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November Game Commentaries
Bucs vs Lincoln Stars Now we would have a chance for revenge with Lincoln. They'd beat us before, would they do it again? The Bucs started early at 17:01 with a goal from Alex Kim (assist to Christian Laden and Pete Fregoe). Kim's blast hit the back of the net from the goalie's left. Five minutes into the first period Nick Fohr and Matt Libby both got called for roughing. It all started when Libby pushed a Star away from the net because he had just ran into our goalie, Jayme Platt. Another Star pushed Libby right back, and of course the pushing and shoving just took off from there. The game was a sloppy looking game; however there was still more emotion than Wednesday night's game. With 5:24 left in the period the Stars goalie made a terrific sliding save to stop Derek Robertson's should-have-been goal. The Bucs got their second goal about fourteen minutes into the period from Dave Boehm (assist to Alex Kim and Pete Fregoe). With 4:25 to go a melee started in front of the Buccaneer bench. Gloves were shoved in front of faces and batting away other faces like crazy. Austin Messer and Pete Fregoe both got roughing penalties out of this whole free-for-all, Ryan Bencurik also got a roughing call. My question is how can Pete Fregoe rough face down on the ice? The Bucs were in control and off a cross-checking call to Lincoln (called at 4:53 into the period) Dave Boehm got his second goal of the night on the power play (assist to Derek Robertson and Alex Kim). Little did the Bucs realize that it would be their last goal of the night. Not long after this and with 13:53 left to go Josh Langfeld got Lincoln's first goal (assist to Marc Suderman and Nick Fohr). The fans were still happy, it was only one goal. If you keep the fans pleased they're always loyal to you. Soon Lincoln got their second goal after a rush of Stars, Ted Suihkonen got the goal (assist to Rich Anderson and Trent Clark). Erik Cole was heating up, he was hitting people left and right, and taking them down too. He took down Bencurik and another assistant captain Derek Reynolds. Pete Fregoe intercepted the pass of a defenseman and took off on a breakaway at 12:34. The Bucs were short handed and I'd seen Pete make this play before. The puck bounced tantalizingly before him and with a burst of speed he shot out in front of the Stars defense who rushed furiously to recover their mistake. Unfortunately the shot did not go in, whether it should have our not. Two minutes later Christian Laden went off the ice with a white towel on his mouth. Blood spotted the ice. He probably lost some teeth with that one. Marc Suderman tied the game with 7:16 to go in the third period (unassisted). We were tied with Lincoln. With six minutes (and one second) left the Buccaneers were on the power play, nonetheless the Stars shot out on a breakaway. Eric Lind and Pete Fregoe followed on both sides of the Star and saved the rush. It was a terrible power play. Two minutes after this Lincoln got a bench minor for too many men on the ice. The Stars coach was a very mad coach! We were going into overtime. Boehm, Fregoe, and Kim, which has been very productive in the past week, were on to take the first draw of the fourth period. Boehm had a breakaway around 2:30, but he was taken down and there was no call. There is ice on the page of my notes from a puck that flew above me into the stands. The ink on the page is running and blurring together. The fans chose just the right time to cheer for their beloved Bucs. A face-off in the Lincoln zone with a little more than a minute left. It ended, but tell me how can the Bucs get anywhere with only one shot on goal? Now for the shoot-out. The game was tied, but the shoot-out would determine the extra bonus point. Jayme Platt skated from the bench back to his blue crease, he was cheered all they way as he skated around in circles. Lincoln had the privilege of shooting first with Chad Kline, Jayme stoned him. Erik Cole was next, he stretched his arms above his head and skated up to the black puck. No goal. Lincoln chose Bencurik next, the crowd jeered and booed him the whole way, cheering as he shot it wide. Derek Robertson took the next puck and was also stopped. Derek Reynolds for Lincoln scored against Jayme. Mike Hanson skated down the ice and shot it above the net. Lincoln's Josh Langfeld blasted it right into the net, Jayme hadn't a chance. Pete Fregoe was taking the next slot and the tension was unbearable. Pete didn't get it in either, much to his chagrin as he smacked his stick against Jayme's net before going into the locker room. Written by Sarah Bendy. Des Moines 3 - Lincoln 4 (Overtime - Shoot out)
