 to give the Bucs their 6th power play opportunity. Then 50 seconds later, Topeka’s Phil Larson gets called for checking from behind. The Bucs now have a 5-on-3 power play. Topeka is able to escape the period with the 3-2 lead. The Bucs still have a 5-on-3 power play for the first eight seconds of the third then 50 seconds of 5-on-4 hockey.
3rd Period: Topeka is able to kill off both penalties to start off the third period. At the 4:20 mark Olauson is called for tripping to give the Bucs their 8th power play opportunity. Before Topeka can kill off the penalty, Weston Tardy is whistled for a penalty at the 6:16 mark to nullify the remainder of the Bucs power play. Bucs are able to kill off Topeka’s power play as well. About 8 minutes in Schabes gets his 2nd goal of the night with assist to Conboy to give the Topeka a 4-2 lead. Not much later Erik Johnson gets called for tripping, not even a minute later, Luke Irwin is called for high sticking to give Topeka a 5-on-3 power play. Schabes is able to get the hat trick on the power play at 8:46 to give the Scarecrows the 5-2 lead and they are still on the power play. That goal chases Baker out of the net, and brings in Chris Gartman. Still on the power play, Bellissimo puts Topeka ahead 6-2. It appears once again the Bucs blow yet another road game. Things keep going the wrong way, 7-2. Baker is back in net. OK, I am going to stop writing and just give the final score: Topeka 7, Des Moines 2.
Written by Kevin Kasel
Box Score
Bucs rebound from last night’s game.
Bucs score six unanswered goals to come away from Oklahoma with a 6-2 victory on the road. Johnson (2G), Matieroukine (1G, 2A) and Collins (1G, 1A) have multiple-point game.
Date: 01/26/02: Des Moines Buccaneers @ Tulsa Crude
Pre-game: Tonight the Bucs look to rebound from last night’s loss to the Scarecrows. We are in Tulsa, Oklahoma to face the Tulsa Crude. Tulsa has seemed to turn things around on the ice. They are 5-5-0 in their last 10 games and currently working to snap a 2 game losing streak.
It appears the Tulsa Crude organization is for sale. We will have to wait and see how things shake out for Tulsa.
Currently the Bucs have 14 home games remaining and 10 away games remaining. It seems like the Bucs are Jekyl and Hyde team. Home numbers: 15-1-2 for 32 points, 85 goals for and 43 goals against. Road numbers: 5-12-2 for 12 points, 64 goals for and 78 goals against.
Marty Guerin will be out tonight with an injury he received last night in Topeka. We will have the serves of Alex Matieroukine, who missed the last 2 games for a fight late in the game on Sunday.
LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
Starting goalies: Gartman (DM), Panik (TU)
1st Period: Early into the period Tulsa’s Josh Grahn is called for tripping at the 1:34 mark. The Bucs are unable to capitalize on the power play opportunity. Not much after the power play ends; Aaron Hutchison scores a goal for Tulsa to give them the early 1-0 lead. Jim Tudor and Chris Quinn are credited with assists on the goal. Bucs seem to use this as a wake-up call and are able to start generating some chances, but are not able to get a goal. Alex Matieroukine and former Buccaneer Landon Bathe doing some rough play and both are tossed in the sin bin for two minutes at 9:16. About minute later another former Buccaneer joins Bathe in the box Tudor gets calls for slashing. Bucs have chances but not able to get a goal on the power play. Luke Irwin and Andrew Sterns drop the gloves, not much of a fight, few punches thrown or landed. A little later, Matieroukine gives Tulsa their first power play opportunity, two minutes for tripping at 13:58. Tulsa scores, while they were at commercial 2-0. Goal scored by Dustin Kim with assist to Tudor at the 16:08 mark. The period ends Tulsa leading 2-0.
2nd Period: Not much happening for the Bucs to start off the 2nd period, then at 3:14, Kris Bouchard tries to mix it up with Sterns. Bouchard drops the gloves, but Sterns doesn’t to avoid the 2nd fight of the game and game ejection. Bouchard get a 5-minute major, Sterns get 2-minutes for roughing. Tulsa would get a 3-minute power play, but at 4:40 mark Bathe trips Matieroukine to give the Bucs a brief 4-on-3 power play. Tulsa kills off the short penalty kill. Tulsa does have another shorten power play after Bathe’s penalty ends. But as soon as Bouchard’s penalty ends, Chris Collins gets called for interference to give the Crude another power play. The Bucs are able to kill off the penalty. Then at the 11:42 mark Michael Hutchins surprises Brad Oistad and Rob Lettington and scores to cut the lead in half, 2-1 Tulsa. Assist on the goal to Nate Hansen. Then 1:12 later Matieroukine ties up the game 2-2 with a wrap-around. At the 15:53 mark Jon Saunders of Tulsa gets whistled for high-sticking to give the Bucs the power play. 0:23 seconds later, Hutchins gives the puck to Tulsa to control, because a penalty called on Bathe, cross-checking. Bucs have a 5-on-3 for the next 1:37. Tulsa is able to kill off both penalties. Then hard work pays off for the Bucs as Erik Johnson buries a rebound to give the lead 3-2, assists to Collins and Ryan Dingle. But before the period does end, Nate Hansen gets called 2-minutes for elbowing at 19:51 point. Bucs finish the period with the lead 3-2.
3rd Period: The Bucs are able to kill off Hansen’s penalty. At the 3:16 mark Johnson re-directs a Weston Tardy shot from the point to give the Bucs a two-goal lead 4-2. Before I could write the last sentence, Josh Chambers feeds the puck ahead to Matieroukine who has Collins with him, Matieroukine gets Panik to commit, and Matieroukine feeds Collins who buries the puck to give the Bucs a 5-2 lead at 3:36. Bucs continue to put on the pressure and keep the puck in Tulsa’s zone. At 11:50 mark, Tulsa calls the time-out to try and re-group. Tulsa tries something very unusual; they pull their goalie with about 11 and half-minutes to go?? Tulsa is able to keep the pressure on and cycle the puck deep in their offensive zone for a while. The Bucs are able to force a face-off in their offensive zone, which brings Panik back into the game. Coach Ferguson calls a time-out to counter the 6-on-5 tactics by Tulsa. Tulsa continues with the 6-on-5 tactics after the Bucs time-out. Jeff Genovy gets an empty-netter with an assist to Matieroukine at 13:42 mark to give the Bucs the 6-2 lead. At 16:49 Saunders for Tulsa is whistled for 2-minutes for holding. Coach Ferguson puts Evan Stoflet at left-winger to try and get him his 1st goal of the season on the power play. His teammates tried to set him up, but were not able to do it. Stoflet almost gets a re-direct late in the period, but it goes wide. Game ends on a positive note for the Bucs: Bucs 6, Crude 2.
Scoring: Hutchins (Hansen), Matieroukine, Johnson (Collins, Dingle), Johnson (Tardy), Collins (Matieroukine, Chambers) and Genovy (Matieroukine) EN.
Written by Kevin Kasel
Box Score
Disclaimer
This is a game summary and commentary from a Buccaneer fan's point of view, and the viewpoints expressed in this column DO NOT necessarily reflect those of the Des Moines Buccaneer's organization.
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