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2003 November Game Commentaries Lincoln, NE (11.1.03) Period 1: Lincoln gets on the board early with a goal from Evan Rankin and helpers to Mick Berge and Brent Borgen at 1:22 point. The Bucs tied the game less then two minutes later with Marty Mjelleli's 11th goal of the season with assists to Chad Costello and Samir Saliji. Midway through the period Matt Hayek shot that hit the under-side of the crossbar and in that gave the Stars the lead again at 10:37 and less then two minutes after that Adam Bartholomay extended the lead to 3-1 on the power play with a wrap-around with assists to Rankin and Kevin Seibel. The period ends like the previous meeting with the Stars, 3-1 in favor of the Stars. Period 2: Deja vu again for the second period. The game on October 17th, the score was 3-1 in favor of Lincoln after the 1st. Also in that game, Mike Erickson scored two goals in the 2nd period to tie the game. This game, Mike Erickson scored two goals again in the second to tie, first one at the 5:21 mark on a 5-on-3 power play with helpers to Mjelleli and Davis Drewski. At 16:36 Erickson tied the game up 3-3 with a wrister from the right face-off circle. Period3: Just like the previous meeting the third period was score less. Overtime Period: Just 8 seconds into the extra stanza, Mjelleli almost ended the game, when he picked up the loose puck at the blue line and skated in all alone, his back-handed attempted was gloved down. On the ensuing face-off, Lincoln was able to bring the puck down the ice, and got the puck to Seibel in the slot who flipped the puck over Papcun, and under the crossbar to win the game for the Stars. Written by Kevin Kasel. Danville. ILL (11.7.03): The Buccaneers road woes continue, dropping their 6th straight road game, losing 1-4 in Danville. The Buccaneers last road win, was their first road game of the season, 5-2 over Sioux Falls. 10/03/03 at Sioux Falls W 5-2 First period was a score-less affair between the Wings and the Bucs. Brian Papcun stopped all 9 of the the Wings shots, while Justin Tobe stopped all 10 of the Bucs shots in the first period. Danville scored first at the 7:50 mark of the second period with a goal to Todd McIlrath. 26 seconds later, Samir Saliji ties the game up with assists to Chad Costello and Marty Mjelleli. Before the period ends, Danville's Nino Musitelli scores on the power play with less then a minute in the period to give the Wings the lead heading into the locker room. Third period saw the Wings extend the lead, first at the 2:15 mark Travis Winter from McIlrath and Ryan Hoehn. Then to put the nail in the coffin familiar names of McIlrath from Winter make it 4-1 Danville at 18:12 mark. Saturday's game, the Bucs face the other division leader, the Tri-City Storm, who are coming off a 2-5 loss at home to the Roughriders. Written by Kevin Kasel.
Offensive Woes Continue For Bucs Urbandale, IA (11.8.03): The schedule makers had it out for the Des Moines Buccaneers this weekend. Fresh off a seven and a half hours bus ride from eastern Illinois, the Buccaneers lost 3-1 to the USHL West Division leading Tri-City Storm Saturday night at the Metro Ice Sports Arena. The loss came a night after the Bucs fell to the Danville Wings, the first-place team in the East Division. The Bucs and the Storm were locked in a defensive struggle for most of the first period, until the sixteenth minute, when Tri-City’s Doug Conley put it past Des Moines’ Brian Papcun for the first goal of the game, and the only goal of the first period. The score remained 1-0 for the first ten minutes of the second period, until Doug Madsen scored a short-handed goal for the Storm, to put them up 2-0. Pat Borgestad answered the Storm goal with a power play score with under two minutes to play, but that was all the offense the Bucs could muster in the game. Tri-City finished off the scoring with a goal four minutes into the third period. The Bucs are back home next weekend for two games, taking on the Sioux City Musketeers on Friday November 14th, and then welcoming the Sioux Falls Stampede on Saturday, November 15th. Written by Dustin Godsey. Council Bluffs, IA (11.11.03) Period 1: The Lancers come out in the first period and pepper Dan Tormey, but are unable to get one past him. The Bucs are out shot badly, 