Bucs at Omaha Lancers The Lancers were 5 and 4 on the season (regular that is) and had just had their first home game win the night before. The Lancers didn't seem to be a threat, or at least it seemed that way. Since Platt had the start the night before Clemmensen would be between the pipes this time. Speaking of the night before, Christian did lose teeth. He lost his two front teeth... hmm, I wonder what he wants for Christmas? The shifts on the ice were not getting much time before Owens let the next batch fly out there. Eight minutes into the first period and there still was no score from either team. This was a good thing, because the Lancers fans had nothing to cheer for, or against. Scott was making some great saves. He stopped a quick shot from Mats Carseberg then turned around and stopped Neil Breen. Breen had just split the defense and was on top of Clemmensen (not literally) but Scott stopped him. Alex Kim had a good chance off a pass from Derek Robertson, Kim went to the back hand and was stopped by Graham Melanson. Melanson had gotten the start for the second night in a row. The night before he'd played so well in their win that Mike Hastings awarded him with another start. Matt Murray took down Adrian Fure 17:13 into the period with a cross check that sent Fure head first into the boards. It wasn't the first time Fure had been taken down, but this time Murray was given a five minute major and a game ejection... intent to injure. Fure was fine, he just needed a rest. Who wouldn't after getting one's head banged up. About a minute into the power play Dave Boehm scored his seventh goal of the season (assist to Derek Robertson and Sean Austin). The Bucs were still out shot in that period by Omaha, five for the Buccaneers and eight for the Lancers. Barely four minutes into the second period and Mike Hanson scored off a pass from Jason Furness (assist to Jason Furness and Garrett Stafford). But the whole play started with Stafford who got the puck and cleanly passed to Furness on a cross ice pass. That was it for the Bucs the Lancers grabbed a minor hold and got the crowd back into it when Scott Matzka beat Clemmensen high to the glove side (assist to Jeff Edwards and Mats Carseberg). With their first goal the Lancers surged ahead and tied again with Matzka 7:52 into the period (assist to Mats Carseberg and Tom Kowal). Clemmensen tried to save the puck, but Matzka got their first. Boy did I have a headache at this time, but then it hasn't been a good week for me. Four minutes later Matzka got a natural hat trick (assist to Glen Coupal and Mats Carseberg). "One-two-three, it's all your fault!" Clemmensen was jeered by the loud Lancer fans. Erik Cole was having another good night. Boom... he took a Lancer down, than proceeded to put a shot on goal. His try gave the Bucs a little new life, but evidently not enough. Though Omaha already had three goals, Clemmensen was really playing a strong game. The Bucs had thirteen shots on goal this period leading the Lancers who only had eight. Clemmensen was not letting in any more goals, he saved a rocket from Neil Breen who had just rushed in. The announcers kept yelling about his "big saves!" Melanson robbed Mikhail Saliyenko from a shot that should have gone in. That was the only shot on net and it was halfway through the period. Two minutes left to tie the game and I'm losing consciousness. Fregoe got a late goal, but no, it hit the goal post and didn't go in! Clemmensen saved a breakaway rush from Mike Lephart. After the play was whistled Owens argued that an additional four seconds (or so) needed to be put back on the clock because they hadn't stopped it soon enough. The Buccaneers called a time out and probably discussed clearing the puck out of the zone so Clemmensen could be pulled instantly. There were only 49 seconds left on the clock. Play started and soon Pete Fregoe had Melanson beat cleanly, but what did he do! Because it didn't go in! Well, the Lancers won their second home game of the regular season, but why did it have to be to us? Written by Sarah Bendy. Des Moines 2 - Omaha 3
Bucs at Waterloo Black Hawks Ok, so every once in a while you hear about my personal life. It cannot be escaped because whether a writer means it or not a bit of the personal always comes out in an authors work. This time I most definitely mean for you to hear "a bit" of the personal. Of course I'd be going to Waterloo, Lynne Morgan and I had already made plans for over a week. Her car would be the better one to take, mine being a gas hog. After running errands and running into Sean Austin and Jayme Platt, the former blowing kisses at us and waving at us (oh, gag me!), we drove on up to Waterloo. My parents were about a half hour ahead of us. We'd make the hotel by 5:30, the game was at 7:00 (excuse me, 7:05). Believe me, I will eventually get to hockey! Besides this whole story has to do with hockey and a love for it. 5:00 and we were less than nine miles away from Waterloo. The temperature gauge on the little white mustang was as high as it could go, then the check engine light decided to go on... a little late hmm? We were losing power and we just barely rolled into the Git