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2004 March Game Commentaries Bucs extend their winning streak to five games St. Louis, MO (3.5.04): The Bucs extend their winning streak to five games, with a 6-1 victory over the St. Louis Eagles. Erickson adds two assists to his total to keep his 17-game point-scoring streak going. The Bucs came to play tonight, handling the St. Louis Eagles with ease, 6-1. Brandon Longley gets the scoring started with his first goal as a Buccaneer at the 5:43 mark with assists to Chad Costello and Dave Watters. Mike Neilon gets the eventual game-winner at the 10:24 mark of the first with an assist to Mike Erickson, to extent his point-scoring streak to 17. If Mike Erickson scores a point in all the remaining regular season games, he will own the new USHL record for longest point scoring streak. The current record is 25 games straight by two players: Greg Johnson, Thunder Bay Flyers (November 11, 1988 - January 22, 1989) and Mike Lephart, Omaha Lancers (December 15, 1996 - March 5, 1997). There are currently 9 games remaining in the regular season for the Buccaneers before the play-offs begin. The flood gates opened up in the second period as it saw the Bucs put four goals on the board: T.J. Dahl (0:48) assist to Erickson, Costello (6:46) assists to Longley and Watters, Watters (9:43) assists to Costello and Longley and Adam Miller (12:52) assists to Marty Mjelleli and Samir Saliji score to extent the lead to 6-0. Then at the 18:45 mark of the second, the Eagles' Steve Eastman gets one past Dwight LaBrosse to cut the lead to 6-1 Bucs. LaBrosse stopped 25 of the 26 shots he faced, while his counter-part, Michael Zacharias at the other end, faced 53 shots, while turning away 47. The Bucs are on their longest winning streak since the seven-game winning streak in the 2000-01 season: January 19, 2001 vs Chicago 6-5 OT through February 2, 2001 at Sioux Falls 5-4. Known facts: With their win tonight, River City clinched a play-off berth. Now three teams have clinched play-off berths: Tri-City, Chicago and River City. Only four teams can win the Anderson Cup: Tri-City, River City, Sioux City and Chicago, all other eight teams have been eliminated from winning the Anderson Cup. With their loss tonight in regulation, St. Louis is eliminated from the play-offs. Green Bay cannot win the East Division. Only Chicago, Green Bay, Waterloo and Danville can win the East Division. The race for the West Division title is a three horse race, Tri-City, River City and Sioux City. The highest the Bucs can finish is second. The highest the Stars can finish is third. Sioux City is one point away from securing a play-off spot. Written by Kevin Kasel. Urbandale, IA (3.6.04): The Des Moines Buccaneers learned an important lesson Saturday night - even one of the hottest teams in the league can hit a bump in the road now and then. The Bucs just barely had their five game winning streak snapped by the Chicago Steel, who left the Metro Ice Sports Arena with a 5-4 shootout victory. The Bucs came out of the gates firing, pounding Chicago goalie Shane Connelly with sixteen shots in the first period, but Tom May was the only Buccaneer to find the net in the period, scoring less than three minutes before intermission. The Steel tied it up with a goal of their own, just twenty-three seconds before heading to the locker rooms. The second period belonged to the Steel, who scored three goals in the frame while out-shooting the Bucs 10-6, giving them a 4-1 lead that looked insurmountable entering the third period. The Bucs retook control of the momentum in the third period, getting a goal from T.J. Dahl at the midway point of the period. Des Moines still found themselves down two goals with just thirty-four seconds remaining in the game, when they found some late game magic in the sticks of Adam Miller and T.J. Dahl. The two forwards scored goals within eleven seconds of each other, completing the Bucs comeback and sending the game to overtime. After a scoreless extra period, the Bucs and the Steel lined up for a shootout to decide the final outcome. Bucs’ goalie Dwight LaBrosse made four