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2003 September-October Game Commentaries Urbandale, IA (9.27.03): The Buccaneers opened the 2003-04 season by handing the River City Lancers their worst defeat since February of 1995, when the Bucs also beat the Lancers 7-1. The defeat thrilled the home crowd and sent the handful of Lancer faithful home wondering what happened to their star goalie and team. In the picture to the right you can see the frustration on Major's face after another Buc goal. What happened was a combination of smart and spirited offensive and defensive play by the Bucs. When things got chippy, the Bucs stayed disciplined while the Lancers took penalties... 5 in the first, 8 in the second and 1 in the third. It was hard to find fault in the way the team played. The Bucs opened scoring at 6:08 in the first when Tom May used his speed and skill to score an unassisted goal. Chris Kane made it 2-0 on a power-play goal, assisted by Dave Watters. The Lancers scored their only goal on a power-play from the stick of Mike Howe. It was the only one that veteran Brian Papcun would miss all night. Brian faced a total of 42 shots on the night.
The next two goals were scored by Marty Mjelleli. In one goal, Marty was within 2 feet of Majors and on a back-handed shot, lifted the puck up and over the outstretched goalie. It was good to see Marty rewarded after working so hard in pre-season. The Lancers were in a desperate situation and midway the Lancers got a power-play. The Lancer coach called a time-out to talk the strategy over with his players. When they skated back out on the ice, the Lancer new was empty. The Bucs stayed cool and did not try to blindly clear the puck out or shoot for the empty net. Instead, J.P. Platisha hit the puck into the boards and the puck bounced off straight into the empty net. It was a short-handed, empty netter! The assist went to Brian Papcun. The goal broke the Lancers back, but the Bucs were still alive and Adam Miller scored one more goal on a pretty cross-ice pass from Samir Saliji. The clock wound down and the Bucs had won their first home game 7-1. Yes, the Bucs are back! Written by Steve Bendy. Sioux Falls, SD (10.03.03) Period 1: The Buccaneers light the lamp early in this contest, 0:59 seconds into the match, Mike Neilon steals a pass near the blue line and fires a wrister from the right face-off circle that beats Ross Cherry, to give the Bucs an early 1-0 lead. The score remained the same until the 15:26 mark when Neilon one-times a pass from the boards to give the Bucs the 2-0 lead (assists to Tom May and Patrick Borgestad). The Bucs went into the locker with the lead. Period 2: Just 0:18 seconds into the second period, Anthony Ciraulo of Sioux Falls, cuts the lead in half, 2-1. Then at the 10:43 mark Marty Mjelleli adds to his team leading goals, with assists to Mike Erickson and J.P. Platisha to give the Bucs a 2-goal cushion, 3-1. The score would have been a much larger lead for the Bucs if it weren't for some unbelievable saves by Cherry in the period. Period 3: 3:30 into the third period, Brandon Harrington makes it a 1-goal affair with a wrister from just inside the blue line that beats, Brian Papcun glove-side, to make it 3-2 in favor of the Bucs. It stayed a 1-goal affair until at the 17:48 mark, Mjelleli scored his second of the night with an assist from Erickson, to make it 4-2. Samir Saliji added another goal at the 18:57 mark with assists from Adam Miller and Mjelleli to make it 5-2 final. Written by Kevin Kasel. Waterloo Hands Bucs First Loss of Season Waterloo, IA (10.4.03): Period 1: For a majority of the 1st period, the Black Hawks control the play in the Bucs' end of the ice. In the first 15 minutes, the Bucs only manage one shot on goal, in comparison to Waterloo's 10. The Bucs did manage to get about 7-8 shots off during their power play opportunity with about 5 minutes to go in the period. Period 2: Travis Anderson goes off for tripping at the 1:47 mark, 42 seconds later, the Black Hawks are able to score on the powerplay with a nice step up by Mike Radja to Matt Fornataro to make it 1-0 Black Hawks. The Bucs have several chances in the period, but, Kevin Regan is up to the challenge. Period 3: The third period continued to be a defensive battle. Both teams had their chances, but Regan and Brian Papcun kept the game the same. With less then 5 minutes left in the period, Peter McArthur comes in one-on-one with a Buc defender who has him all tied up, but McArthur is able get his stick free at the last minute to make a quick move of the stick to flip the puck over Papcun and into the net, to make it 2-0 Black Hawks. The Bucs pull Pappers with about 90 seconds left, but to no avail, Regan gets the shutout, 2-0.