n' Go in Hudson. Steam poured out of the engine and panic set in. We started making phone calls and thanked God we'd gotten as far as we did. Lynne knew Steve McCall, the PR director of the Blackhawks, so he was called. For the next half hour we waited for a tow truck to get us and eventually take us to the rink where my parents waited, so far with little clue. Lynne and I were never so happy to see a tow truck in our life! We talked to a mechanic at the shop and were then driven to the rink, our ultimate goal. My parents still had no clue! They were paged later, though we had stopped it in time. For now we were safe at the rink and we had a hotel for the night. But now I'll revert to hockey, believe me however, I will return to our little dilemma in tomorrow night's rant (November ninth's, ya..ya..ya, I know it's not the ninth anymore). The Bucs started early and put on most of the pressure, but that's normal. They always start early then... Erik Cole started the scoring with 18:38 to go (assist to Jake Searles). I don't remember much about the first five minutes or so of the game. Tell me, how do you concentrate after you have something like what happened to us transpire? Waterloo tied the game at 14:30 after Jayme Platt made the initial save. Joe Giacalone got the rebound, because of the noise in the arena I couldn't hear who got the first assist, but Jason Kroffat got one. Not even a minute after this Jayme began adjusting his pads. Always a good excuse, for a breather of course. With three minutes left Waterloo's Willie Zago got a two minute penalty for elbowing. Not that it helped us, man, our power play sucks! After this the Blackhawks took back their territory and about five minutes into the second period they scored again. Chris Cerella was completely uncovered in front of Jayme and had a perfect chance on his slap shot, it whistled right in (assist to Chad Poliquin and Mark Eaton). Of course I really don't know if it whistled or not, I wasn't that close to it, but it could have! Any one out their wondering why I'm not mentioning Andrew Tortorella? If he had been playing he would have made his presence known in my first sentence right? Well, Tort is in Omaha now, for a nice long stay because he got traded. Yep, my reaction was just the same. The Hawks got their next goal at 13:23, from Matt Chandler (assist to #18, sorry I didn't catch the guys name!). Pete Fregoe got knocked hard against the boards by Jason Harris. Harris left Fregoe a little confused, poor Pete was sure shaking his head, dazed and full of cobwebs. Mikhail Saliyenko, go ahead say the name. Isn't it fun? He and Jamal Mason (Waterloo) and Jason Furness were all in a little tizzy somewhere during the period. I don't know exactly when it happened, because of the excitement of it all I forgot to look at the clock. The net went sliding and there was a mess of players. There was absolutely no order. There should have been more zebras out there. (That was a joke.) Finally it was all settled, but Saliyenko was still on top of a Waterloo guy. The ref and linesmen pried and pried, but Sali wouldn't let go. Like a bull dog he had a hold of the guy and wasn't about to let go. They eventually got him off the guy and put him in the box for four minutes. Roughing was the call, it was the strangest bit of roughing I've every seen! Soon Jayme was getting feisty and after everything was settled and play was continued Platt started in. He... ahh... kinda laid (yah that's it) on Jason Harris and got a roughing penalty. Good thing about being a goalie? You don't have to serve any time, some other unlucky team member gets to sit in for you. Sean Austin served it for him, ironic huh? After all Jayme has to drive him around! Not much after this Jayme did a bit of slashing and got caught. I can only imagine what Jayme had to go through in the locker room after that! We were down two men and there were only a few seconds in between the penalties. Half a minute after this the penalties were somewhat nullified when Waterloo took a penalty to Mark Eaton for high sticking. With 1:42 left Derek Robertson scored on a screened goalie (assist to Adrian Fure). Fure blasted it and Robertson deflected it in. There was another free for all around 14:04 of the third period. Eric Lind was in it, so was Kyle O'Keefe and Pete Fregoe. Lind was called for cross checking in all that. Then the Hawks got their fourth goal on the power play with Chad Poliquin (assist to Mark Eaton). 12:52 Jason Furness was put away and the crowd went wild. It's not like Furny was a traitor or anything, c'mon! 12:24 and Jayme Platt was down on the ice and the red light was on, Morgan Roach had scored (assist to Matt Chandler). The Bucs were not quite through yet. At 9:48 Matt Libby got one in on a tough angled wrist shot (assist to Dave Boehm). The net so far had been safe under Melnechuk, but then the Bucs didn't really have that many shots on goal compared to Waterloo. At the end of the second period the Bucs only had 16, while the Hawks had 26. With 1:41 left in the third our net was empty and Waterloo got an empty-netter. But no, it was not allowed because of a two line pass. Des Moines took a time out, but the crowd was getting louder and louder. They knew they'd win this game and it was about time. Though the Bucs lost, you couldn't be depressed. It was a happy arena that night, they'd won their third game, wouldn't you be happy? Written by Sarah Bendy. Des Moines 3 - Waterloo 5
