DATE: March 9, 1996 (home game)
OPPONENT: Twin Cities Vulcans

Since "Zamboni" already apologized for me, I won't apologize again. I will tell you this, I was too tired to care if I missed the game Friday night or not, that is a very rare thing in my case. I've downed a couple of Pepsi's throughout the day just to keep awake to bring you this Rant. So it should be a good one, even if it is a little hyper! Now I want to start out by ranting (complaining, 'cause that's what it is folks!) about the work I go to writing these commentaries on my own viewpoint, my own personal opinion. Does anyone really care? Does anyone read this? Hey do you people have any opinions of your own? Our am I the only one? Hey somebody e-mail me and complain a little! Okay, 'enough said, on to the subject of this Rant - hockey!

How would you like me to start with the award winners for the 95-96 season? They are as follows:

The Curt Hammer Award (Leading Scorer): Klage Kaebel (who else?)

Community Service Award: Klage Kaebel

Pepsi Scholarship Award: Christian Laden

Achievement On and Off the Ice: Reggie Simon, Klage Kaebel, and Christian Laden

Bob Punsalan Memorial Award (for dedicated contribution to Des Moines Amateur Hockey): Scott Clemmensen

Buccaneer Booster Club Award (outstanding rookie award): Matt Bailey

The Landmark Trophy (fans' favorite player): Mike Nooyen (sorry Nooyen, but I think it should have been Bobby Davis)

Bob McCorkle Award (sportsmanship): Reggie Simon

The Standard Trophy (most valuable player as voted by the players of the Bucs): Klage Kaebel

In the first period it stared out a little slow, but the Bucs added some more pressure by the 13:12 mark. At 12:03 Jason Ialongo got his third goal of the season (assists to Mike Nooyen and Bobby Davis). Near the end of the period Stoy Dulgeroff got a little too close to Twin Cities' goalie. Those red jerseys made sure that he knew that too! With only a couple of minutes left we had a second goalie when Benny (Ryan Bencurik), on his stomach, covered the puck and swished it off to the side. Only 51 seconds left in the period and a melee broke out down at the Twin Cities net, Mike Nooyen had to protect Bobby Davis! Scott Clemmensen had made 9 saves at the end of the first period. Twin Cites goalie had 7.

The Vulcans had quite a few celebrities playing on their team. First I saw Elvis, in a Vulcan jersey, with a breathe-right (ugh!), and #15 on his back. Then, I know Dominik Hasek (the goalie for the Buffalo Sabres) had to be in net for the Vulcans. He wandered out of his net way to much! Five minutes into the second period and Mike Hanson got his 17th goal of the season (assists to Bobby Davis and Mike Nooyen). Not to long after that Hanson got his second goal of the night (assists to Bobby Davis and Joe Blake). Then Twin Cities got a goal, as it trickled behind Clemmensen. At 2:10 Joe Blake got the goal I'd been waiting for (assists to Kaebel and Nooyen). After that they Twin Cities changed their goalie, but not due to pressure, due to injury (maybe that was just an excuse). Hasek was no longer in the net. A minute later and Peter Fregoe got a really sweet goal up into the twine, you should have seen it pucker (assists to Adrian Fure and Adam Morris).

In the third period Mike Hanson got his hat trick to start off the scoring (assists to Kaebel and Ialongo). Benny was still doing a good job clearing the loose puck in front of the net. Then at 11:12 Joe Blake pinned a Vulcan down to the ground. It wasn't really fighting, just roughing. After all, Joey was only holding him on the ice and rubbing his face into the ice! But about a minute later #15 for the Vulcans got a goal after some setup in which the Bucs didn't even touch the puck. Chris Antzoulatos got a 5 minute major penalty for cross checking and a misconduct on top of that. Now Antzoulatos has really picked up his game and he's been doing good, but a 5 major means he really did some damage! The guy he checked was still laying on the ice even after Antzoulatos had stepped into the locker room. Tut, tut, tut. 16:25 into the third Terry Harris scored (assists to Fregoe). A little over a minute left and a Vulcan hit Nooyen after the play, Nooyen went rolling down to the ice and over and over. Hmm - suppose that was acting? It sure was a good regular season ending! Afterwards the fans could go and get autographs from the players. I didn't want or need autographs, but our family had to get a picture with our favorite player, Bobby Davis! Written by Sarah Bendy.