Urbandale, IA (10.10.03): The Des Moines Buccaneer offense was again in high-gear as 7 different players scored in the 7-2 win over Green Bay. When the Green Bay offense did get by the stubborn Buc defense, veteran netminder Brian Papcun slid, stretched, stopped and robbed the shooters, stopping 37 of 39 shots. The Buccaneers got on the board first at 5:11 when Tom May skated in on Gambler goalie Troy Davenport. Troy got a piece of Tom's shot, but the puck fipped into the goal to give the Bucs a 1-0 lead. Green Bay had been putting tremendous pressure on the Buc net, and continued to do so after the unassisted goal. Brian Papcun was a bit adventurous in net, but was able to recover and stop all shots. Travis Anderson scored next on a powerplay at 16:31, the assists going to Adam Miller and Mike Neilon. Early in the second period (1:23) Marty Mjelleli was rewarded for his hard work when he lifted the puck up and over Davenport to get the game-winner and increase his team-leading scoring. Davis Drewiske and Chad Costello picked up assists. The Bucs picked up three more unanswered goals in the second period to stretch the lead to 6-0 before Green Bay scored. Rory Farrell, Samir Saliji (Neilon, Miller) and Davis Drewiske (Borgestad, Platisha), and Adam Miller (Neilon, Saliji) got on the scoring sheet in the second period. Green Bay was able to score one more goal in the third period but it was too little, too late as the Bucs had won a convincing victory to take their record to 3-1 on the young season. Written by Steve Bendy. Chicago, ILL (10.11.03): Period 1: Dan Tormey makes his first start of the season in net. Chicago strikes early, just 33 seconds into the match, Matt McIlvane gives the Steel the early 1-0 lead with assists to Danny Charleston and Justin Lewandowski. Tormey settles down and is able to save the remaining 11 shots in the period, but Chicago's goalie, Adam D'Abla stopped all 11 shots he faced in the period. Period 2: Once again the Steel score early in the period, Justin Lewandowski with helpers to Ryan Kim and Matt McIlvane at the 2:34 mark. The Bucs were able to kill off both penalty kills during the period and trailed 2-0 after the second. Period 3: Midway through the period Chicago's T.J. Fox puts the final nail into the Bucs coffin with helpers to Eric Lampe and Eric Slais to make it 3-0 in favor of Chicago. So far this season, if the Bucs don't score first, they don't score at all. The Bucs are 3-0 when scoring first, 19 goals for, 5 goals against and 0-2 when not scoring first, 0 goals for and 5 goals against. I know it is early in the season, but this team seems to score a bunch or NONE AT ALL. Written by Kevin Kasel. Lincoln, NE (10.17.03) Period 1: Brad Oistad started off sounding like a broken record for the first 13 minutes and 14 seconds of the game ... Lincoln gets the puck into the zone, the Bucs try and clear it out. Lincoln holds the puck in, Bucs get the puck and get it out of the zone. Lincoln brings the puck back in and gets the puck to Adam Bartholomay who shoots and scores. This routine happened three times in this period ... 