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2004 February Game Commentaries Cedar Rapids, IA (2.6.04): Period 1: Cedar Rapids' Matt Vokes gets the Roughriders on the board first with a tally at the 5:37 point. At the 6:16 mark, Mike Erickson keeps his point scoring going with a goal, Mike Neilon assisted on the play. Period 2: The Bucs decided forget to play defense to start off the second period, has the Roughriders pepper the goalie and score twice early. The Bucs' Adam Miller cuts the lead to 3-2 at the 16:48 mark with assists to Marty Mjelleli and Samir Saliji. Period 3: Mjelleli ties the games up at 3 a piece around the midway point of the period with an assist to Miller. But the Roughriders' James Brannigan gives the Roughriders the lead a little over two minutes later. The Roughriders add an empty netter at 19:30 to seal the victory 5-3. Written by Kevin Kasel.
Urbandale, IA (2.7.04): The Des Moines Buccaneers message to the rest of the USHL is clear... the West Division playoff race is far from over. The Bucs defeated the first-place Tri-City Storm for the second time in two weeks to move back to within seven points of fourth-place Lincoln. The Bucs set the tone in the first period, playing a physical style of hockey right from the opening horn that nearly led to a scoreless first period. But a Tri-City tripping penalty with two minutes to play gave Des Moines the scoring chance they had been waiting for, and Brad Peterson took advantage giving the Bucs a 1-0 lead at the break. Tri-City opened the second period with a quick power play goal for the Storm, which tied the game at one. The rest of the period, however, belonged to Des Moines. Davis Drewiske registered the Bucs' second power play goal of the night in the eighth minute of the frame, and then Dave Watters gave the Bucs a 3-1 lead less than two minutes later. The final period began with a giant momentum swing, as Tri-City scored two quick goals to tie the game at three with just under fifteen minutes to play in regulation. The Bucs called a time-out after the second goal to regroup, but momentum and the crowd were back in Des Moines' favor just four seconds later when Mike Neilon and Tri-City's Tom Pohl dropped the gloves and rumbled immediately after the ensuing face-off. The score remained knotted until the final six minutes of the game, when Ryan Raven put it past Storm goalie Peter Mannino for the eventual game winner. Bucs' backstop Dwight LaBrosse weathered a bevy of Storm shots in the final minutes to hold on for the win. Written by The Bucs are back at home next Friday, February 13th at 7:35 pm against the fourth-place Lincoln Stars, in a USHL battle for Clark Cup playoff position. The game features the return of Miller Lite Buc and a Half Beer Night, and tickets can be purchased by calling 278-9757, or by stopping by the Metro Ice Sports Arena box office. Written by Dustin Godsey. Bucs send message to Stars in 5-1 win
Urbandale, IA (2.13.04): The Des Moines Buccaneers inched closer to their eighteenth consecutive USHL playoff berth Friday night, when they defeated the Lincoln Stars 5-1 at a raucous Metro Ice Sports Arena. The Stars are now just five points ahead of the Bucs for the West Division's fourth and final playoff spot, with seventeen games left in the regular season. The Bucs were able to get to Lincoln's all-star goalie Phillippe Lamoureux early, when Samir Saliji slammed home a power play goal just seven minutes into the first period. It was the only score of the opening stanza, but the Bucs were able to rough Lamoureux up for three more scores in the second period. Adam Miller scored two straight goals to open the frame, and then Marty Mjelleli knocked in another Buccaneer power play goal five minutes before intermission.