Des Moines 7 - Twin Cities 2

DATE: March 8, 1996 (away game)
OPPONENT: North Iowa Huskies

Guest Ranter: Zamboni

To all the faithful readers who connect to this digital soapbox, Sarah apologizes that her rant will be late - alas, duty calls and she had to work late last night and again this morning. The pain of not hearing the away game called by Todd Kimm was only slightly eased by the fact that every word is safely stored on a cassette tape.

Sarah won't be able to listen to the tape until Sunday because as soon as she gets off work she will head straight to Metro Ice Sports Arena to participate in the season finale against Twin Cities. We will all be cheering for the team regardless of the outcome. This family still believes that it is not if you win or lose, but how you play the game. And the Bucs seem to be playing with focus and passion lately. When they do that, the series of lights on the scoreboard that tally "the score" lose the grip they have on this "win at all costs" society.

I know that some of the Buc's read this rant - would you spread the word to the team? It may not have been a "Triple Crown" season, but the fans I know really enjoyed watching you guys come together as a team. Thanks for playing in Des Moines.

To Bobby Davis: We all enjoy your charisma. Is it true that your idea of bowling fun is to throw the ball and then try to beat it to the pins? I'd like to think so. I really wish I could have thrown out my hat for you this year. I guess there is still time. Hey, you know what? I just might throw it out anyway...

I'll let Sarah comment on the game. Written by Steve Bendy.

Des Moines 2 - North Iowa 5

DATE: March 3, 1996 (away game)
OPPONENT: Omaha Lancers

It was the kind of game you got nervous thinking about. Omaha had lost to Sioux City the night before and the Bucs had yet to beat Omaha in the regular season. Omaha would probably be mad, and the Bucs would probably give up another game. The fear of Ak-sar-ben coliseum.

1:43 into the game and Klage Kaebel scored, flipping the puck over Scott Stirling's shoulder (assist to Bill Trainor). Evidently the Lancers were still licking the wounds of the night before and the Bucs, well they were still on fire. The Bucs were doing a good job in forcing the Lancers to ice the puck, they were also keeping the fans out of the game. It didn't take long for Adam Morris to score (assists to Jason Ialongo and Mike Hanson). Omaha pulled their star goalie (and #1 in the league) in favor of Mike Correia. It was soon obvious that the Bucs were taking too many needless penalties, in the first period alone the Lancers had 2 five on three power plays. Andy Birrenkott and Dan Peters each got game ejections for spearing, they weren't fighting and the game ejections happened at completely different times. Klage Kaebel had a breakaway, but Correia made a big save and robbed him of it, the Lancer fans started to get excited. With all the penalties that the Bucs were stacking up Omaha was bound to score. At the 18:15 mark Omaha's K.J. Voorhees did score on a power play.

I was looking for the usual slump in the second period, but from what I could tell, that didn't happen. The Bucs had a handle on their mindless penalties and were getting more scoring opportunities, we we're told by the announcers that they looked like an actual team! At 8:44 Bill Trainor waited for the puck to appear in front of the crease, then he back handed it in for their third goal (assists to Klage Kaebel and Reggie Simon). I'll bet Trainor's brother John, who was at the game, was proud. The Bucs were still doing as good as they had the night before, they were playing like a team and their passing was excellent. Matt Bailey got his 11th goal of the season three minutes later, by a good play by Reggie Simon (assist to Reggie Simon). After this Omaha took a time-out. I think the Bucs had them scared! For awhile the crowd had gotten loud during the second period. Some of the Bucs had some really good scoring chances but Correia robbed them and gave the crowd a chance to cheer for something. But once again the crowd was quiet. Rob Lettington didn't know how Bobby Davis could get any wood on a pass from Simon that was in the air and almost get a goal. Well, Rob, that's easy! Bobby's just that good! At the end of the second period Omaha's Correia stopped 11 shots (since that's only what he stopped, we had 13 shots on goal), and Clemmensen only had to stop four. Go to the pizza ranch, go to the pizza ranch, go to the pizza ranch, go to the pizza ranch. Oops, excuse me, don't know where that came from!