terrific saves to keep Des Moines alive, but Chicago’s Danny Charleston was the only player to score for either team, giving the Steel the 5-4 win. Despite the loss, the Bucs picked up one point in the standings, and sit just one point behind Lincoln for the final West Division playoff spot. Written by Dustin Godsey. Bucs fall in Kearney, 5-1. Kearney, NE (3.9.04): Period 1: Dwight LaBrosse gets the start in goal for the Bucs facing Peter Mannino at the other end of the ice. The Storm take advantage of their early power play to take the early 1-0 lead at the 3:49 mark from Brian Kilburg. The Storm are currently 16-0-1-1 when they score the first goal at home. Period 2: The Storm come out in the second period and score two quick goals less then a minute apart, Bill Thomas at the 1:13 and Jake Obermeyer at 2:02. At he 10:55 mark, Mike Neilon cuts the lead to 2 with an assist to Mike Erickson. This extends Mike Erickson's point-scoring streak to 19 games, dating back to January 17, 2004. Period 3: The third period saw the Storm add two more power play goals to make it 5-1: first from Steve Wagner at 4:10 and then David Boguslawski at 7:09. After the fifth goal, Pat Watson came in relief of LaBrosse. Even though the Bucs lost tonight, they didn't lose any ground in the race for the fourth and final position in the West Division. The Lincoln Stars lost tonight to the Sioux City Musketeers to keep it a 1-point race for that final spot. Now there are four teams who are mathematically qualified for the 2004 Clark Cup play-offs: Tri-City, Chicago, River City and Sioux City. Only two teams have been eliminated: Sioux Falls and St. Louis. Written by Kevin Kasel. USHL Standings as of March 9, 2004
x - Clinched 1 - Games Remaining 2 - Maximum points team can achieve 3 - Possible finish in the division Bucs leapfrog Lincoln with 4-1 win Urbandale, IA (3.12.04): For the first time this year, the Des Moines Buccaneers are looking down in the standings at the Lincoln Stars. The Bucs took sole possession of fourth place in the USHL West Division standings with a convincing 4-1 victory Friday night at the Metro Ice Sports Arena over Lincoln, the defending Clark Cup champion. It didn’t take long for the action to get intense, as Des Moines’ Mike Neilon and Lincoln’s Mick Berge mixed it up just six seconds after the opening face-off. Just twenty-one seconds later, after both players were escorted to the penalty box, the Bucs took a 1-0 lead off with a Mike Erickson goal. The score extended Erickson’s point-scoring streak to twenty consecutive games. Samir Saliji then gave the Bucs a 2-0 lead midway through the period, with a power play goal assisted by Davis Drewiske and Jesse Lane. Mike Erickson got things started for the Bucs early in the second period as well, picking up his second goal of the game just twenty-three seconds into the middle frame, and giving the Bucs a 3-0 lead. The Stars cut the Des Moines lead to two with a goal at the six-minute mark, but the three Buccaneer goals were more than enough for goalie Dwight Labrosse. LaBrosse finished the game with twenty-five saves in the winning effort. Both teams pounded the nets in the third period, as Lincoln attempted to mount a comeback and the Bucs looked for an insurance goal, but neither team could score until Marty Mjelleli found the back of an empty net with less than a minute left in regulation. The 4-1 win moves the Buccaneers into the fourth West Division playoff spot with six games remaining. Written by Dustin Godsey. Bucs fall to Musketeers, hold on to fourth place Urbandale, IA (3.13.04): The Buccaneers run to the playoffs hit a speed bump Saturday night, falling to the Sioux City Musketeers 4-2 at the Metro Ice Sports Arena. The Bucs took an early lead, but in the end didn’t have enough in their tank to finish off the Musketeers. Mike Erickson put the Bucs on the board fifteen minutes into the first period, extending his consecutive scoring streak to twenty-one games. Sioux City scored two goals in a row to open the second period, but Brandon Longley snuck one past Musketeers goalie Jimmy Spratt to tie the game at two. The Musketeers finished