Bucs at Sioux City Musketeers Ya, I know, you have every reason to be upset with me! This should have been up three days ago. Honestly I didn't forget it! I was just so busy. I promised to finish telling you my story about Waterloo (if you don't want to here my story, then just skip this paragraph and go on to the next one, however don't ask for it later!) and I'll do that now. After the game Friday night my parents drove us to the car shop; Jim Lind's was open all night long and we'd promised to be back after the game to check on the car. He told us they could fix it over night for us. The engine sounded fine and it started right up, so it didn't seem like we'd gotten it too hot. My dad was surprised but he quietly listened as Lynne and I made the arrangements to call the shop and let them know where we were staying. My parents drove us back to the hotel where we finally got our room. My dad left with a smile on his mouth, "call us when you decide what's up." If he was letting me go, he did it with a smile. We waited at the elevators, pushed the button twice and still the elevator didn't come. It took Jimmy Mroz to make the elevator come down. Of course he picked on us "you didn't push the button!" We explained to him that we'd had bad luck all week and that "we pushed the button twice!" As tired as we had been at the game suddenly we were wide awake. We wandered the hotel halls and ordered pizza. After gorging ourselves on black olive and cheese pizza and breadsticks we got thoroughly sick. We stayed up beyond two o'clock talking, about nothing in particular. The car was done the next morning and we waited patiently for the tow truck to come. Two hours later it still hadn't come. We went back to the room and got a phone call, he'd gone to the wrong hotel. The car was fine (or so it seemed). It ran funny, but what engine wouldn't after getting that hot. We went to the mall, went car shopping, and then went ice skating. At this point I have to comment on how great the ice is in Waterloo. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. We talked to Steve McCall before we left and let him know we'd be back up November 30th. Lynne and Steve also planned their wrestling match, both swearing they could beat the other. Now that it was time to leave Waterloo. Lynne and I started getting apprehensive about making it back to Des Moines in that white Mustang. We started driving out and the thermostat instantly started giving us problems. We stopped at the same Git n' Go and filled her up with gas and water. It was a long ride home and we really shouldn't have made it out of Waterloo more than ten miles. After Toledo the night got pitch black and the thermostat was as high as it could go. The air blew out icy cold on our hands and we prayed it'd turn warm again and settle down. We made it back to my house just barely making it in time to listen to the game. I ended up following Lynne home and I could smell radiator fluid. Her car was falling apart every mile of the way. She just made into the driveway and the car is now completely dead. We shot the engine and it was a pure miracle that we even made it out of Waterloo and over the 100 miles to get back home! The Bucs first goal was due to a Sioux City penalty to Shane Spears. Pete Fregoe scored at 3:27 (assist to Matt Libby). Thirteen seconds later Alex Kim scored his sixth of the season (assist to Mikhail Saliyenko). The Bucs had an early 2-0 lead, but it was debatable that they would be able to hold it. Three minutes later Joe Yurecko scored (assist to Shane Kalbrener). It was switched around at 10:17 when Shane Kalbrener scored the Muskie's tying goal (assist to Joe Yurecko). The Musketeers got the lead about seven minutes after this with Ernie Thorp (assist to Kalbrener and Yurecko). Yes, I realize that the first period was kinda bare. Well I didn't have much to go off of. I have bits and pieces taped, I have notes my father took, and the very few notes I took. So humor me! Here's a little side note, Ernie Thorp coming into the night already had 91 penalty minutes. And he got more that night I can assure you. A minute and 57 seconds into the second period Bill Trainor made it a one goal game (I have contradictory reports on the assists, some say it was Erik Cole and Sean Austin, others that it was unassisted). Within a minute Derek Robertson tied the game on a power play goal (unassisted). The Musketeers were not going to