In the third period Scott Clemmensen made some really good saves and Todd Kimm said he'd never seen Ak-sar-ben clear out so early. The Bucs were dominating the Lancer team. Buc fans were merrily marching around the rink behind the big skull and crossbones flag, before they stopped behind the Buc bench. Then they started their "B-U-C-S, bucs, bucs, bucs!" chant. The Bucs had won their first game against the Lancers and their fourth game in a row. Clemmensen had 27 shots for the night and made 26 saves. Written by Sarah Bendy.

Des Moines 4 - Omaha 1

DATE: March 2, 1996 (home game)
OPPONENT: North Iowa Huskies

What can I say? Wow for starters. Were last years players in this years jerseys? Maybe not, but for one of the first times the Bucs seemed to sit back, take things easy, and go with the flow. Their passing was unbelievable tonight.

17:13 left to go in the first period and on a power play Bobby Davis started a scoring binge that would lead the Bucs to victory (assists to Mike Nooyen and Joe Blake). With 47 seconds left in a North Iowa power play a scuffle broke out in front of the Bucs net. Everybody was pushing, navy blue jerseys pushing white jerseys, white jerseys pushing navy blue ones. Two guys from each team got penalized. About four minutes after the first goal Klage Kaebel got his 30th goal of the season on another power play (assists to Bobby Davis and Joe Blake). Then not even three minutes later and a hard working Reggie Simon pushed the puck past the North Iowa goalie (assists to Bobby Davis and Chris Antzoulatos). 8:25 left to go and Kaebel scored again, the Bucs were leading 4-0. Just seconds later Bobby Davis scored (assist to Kaebel), Bobby looked at us from the face-off circle, looking for praise with a big smile. The Bucs had never rolled over any team so well, or dominated them quite like they did in this first period (except for that exhibition game were the Bucs creamed the Jr. B Kodiaks 12-1). Then, with two minutes left to go in the first, Ryan Bencurik blasted one home on a power play (assists to Andy Birrenkott and Bobby Davis). The Bucs power play was looking good again. At the end of the period the Bucs had 15 shots on goal, and North Iowa had 9.

In the second period you would expect the normal lull. And we did get the norm, but right before that Joe Blake got his first goal back from his shoulder surgery with a blast from the point (assist to Andy Birrenkott and Mike Nooyen). On the way to the game tonight, my dad predicted that Blake would get a goal, and I didn't believe him! I just hate it when he's right! Blake was making his presence known to the fans and to the North Iowa players. He held North Iowa's Matt Noga down on the ice and was punching him, keeping his face in contact with the ice. 12:17 to go and North Iowa got their first goal of the night as the puck bounced off the shoulder of Scott Clemmensen. Then again with 7:33 to go North Iowa scored, Ryan Bencurik screened Clemmensen and Andy Fermoyle put it in. Within three minutes left of the second period two goals were disallowed. A North Iowa goal was disallowed because the whistle blew before the puck went in the net. A minute later Peter Fregoe, Matt Bailey, and the puck went into the net in a big bundle (who knows were the goalie was), but that goal was also disallowed because "the whistle had sounded!" I don't think so! A little later North Iowa's goalie just up and decked Matt Bailey after the play! Bailey got quite mad and started jittering around while players held him back from the, rather large goalie. In this period Clemmensen had made 17 saves and North Iowa had made 8.