3-18 in the 1st period and end the period killing off a penalty, their 3rd one of the period. Period 2: The Lancers' power play that carried over from the first period, the Lancers' Mike Howe is able to capitalize and give the Lancers the 1-0 lead just 0:18 seconds into the second period. The Lancers keep peppering Tormey, and he keeps turning them away. Late in the period, the Bucs catch a break as Mike Erickson is able to get one in the net, that the linesmen called. Assisting on the play was Adam Miller and Davis Drewiske at the 18:34 mark of the period. The Bucs out shot the Lancers this period, 11-10. Period 3: Lancers continue their dominance in the shots on goal category, winning the period's SOG battle, 15-7, but where it counts the score remained 1-1. Overtime Period: Not even a minute into the overtime Chris Kane scores his 2nd goal of the season, his 2nd game-winning goal, both against the Lancers. Mike Neilon assisted on the goal at the 0:59 mark of the OT. The Bucs ended their 3 game-losing streak, 6 game road-losing streak and snap the Lancers' 3 game-winning streak. Written by Kevin Kasel. Bucs Out Shoot Musketeers for Victory Urbandale, IA (11.14.03): A night after unveiling a new logo, the Des Moines Buccaneers looked comfortable in their new skin, defeating the Sioux City Musketeers 6-5 in a shootout at the Metro Ice Sports Arena. Sioux City got the scoring started in a hurry, putting the puck past Bucs’ goalie Dan Tormey 39 seconds into the game. The Musketeers went up 2-0 midway through the period, but the Bucs woke up soon thereafter, scoring twice to tie the game going into the intermission. Mike Neilon scored the first Bucs goal of the night, off an assist from Alan Dorich, followed by a goal by Marty Mjelleli with two minutes left in the period. Adam Miller and Samir Saliji assisted on the goal. Sioux City started the second period scoring first as well, scoring a goal five minutes into the frame to give the Musketeers a 3-2 lead. The Bucs picked up the next two goals in the period, the first coming off the Pat Borgestad. The Bucs took their first lead of the game with Marty Mjelleli’s second goal of the game, to give Des Moines a 4-3 lead at the second break. The Des Moines lead was short-lived however, with the Musketeers tying the game less than two minutes into the third. The Bucs answered the charge when Johnston native Chad Costello scored a goal eight minutes into the period. Sioux City tied the game just six minutes later, and the score remained knotted at five for the rest of regulation. After a scoreless overtime, the Bucs and Musketeers squared off in a shoot-out to determine the game’s victor. Sioux City’s Matt Hoffman put his first shot past Tormey, but the Bucs’ goalie was a brick wall the rest of the way. Samir Saliji and Pat Borgestad provided the scoring for Des Moines in the shootout. The win moves Des Moines into fourth place in the USHL West Division, with a (6-7-2) record. Written by Dustin Godsey. > Also see the 25 photo set of the game here. Urbandale, IA (11.15.03): The Sioux Falls Stampede can't say it about too many teams, but they certainly seem to have the Des Moines Buccaneers number this season. The Bucs fell to the Sioux Falls 6-4 Saturday night at the Metro Ice Sports Arena. It was the second time this season Des Moines has lost to the Stampede, who have just one win against the rest of the USHL. The Sioux Falls Stampede scored first, midway through the first period, and never looked back. Des Moines goalie Brian Papcun held the Stampede scoreless for the rest of the first period, but the Stampede put one past him just thirty-six seconds into the second period to put the Bucs behind 2-0. Mike Erickson put the Buccaneers on the board in the fifth minute of the second period, but that would be the lone highlight of the second period for Des Moines. The Stampede put three more goals on the board in the period, and led the Bucs 5-1 at the second break. Brandon Vossburg put the Stampede up 6-1 four minutes into the final period, but then the Bucs woke up. Des Moines rattled off three goals in less than two minutes to make the game interesting. The rally lost steam after a Sioux Falls timeout, and the Bucs couldn't climb all of the way back into the game, and in the end fell by the score of 6-4. The loss dropped