The win moves the Buccaneers to 19-20-4 on the season, while Lincoln drops to 22-19-3. The win moves the Bucs to within five points of the fourth spot in the USHL West Division and the final spot in the Clark Cup Playoffs. The Bucs return home next Saturday to take on the River City Lancers in another West Division grudge match at 7:35 pm. Ross Bernstein, author of Remembering Herbie: Celebrating the Life and Times of Hockey Legend Herb Brooks will be on hand to meet with Bucs fans and sign autographs. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling 278-9757, or by stopping by the Metro Ice Sports Arena box office located at 7201 Hickman Road in Urbandale. 15 Additional photos of this game. Written by Dustin Godsey. Sioux Falls, SD (2.14.04): The Stampede score early in the first period with a goal at the 0:14 mark from Matthew Ford. Brad Peterson responds with a goal of his own at the 1:20 mark to tie it up at 1 apiece with assists to Tom May and Brandon Longley. Sioux Falls' Greg Costa at 7:58 and Ford at 8:36 add goals to give the Stampede the 3-1 lead. But prior to the end of the period, the Bucs capitalize on their power play opportunity with a tally from Mike Neilon with assists to Jesse Lane and Tom May. Once again there is a goal scored within the first minute of the period, this time it is Joe Piskula getting his name in the score sheet with helpers to May (3rd assist on the night) and Longley. New comer to the Bucs, T.J. Dahl added to the lead with a short-handed tally at the 4:08 point to make it 6-3 Bucs. Erickson added a goal at the 8:13 mark with assists to Adam Miller and Watters (3rd assist on the night). Sioux Falls' Jim McKenzie closed the game to 7-4 with a goal at the 8:54 point, which was not enough, has the Bucs defeated the Stampede 7-4. To top the night off, the St. Louis Eagles defeated the Lincoln Stars 4-2. The Bucs are now only 3 points out of the 4th and final play-off spot in the West. Written by Kevin Kasel. Lancers end Buc winning streak Council Bluffs, IA (2.17.04): The Bucs let a 3-1 lead late in the second period slip out of their hands, ending the Buccaneer winning streak at 3. The Lancers scored 4 of their 5 goals on rebounds to win 5-3. Period 1: River City's Eric Walsky gives the Lancer the lead at the 12:44 mark. Marty Mjelleli ties the game up on the power play with assists to Pat Borgestad and Mike Erickson. Erickson extents his point scoring streak to 11 straight games. Period 2: Brad Peterson gives the Bucs their first lead of the game at the 4:27 with assists to Borgestad and T.J. Dahl to make it 2-1 in favor of the Bucs. Dahl adds to the Bucs lead at 13:24 point with assists to Peterson and Brandon Longley to make it 3-1 Bucs. But Lancer's Paul Stastny, scores with 7 seconds left in the period to cut the lead to 3-2 before the intermission. Period 3: Stastny scores again just 26 seconds into the period to tie the game up 3-3. Lancer's Corey Carlson gives the Lancers the 4-3 lead with a short-handed tally at the 11:51 mark of the period. Tim Miller extends the lead to 2-goals at the 17:16 mark and that's how it ends. Written by Kevin Kasel. Buccaneers road woes continue in Green Bay, fail to generate offense once again scoring one goal, losing 4-1 Green Bay, WI (2.20.04): The Gamblers' Corey Couturier get the Gamblers on the board first with a marker at the 4:24 point. The Gamblers scored two quick goals from Sean Garrity and Billy Smith in the second just 47 seconds apart. Buccaneers' Mike Erickson answered with a power play tally with assists to Travis Anderson and Mike Neilon in the second period, to make it 3-1 Gamblers. But the Gamblers added a power play goal of their own before the second intermission to make it a 4-1 final. The Bucs lose their second straight game and fall six points behind the Lincoln Stars. The Stars won tonight 6-2 over the Waterloo Black Hawks. Lincoln's Adam Bartholomay had 4 goals and 2 assists in the game. He is a likely candidate for USHL's "Offensive Player of the Week" honors on Monday, February 23, 2004. Written by Kevin Kasel. Bucs shutout Lancers, keep pace with Lincoln
Urbandale, IA (2.21.04): Nothing brings out the best in the Des Moines Buccaneers quite like playing the River City Lancers at home. The Bucs throttled the Lancers 5-0 Saturday in front of a near sell-out crowd at the Metro Ice Sports Arena, earning Pat Watson his second shutout as a Buccaneer. Samir Saliji got the Bucs going right out of the gate, putting the puck past Lancers’ goalie Jeff Lerg just three minutes after the opening face-off. The Bucs didn’t score again for eight minutes, until Phil Fox netted his first goal of the season to make it 2-0.