3:22, 10:50 and 13:14 for the natural hat trick for Bartholomay. The Bucs were finally able to score a goal for the first time this year when the opponent scored first, Marty Mjelleli erases the goose egg with assists to Tom May and Adam Miller at 13:42 point. Period 2: Mike Erickson gets his first goal of the season at the 10:06 mark with assist to Samir Saliji. A few minutes later Erickson ties the game with a short-handed goal at 13:17 with an assist to Marty Mjelleli. Both teams head in to the locker tied, 3 a piece. Period 3: The third period saw neither team score and the Bucs were at least guaranteed a point for this trip. Overtime: The extra stanza saw 3 shots for the Bucs and 4 shots for the Stars, but the score remained the same, 3-3. Shoot-out: The Bucs first four shooter were not able to get one past Philippe Lamoureux. Brian Papcun was able to stop Lincoln's first three shooters, but their fourth shooter, Evan Rankin was able to get one in the net. The Bucs' fifth shooter, Adam Miller was able to score to force the Stars' fifth shooter, but he missed. The Bucs' sixth shooter missed, but the Star's Brent Borgen scored and won the shoot-out for the Stars, 4-3. Written by Kevin Kasel. Sioux Falls, SD (10.18.03): Period 1: The Buccaneers control play most of the first period, but it is the Stampede who get on the board first at the 16:03 point, Andrew Carroll gives the Stampede the 1-0 lead. With 45 seconds remaining in the period, Mike Neilon scores his third goal of the season (all against Sioux Falls) on the power play with an assist to Mike Erickson to tie the game up heading into the locker room. Period 2: The Stampede come out in the second period and take control, out-shooting the Bucs and getting one past Dan Tormey at the 3:55 mark from Jeff Prough. Period 3: At the 3:54 mark, Sioux Falls' Anthony Ciraulo gives the Stampede a 2-goal lead. J.P. Platisha cuts the lead to one at the 7:16 mark with assists to Pat Borgestad and Dave Watters. The Bucs pull their goalie in the final minute, then with a face-off with about 11 seconds to go in the Stampede zone, the Bucs try to set up Tom May, but he was tied up, and Jordan Fox gets the puck and fires at the empty net and scores at 19:58 to make it 4-2 Sioux Falls. Written by Kevin Kasel.
Vokes, Collins Contribute in Embarrassing 9-3 Loss Urbandale, IA (10.24.03): Two familiar names racked up some impressive point totals tonight for Cedar Rapids - Matt Vokes (brother of Jeremy Vokes, 1997-98 Bucs team and Greg Collins, brother of Chris Collins, 2001-02 Bucs team. Vokes picked up a goal and 3 assists while Collins notched a goal and 4 assists. Their 2 goals were just a part of the 9 goals scored against the disorganized Buccaneers Friday night. For the Buccaneers, it was the first home loss of the season, and the fourth game in a row without a win. The game started out on a positive note as Marty Mjelleli scored at the 3:10 mark of the first period to give the Bucs the 1-0 lead. Assists went to Samir Saliji and Rory Farrell. Cedar Rapids then took control of the game racking up the next 7 goals, 3 in the first period and 4 in the second. The Bucs were never able to get sustained offensive pressure and it seemed as if every shot Cedar Rapids took was guided into the net by an invisible wire. The Bucs return to the ice tomorrow night to face the league leading Danville Wings. Written by Steve Bendy.