the night off with two third period goals, to which the Buccaneers couldn’t answer despite their best efforts. Pat Watson finished the night with thirty-eight saves for the Bucs, who remained in fourth place with a Lincoln loss to Cedar Rapids. The Buccaneers’ run for the playoffs returns home for their regular season finale on Saturday, March 27th, as they take on Danville at 7:35 pm. Written by Dustin Godsey. Bucs win in a shoot-out 4-3 over the Muskies Sioux City (3.17.04): Adam Miller gets the Buccaneers on the board at the 0:24 mark, when his wrister from the blue line finds the back of the net. About six minutes later, T.J. Dahl feeds Marty Mjelleli a one-timer that finds twine to give the Bucs the 2-0 lead. Less then a minute later, Sioux City's Brian Bales finds himself all alone against the goalie and makes a nifty move to cut the lead to 2-1 in favor of the Bucs. Sioux City's Troy Brummett is able to tie the game on the power play at the 13:59 mark. Brummett scores early in the second period with a centering pass from behind the net to give the Muskies the 3-2 lead. The Bucs were able to tie the game up later in the period when David Watters found himself in front of the net and flipped a back-hander past Jeff Lantz to tie it 3 a piece. In the shoot-out, Samir Saliji and Adam Miller were able to get their pucks past Lantz, while Dwight LaBrosse stopped all four of the Musky shooters. LaBrosse made 34 saves on the night for the victory. The Bucs move 3 points ahead of the Stars for the 4th and final play-off spot in the West Division with only 4 games remaining for the Bucs and the Stars. March 20th the Stars and Bucs do battle in the Ice Box. Written by Kevin Kasel. Bucs outshot the Lancers, but the Lancers down the Bucs 3-1 Council Bluffs, IA (3.19.04): The Lancers' goalie, Marty Magers and Bucs' goalies, Pat Watson, battled each other shot for shot the first 49 minutes of the game. At the 9:01 mark of the third period, Mick Lawrence converts on the power play to make it 1-0 Lancers. Less then 30 seconds later Tim Miller puts in a rebounds that the Bucs defense couldn't clear to make it 2-0 Lancers in the blink of an eye. Travis Anderson cut the lead to one with a goal at the 14:37 mark with assists to T.J. Dahl and Marty Mjelleli. The Bucs do get a late power play opportunity and with the goalie pulled, the Lancers' Paul Stastny scores an short-handed empty-netter with 1 second remaining to make it 3-1 final in favor of the Lancers. Written by Kevin Kasel. Bucs earn their 18th straight Clark Cup play-off berth Lincoln, NE (3.20.04): The Buccaneers defeated Lincoln 3-2 to claim the fourth and final play-off spot in the West, eliminating Lincoln from the play-offs for the first time in their 8 years of existence. Brad Peterson gets the Bucs on the board first, with a short-handed goal at the 12:48 mark with an assist to net-minder, Dwight LaBrosse. That goal marked the 11th short-handed goal the Stars have given up this season, three of them to the Buccaneers. But with less then a minute left in the first period, Lincoln's Ben Gordon ties the score at one a piece. Jesse Lane finally finds the twine with his power play goal at the 6:04 mark of the second period to give the Bucs a 2-1 lead with assists on the play to Mike Erickson and Marty Mjelleli. Lincoln would not go away as Brent Borgen ties the game at the 11:08 mark. Then with 1:21 left in the second, Samir Saliji puts the Bucs on top for good with helpers to Mjelleli and Travis Anderson to make it 3-2 in favor of the Bucs. The Bucs held on to the lead through the third period to claim the victory. The Buccaneers will face the Anderson Cup champions, Tri-City Storm in the first round of the play-offs. The Storm clinched their first ever Anderson in Kearney. It is the franchise's second, they won the Anderson Cup and Clark Cup in the 1983-84 season as the St. Paul Vulcans. The Vulcans/Storm franchise has won the Gold Cup as well, first in 1991 and then in their final season in the Twin Cities in 2000. Chicago clinched their division with a Cedar Rapids' loss at home to Sioux Falls. Waterloo was the only home team to win