During the second intermission fans with helmets on tried to "steal the bacon." It was funny to watch these fans fight for a slab of bacon. Wrestling and throwing themselves head first onto the ice! North Iowa's Matt Noga scored an unassisted goal in the third period with 11:17 to go. Once again the "B-U-C-S! Bucs, bucs, bucs!" war was waging tonight. This time the West side won! The crowd seemed to have fallen asleep by the third period, because they were considerably quieter than the first period. With six minutes to go in the final period Adrian Fure scored (assists to Chris Antzoulatos and Bobby Davis). I was just watching along when all of a sudden in front of the Buc bench, Mike Hanson and North Iowa's Josh Mizerek were huddled down on the ice. Now I suppose you could classify it as fighting, but it looked more like hugging to me. The Bucs were already ahead 8-3, but there was still the possibility of getting more goals and Joe Blake did just that. With 3 minutes left to go he scored on another blast from the blue line (assists to Andy Birrenkott and Klage Kaebel). I didn't know until now how much we missed Joe Blake, to bad he's leaving next year to go to North Dakota. There certainly was a possibility of more goals, because North Iowa's Mat Noga got another goal with 1:24 left in the period. Noga and the puck ran into Clemmensen and the net came off and went sliding backwards. The Bucs complained, but the goal was allowed. The Bucs had won and players of the game were offense: Bobby Davis (of course) and for defense: Joe Blake (of course). Written by Sarah Bendy.

Des Moines 9 - North Iowa 4

DATE: March 1, 1996 (away game)
OPPONENT: Waterloo Blackhawks

Because the Bucs were tied with Waterloo for seventh place this game was a very important game. Joe Blake was in the starting line-up and things were sounding good. I was a little disappointed to hear that Ryan Bencurik wasn't suited up for the night. After all that hard work fixing up his new stick earlier that afternoon, you'd think he'd remember his equipment! Bencurik felt sure that he put his equipment on the bus, but when they got to Waterloo, it wasn't there. He said it must have gotten stolen, sure Bencurik, whatever. It's probably still at the rink.

In the first period the Blackhawks took Jayme off guard with a goal by their Chris Cerrelia. Then Waterloo got another goal on a give-away from in front of the Bucs net. It was 2-0 in Waterloo's favor. In the first period Jayme Platt had 8 saves Waterloo had 6 saves. In the past the Bucs had never been able to come back from a 2 goal lead.

Within 50 seconds Mike Nooyen tipped in a blast from Joe Blake (assisted by Joe Blake and Andy Birrenkott). Peter Fregoe was working hard and seven minutes later Matt Bailey scored (assists to Terry Harris and Jason Ialongo). The Bucs were tied 2-2. Than Bobby Davis scored his 11th goal of the season (assists to Klage Kaebel and Mike Nooyen). The one problem was that the Waterloo score keeper said Klage Kaebel got the goal and at the end of the period they still hadn't fixed the mistake. Robb Lettington was sure he saw Bobby pop it in, not Klage. We were leading, but not for long, because Waterloo's Anthony Perardi got a goal late in the third period. It seemed we might have a fight later in the second, but Chris Antzoulatos decided to walk away from it. Ryan Rentz didn't like that and threw a punch to the back of Antzoulatos. Rentz got a game ejection and Antzoulatos was only put in the penalty box. The Bucs got a five minute power play. Meanwhile during this game delay my brother ran around the house like a five year old, imitating fake hockey stops and karate chops.

In the third period Peter Fregoe got a goal by a hardworking Reggie Simon (assists to Reggie Simon and Stoy Dulgeroff). Andy Birrenkott and Jason Furness, two of the best fighters of the league, decided to go at it. The rest of the Bucs had predicted this fight on the bus ride up. It seemed that last time the Bucs met Waterloo, Jason Furness wanted to fight Andy, but Birrenkott backed down. Andy finally pushed Furness to the ice, I guess that's what Furness gets for wanting to fight! There was going to be some more pushing and shoving as Waterloo's Andrew Tortorella went sliding into Jayme Platt. Tortorella, turned and decked Platt behind the play. Adrian Fure stepped in to protect Platt and decked Tortorella. Tortorella milked it for all it was worth, rolling around on the ice. It didn't work to well, both Fure and Tortorella got a two minute penalty! Written by Sarah Bendy.

Des Moines 4 - Waterloo 3

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