Third Period Assault Falls Short Urbandale, IA (10.25.03): The Buccaneers gave up three goals early in the first period, and despite a 4 goal assault in the last period were unable to pull out a victory, as Danville beat the Bucs 6-4. Danville opened the scoring just 3:13 into the first period and then scored again at the 5:11 and 6:14 marks to take a 3-0 lead. Brian Papcun who has been so solid for the Bucs ended the night with 3 goals on 3 shots, as Dan Tormey took the net. Dan ended the night with 25 saves on 27 shots. The top 4 goal scorers in the USHL are from Danville, but their first 3 goals came from Travis Winter, Bryan Marshall, and Andrew Panchenko. Early in the second period the Bucs nearly scored as the puck rang off the pipe, but Andrew Panchenko picked up the loose puck and scored a short-hander. Now, instead of 3-1, The Bucs found themselves down 4-0 and were struggling to get organized as the second period came to a close. With 1 minute left in the period the Bucs had a two-man advantage on the powerplay and were putting tremendous pressure on Danville's goalie, Justin Tobe. The Bucs had him beat, but the pick rang off the pipe and time expired (see picture above). The crowd groaned, wondering what had happened to the Bucs. The third period began and Danville was able to kill off the remainder of the penalty, but just as they killed it off, Mike Erickson scored with assists going to Samir Saliji and Marty Mjelleli. Danville fought back with a vengance, but Dan Tormey was able to come up with some big saves and it was the Bucs who would score next. Marty Mjelleli, who is one of the hardest working players on the team, scored to make it 4-2. The assist went to Adam Miller. The crowd began to respond and the Bucs were pressing hard, taking chances. Danville took advantage and scored again to make it 5-2. The Bucs did not give up. Less than two minutes later Adam Miller lit the lamp to make it 5-3. Assists went to Marty Mjelleli and Samir Saliji. Just over a minute later, at the 13:23 mark, Marty Mjelleli scored again to make it 5-4 (assists to Samir Saliji and Adam Miller). Marty's 2 goals and 2 assists placed him 5th in the USHL scoring race with 13 points. Marty has 9 goals in 9 games, tied for the top spot in the USHL. The top 4 scorers have 15 points each. The momentum had changed and the Bucs were poised to tie the game. Coach Ferguson pulled the goalie and the Bucs were on the attack. Danville did not panick and at 18:58 a soft clearing shot from Brett Beauchamp slid the length of the ice and into the empty net to give Danville the 6-4 win. Although it was not a well played game by the Bucs, they never gave up and I hope they learned that if they play as a team they can score and beat any team in the USHL. Written by Steve Bendy.
Urbandale, IA (10.31.03): After scoring a seven goals combined in their two home games last weekend, the Des Moines Buccaneers put up seven more Friday night against the St. Louis Heartland Eagles, defeating them 7-5 at the Metro Ice Sports Arena. The win improves the Bucs to (4-5-1), and dropped the Heartland Eagles to (4-6-3) The Bucs fell behind early, when St. Louis’ Nick Miller slipped one past Bucs’ goalie Dan Tormey early in the first period. The Bucs defense was solid for the rest of the period, and the Bucs trailed just 1-0 at the first break. The Bucs came out of the gates quickly in the second period, scoring two goals in the first three minutes. Des Moines got its first goal of the night from Adam Miller, who scored off a Pat Borgestad assist. Miller than dished to Marty Mjelleli less than thirty seconds later, to give the Bucs a 2-1 lead. Mjelleli picked up his second point of the game midway through the second, when he combined with Samir Saliji to set up a Tom May power play goal. St. Louis managed another score just before the period ended, but the Bucs went to the locker room with a 3-2 lead. Des Moines started the third period even quicker than the second, getting a power play goal from Davis Drewiske. Saliji picked up an assist on the score. St. Louis was not out of the game yet however, as they picked up two straight goals to knot the game at four. The game remained tied for nearly a half period, before May and Borgestad scored consecutive goals within a minute of each other. It was the second points of the game for both players. St. Louis pulled within a goal at 6-5 with just over two minutes to play, but Mike Neilon responded by hammering in an open net rebound to seal the game for the Bucs. The Bucs travel Lincoln Saturday night to take on the Stars in a 7:05 game. Written by Dustin Godsey. Continue with November Games > |
The Lancers came out on fire at the start of the second period, and for the first couple of minutes it was all the Bucs could do but to scramble in their own end. However, the D and Brian were up to the challenge. The intense play led to a difference of opinion between Ryan Raven and Lancer David Robertson. The fight brought the crowd to their feet and 5 minutes later the red light was on to make it 3-1. Adam Miller picked up the first of what would be two goals on the night. The assist on the power-play went to Dave Watters.