tonight, with their 4-2 victory over the Green Bay Gamblers. Both Danville and Waterloo are 1 point away from clinching the final two play-off spots in the East. Waterloo could still possibly finish in second, but they need to win their remaining games and Cedar Rapids cannot earn another point. Only things left to decide in the play-off hunt, is what seed will River City and Sioux City be? They will face each other in the first round, but who will have home ice advantage? What seed will Cedar Rapids finish, 2nd or 3rd? Will Waterloo make the play-offs, if so, what seed, 2nd - 4th? Will Danville make the play-offs, if so, what seed, 3rd - 4th? Will Green Bay make the play-offs?. Written by Kevin Kasel. Bucs hold off the Black Hawks, 2-1 for their 29th win this season Waterloo, IA (3.26.04): Tonight's game has more meaning to the Black Hawks then the Bucs. The Black Hawks have a few things going for them going into tonight's game vs. the Bucs. 1) One more point and they clinch a play-off spot. 2) If they win their remaining games and Cedar Rapids fails to gain a point in their remaining games, Waterloo will secure the #2 seed and home ice for the first round of the play-offs. The Bucs have secured their play-off position and a win or loss will have no bearing on their positioning in the West Division standings. The Bucs will face the Anderson Cup champions, Tri-City Storm in the first round of the Clark Cup play-offs. The only affect wins and losses will have on the Bucs now is the place they pick in the up-coming draft. In net for the Bucs is Pat Watson and for the Black Hawks is once again Kevin Regan for the 8th straight game. Tom May gets the Bucs on the board first with his goal in the second period at the 9:02 mark with assists to Chad Costello and Phil Fox. Samir Saliji added to the Bucs lead at the 1:58 mark of the third with his wrister from high in the slot with help to Brandon Longley. On Waterloo's 8th and final power play opportunity, Peter MacArthur was able to get one past Watson to cut the lead to 2-1. The Bucs are able to hold off the Black Hawks' late flurry to win, 2-1. The Buccaneers' win secured the Cedar Rapids Roughriders the #2 seed in the East. The Roughriders also helped themselves with a 4-3 win over the Chicago Steel. Other scores from around the league: Danville Wings 3, Lincoln Stars 2; Green Bay Gamblers 7, St. Louis Eagles 1; Tri-City Storm 3, River City Lancers 2; Sioux City Musketeers 5, Sioux Falls Stampede 2. Written by Kevin Kasel. Bucs fall to Danville in finale, look ahead to playoffs
Urbandale, IA (3.27.04): The Des Moines Buccaneers dropped their regular season finale on Saturday night, 3-1 to the Danville Wings in front of a season high 3500 fans at the Metro Ice Sports Arena. The loss, which had no impact in the standings for either team, gave the Bucs a final 2003-04 regular season record of 29-26-5. Despite being outshot 12-10 by the Bucs in the first period, Danville put the puck in the net twice to take a 2-0 lead at the first intermission. Des Moines had a much larger shot advantage in the second period, putting up thirteen shots to the Wings’ four. One of the Bucs’ shots found the net, off the stick of Pat Borgestad, with assists from Mike Neilon and Mike Erickson. The goal cut the Danville lead to one at the second break. The Bucs once again bombarded Danville goalie Ken Reiter in the third period, putting up twelve shots to the Wings’ six, but once again the bounces didn’t go their way, and they were unable to cut into the Danville lead. The Wings scored their final goal just four minutes into the period to give them their final advantage of 3-1. Despite the rough ending to the regular season, the Bucs have a lot to look forward to as they enter the postseason for the eighteenth consecutive season. Des Moines takes on the Tri-City Storm in a five game series in the first round of the 2004 Clark Cup Playoffs. The first two games of the series will take place in Kearney, NE before switching to Des Moines for game three on April 3rd, and, if necessary, game four on April 8th. Written by Dustin Godsey. Continue with Clark Cup Game Commentaries > |