the Bucs to (6-8-2) and into fifth in the USHL West Division. Written by Dustin Godsey. Kearny, NE (11.18.03) Period 1: Storm come out and score on the first shot on goal just 22 seconds into the game to take the early 1-0 lead. The Bucs have three straight power play opportunites, but fail to get one past Eric Aarnio. The Storm get their first chance to show off their power play unit, and they make it count, scoring at the 18:01 mark to take a 2-0 lead into the locker room. Period 2: Just like the first period, the Storm score once again on their first shot of the period to take a 3-0 lead just 1:15 into the period. At the 5:14 mark, Mike Erickson scores to make it 3-1 with assist to Marty Mjelleli. At 7:51, Tom May cuts the lead to 1 with assists to Chad Costello and scoring his first point has a Buccaneer, Brad Peterson. Peterson played last season for the Green Bay Gamblers, scoring 3 goals and 3 assists in 13 games. The Storm extend the lead to 4-2 at the 9:45 mark. Period 3: This period the Storm did NOT score on their first shot of the period, it took until the 6:21 mark for the Storm to make it a 5-2 lead. But 48 seconds later, Costello is able to cut it to 2 goals, at the 7:07 mark with another assist to Peterson. And the Storm finish it off with an ol' time hockey goal, from Christian Hanson at the 9:14 point to make it 6-3, in favor of the Storm. Written by Kevin Kasel.
Bucs See Stars in Shootout Loss Urbandale, IA (11.21.03): The Des Moines Buccaneers missed a golden opportunty to climb back into the playoff hunt Friday night, falling the Lincoln Stars 5-4 at the Metro Ice Sports Arena. The Bucs took the Stars to a shootout, but couldn't get the win they needed to move into a fourth place tie with Lincoln in the USHL Western Division. Lincoln's Jared Boll scored the first goal of the game, midway through the first period, and the score remained 1-0 until Adam Miller tied the game eight minutes into the second period. Miller's goal, which was assisted by Mike Erickson and Marty Mjelleli, was the only goal of the period, leaving the teams tied 1-1 at the second intermission. Both teams came out of the locker rooms on a mission in the third period, and combined for four goals in the first five minutes of the frame. A Mike Erickson short-handed goal and a Joe Piskula slap shot past the Lincoln goalie sandwiched two Stars goals. The teams traded goals at the halfway point of the period as well, making the score 4-4, which is what it remained through regulation and overtime. The Stars scored on their first two tries in the shootout, putting them up 2-0 in the best of five dual. Mike Neilon put one in to make it 2-1, but the Lincoln's Phillippe Lamoureux stopped Pat Borgestad's final attempt. Written by Dustin Godsey. Bucs Regain Scoring Touch in 8-6 Win Urbandale, IA (11.22.03): The Des Moines Buccaneers rebounded from a tough shootout loss to defeat the Waterloo Black Hawks 8-6 Saturday night at the Metro Ice Sports Arena. It was the fourth time in ten home games that the Bucs scored seven goals or more. The Black Hawks got on the board first with a goal in the third minute of the first period, but the Bucs dominated the rest of the period, scoring three unanswered goals. The first Des Moines goal came off the stick of defenseman Travis Anderson and was followed by first period scores from J.P. Platisha and Mike Erickson. The second period was a different story for the Bucs, as they were outscored 3-0 in the frame, and trailed 4-3 going into the second intermission. The Bucs regained control early in the third period, getting goals from Mike Erickson and Samir Saliji in the first two minutes of the period. The Bucs would not trail again, though Waterloo would briefly tie the score at five with fourteen minutes remaining in the game. Pat Borgestad answered the Waterloo challenge forty-five seconds later to put the Bucs up for good 6-5. Marty Mjelleli then scored his league leading fifteenth goal of the season to put the Bucs up by two. Waterloo brought the score back within one with less than five minutes to play, but Saliji put the Black Hawks away with an empty net goal, his second score of the night. The Bucs return home next week for two Thanksgiving week games, the first on Wednesday, November 26th against the River City Lancers, then again on Friday, November 