The Buccaneers scoring onslaught was only part of the action on the ice, as tempers flared on both teams throughout the night. The referees handed out eight roughing penalties on the night and four five-minute majors for fighting. The heated action didn’t distract Watson though, who shutout the Lancers for the second time this season with thirty-four saves. The Bucs, who remain just six points behind Lincoln for the final West Division playoff spot, return home next week for two more meaningful games. On Thursday, February 26th, Des Moines takes on Waterloo, then on Saturday, February 28th, the Bucs face-off with the Green Bay Gamblers. Written by Dustin Godsey. Bucs clip Black Hawks, inch closer to playoff berth
Urbandale, IA (2.26.04): It looked like it was going to be a long night for the Des Moines Buccaneers when the Waterloo Black Hawks scored just nine seconds into Thursday night’s game at the Metro Ice Sports Arena. The defense settled down and the offense heated up though, and the Bucs held on for a 4-3 victory, moving them to within four points of idle Lincoln and the final playoff spot in the USHL West Division. The Buccaneers went nearly a full period before scoring their first goal, but Adam Miller found the back of the net just thirty-two seconds before the first intermission, tying the score at one. Bucs netminder Pat Watson wasn’t phased by Waterloo’s early goal, and turned away the remainder of his opponents’ twelve first period shots. The Buccaneers’ offense kept their momentum going to begin the second period, scoring two additional unanswered goals to give the Bucs a 3-1 lead, two-thirds of the way through the second period. Waterloo brought the score to 3-2 with a late period goal of their own, scoring just six seconds before heading to the locker room for the second break. Waterloo came out of the gates quickly again in the third period, this time knotting the game at three during the fifth minute of the final frame. The Black Hawk resurgence was short lived however, as Brad Peterson put the Bucs ahead for good less than three minutes later. Despite the loss, Waterloo outshot Des Moines 45-38, including an 18-8 third period advantage. Watson held strong though, and picked up his seventh win as a Buccaneer. Written by Dustin Godsey. Bucs inch closer to the fourth and final play-off spot Danville, IL (2.27.04): The Bucs inched closer to the fourth and final play-off spot with a 5-1 victory over Danville Friday night. Mike Erickson lead the way offensively tonight with two goals and an assist, continuing his USHL league leading 15-game scoring streak. Danville jumped out early with a flurry of shots and was able to get a rebound past Dwight LaBrosse. Erickson scored the Bucs first goal at the 13:18 mark of the first period to tie the game up 1-1. LaBrosse made 16 saves in the period, as the Bucs were outshot by a margin of 17-5, but were tied where it counts up on the scoreboard, it read 1 a piece. Samir Saliji gave the Bucs the lead that they never relinquished at the 3:54 mark with assists to Adam Miller and Marty Mjelleli. Mike Neilon added to the scoring with assists to Erickson and Pat Borgestad and Tom May added a late second period goal to cap off the 3 goal second period. Erickson finished off the scoring in the third adding another goal to his total for the night with assists to Neilon and Borgestad at the 6:54 point. The Bucs were outshot 29-20, but win 5-1 to pull within 2 points of the Lincoln Stars for the fourth and final play-off spot in the West. Written by Kevin Kasel.
Urbandale, IA (2.28.04): Scoreboard watching season has officially begun. With ten games left in the regular season, the Des Moines Buccaneers pulled even with the Lincoln Stars for the fourth and final West Division playoff spot with a convincing 4-0 victory over Green Bay, Saturday night at the Metro Ice Sports Arena. Buccaneers goalie Pat Watson was dominant again in the net for the Bucs, stopping all thirty-four Gamblers shots in the game, for his second shutout in as many weeks. It was Watson’s third whitewashing since joining the Buccaneers in late December. After a scoreless first period, the Buccaneers came alive in the second frame scoring three of the night’s four goals in the first twelve minutes. Mike Neilon started it off for the Bucs, putting it past Gamblers’ goalie Brad Smith, three and a half minutes into the period. Mike Erickson scored in his league-high sixteenth straight game with a goal seven minutes later. Dave Watters finished the Buccaneers scoring off with two straight goals, one in the second period and another one halfway through the final stanza. Written by Dustin Godsey. Continue with March Game Commentaries > |
Des Moines' scoring flurry ended in dramatic fashion early in the third period, when Mike Erickson beat the Stars' goalie on a penalty shot just five minutes into the final period. Erickson was awarded the penalty shot after being brought down from behind on a breakaway by a Lincoln defenseman. The Stars managed their lone goal of the game just thirty seconds later, but their fate had long been sealed.
After a scoreless second period, the Buccaneers opened up on the Lancers in the third frame, getting goals from Brad Peterson, Mike Erickson, and Chris Kane. Erickson’s short-handed empty netter with 7:50 left in the game extended his scoring streak to a league-high 13 consecutive games.