28th vs. the Sioux Falls Stampede. Written by Dustin Godsey. Urbandale, IA (11.26.03): Thanks to the River City Lancers, the Des Moines Buccaneers will have something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. The team will undoubtedly be grateful that they won’t see the Lancers again for a couple of weeks. After winning the first two meetings of the season, the Bucs were downed by their rivals from Omaha 6-3 Wednesday night at the Metro Ice Sports Arena. The usually slow starting Bucs came out of the gates fired up and put the first goal on the board with a Samir Saliji power play score three minutes into the game. However, River City answered with four goals in the next seven minutes and, despite an Adam Miller goal late in the first period, the Bucs could get back into the game. The score remained 4-2 throughout the second period, but the Lancers came out in the final period and scored twice more to take a 6-2 lead. Samir Saliji scored his second goal of the night with less than a minute to play to finish out the scoring for Des Moines. Written by Dustin Godsey. Urbandale, IA (11.28.03): The Des Moines Buccaneers lost their second straight game Friday night, 4-2 to the Sioux Falls Stampede and fell to 7-11-3 on the season. The Stampede win was the third of the season against the Bucs, and just the fourth overall for the last place team from South Dakota. The teams played to a scoreless draw in the first period, and the Stampede scored the games first goal four minutes into the second period. Mike Neilon answered with a goal less than two minutes later off assists from Pat Borgestad and J.P. Platisha. When Neilon‚s shot hit the back of the net, hundreds of teddy bears were thrown onto the ice for the Bucs‚ third annual Teddy Bear Toss, but it would be the last time the fans would be on their feet for a while. The Stampede scored two more goals before the end of the period to take a 3-1 lead, and the door was slammed closed on the Bucs. Samir Saliji scored a quick goal to start the third period to bring the Bucs within one. However, despite a number of scoring opportunities, Des Moines couldn‚t tie the score before Sioux Falls recorded an insurance goal halfway through the period to bring the score to 4-2. Written by Dustin Godsey. Buccaneers snap Cedar Rapids winning streak Cedar Rapids, IA (11.29.03): The Buccaneers snap USHL league leader, Cedar Rapids' 10-game winning streak with a 5-3 win in Cedar Rapids. This is Cedar Rapids' first loss in the month of November. Leading the way for the Buccaneers was Adam Miller (2G, A) and Marty Mjelleli (GWG, A). Dan Tormey turned away 37 of the 40 shots he faced. Period 1: The Bucs get on the board first in the contest, when Marty Mjelleli feeds Adam Miller who finds room in the high slot to give the Bucs the 1-0 lead at the 5:45 mark. About five minutes later, the Roughriders' Jamie Carroll scores on a face-off at 11:35 to make it 1-1. Miller gives the Bucs a 1-goal at the 14:09 point with an assist to Samir Saliji. Cedar Rapids' James Brannigan ties the game up with helpers to Brett Beckfeld and Sean Muncy at the 15:43 point of the period. Period 2: The Roughriders' score the lone goal of the period at the 13:42 mark when Muncy gets his shot just over Dan Tormey's glove and under the cross bar with assists to Raymond Eichenlaub and Brett Beckfeld. Period 3: Chad Costello ties the game up at 3 a piece from the slot with assists to Brad Peterson and J.P. Platisha at the 2:18 mark. (Side note: Pointstreak has Costello scoring the goal, but I think it was actually Peterson, because I swear it was a left-handed shooter who scored the goal and there didn't appear to be any Buccaneers' in front of the net for a tip or re-direct.) 4:00 point in the period, Mjelleli adds to his league leading point total again with a goal that was re-directed off his skate with a helper to Miller. The on-ice officials met to discuss the call, and even the big screen showed the puck was re-directed with Mjelleli's skate and there was NO intentional kicking motion to re-direct the puck into the net. The Bucs were able to hold off the Roughriders attempts to tie the game up and Pat Borgestad gets an empty-netter at the 19:46 mark to seal the 5-3 victory for the Buccaneers. Written by Kevin Kasel. Continue with December Games > |