relinquish their lead, because 7:01 into the game Cole Gendreau took it back (assist to Jeff Carlson and Shane Maher). Give a lot of credit to the Bucs, they didn't give up, they didn't stop. Alex Kim got his second goal of the night at 16:24 (assist to Chris Antzoulatos). Yes, Antzoulatos is back from mono! During the second period they pulled Clemmensen for Platt, I'm sorry but I don't know when and I don't know why. 2:26 of the third period and Erik Cole went for roughing. During the power play Pete Fregoe had a great short handed try (from Trainor). Nate Ferrera scored right after the power play on a one time into the upper right hand corner. Once again the Bucs battled back and stayed neck and neck with the Musketeers (even if they were a little behind the Muskie's neck). 9:05 and Alex Kim got his hat trick on a back hand (assist to Erik Cole). There was plenty of pressure by the Bucs, but their new goalie from Slovakia was just too good. Oh ya, Antzoulatos is definitely back! Antonio was giving some pretty hard, bone crushing hits. OT time, the Bucs made it all the way to tie the game. So far the Bucs had 51 shots on goal and they were far out shooting Sioux City. That just shows how good Marcel Kuris (the goalie) really was. Five minutes of very good play ensued. If it hadn't a' been for the goalie we would have won that game. We were going to another shoot out. Not good news. Being the visitor the Bucs shot first with Dave Boehm. He waited at center ice as Kuris talked to the ref. He came in on left wing, fanned on it tried to replay it but couldn't. Jeff Carlson for Sioux City was next, and Platt saved the back-hander. Pete Fregoe hit the post in the last shoot out he was trying again. Kuris saved the shot. Cole Gendreau scored on Platt with a wrist shot. Alex Kim with a hat trick for the night tried his luck next and Kuris squeezed those might pads together and stifled any hope. Shane Kalbrener scored on a back hand against Platt. Mikhail Saliyenko was next, we needed him to score. He stood at the blue line and waited. A whistled blew detachedly, as if from a long distance. He skated out and towards the fellow European and he hit the post. He hit the post!! And the Musketeers won the shoot out. I have only one word at the bottom of my notes... no. Written by Sarah Bendy. Des Moines 6 - Sioux City 7
Bucs at Thunder Bay Flyers The first game of a double header in Thunder Bay, would we win? Or would we fall to them. It is very hard to win in Thunder Bay, everything's different. I wondered how Derek Robertson felt, being home and hearing his anthem. The last strains of "Oh Canada" floated through the arena. Ahh... Canada! In the first period the Bucs didn't jump ahead and get the lead like normal. And maybe that was a good sign. The Bucs didn't even score in the first period. But not for lack of trying, because they certainly were playing hard. 7:43 into the first period Greg Zaporzan of Thunder Bay scored on a power play (assist to Jesse Heerema and I believe Kris Bragnalo). Yes the Bucs were certainly trying, Alex Kim hit the cross bar, Bill Trainor shot one over the cross bar. I'm sure there were others that almost went in, but this is just an example. Jayme Platt who had the start got injured during the first period and Scott Clemmensen had to take over. Jayme just had a muscle strain and could play as the back up goalie Saturday night, but things got a little scary. In the USHL the rules state that one must have a back up goalie. So if Jayme couldn't be our back up who would be our emergency goalie? Pete Fregoe. Hey, that's what the announcers said! Of course Pete is probably saying "No!" right now. With barely a minute left in the first period Zaporzan scored again (assist to Jesse Heerema and Corey Lafreniere). The Bucs had yet to score and Thunder Bay was ahead with two points. At 4:08 Christian Laden got his first goal of the regular season off a feed from Bobby Haglund (assist to Bobby Haglund and Garrett Stafford). Bobby's back! Oh, and is he back strong! Clemmensen was making some incredible saves and the Bucs were just on fire. The clock said 6:46 and on a breakaway Bill Trainor scored (assist to Mike Hanson and Erik Cole). Bill scored again 10:31 into the period (assist to Mike Hanson and Erik Cole). We would have had another goal when Mikhail Saliyenko was having a great shift. Jason Furness came crashing in and the puck was pushed into the net, but the net came off it's moorings and... well... no goal, basically. With about four minutes left in the period Mikhail Saliyenko scored (assist to Bobby Haglund). Chris Antzoulatos was definitely feeling better and making his presence known in the penalty box and on the ice. He and Kevin Veneruzzo decided to go on the ice. I'm sorry Antzoulatos, but you lost that fight. Of course there was blood on the ice. The Bucs weren't quite done in that period. Alex Kim scored with a little under two minutes to put the Bucs ahead 5-2 (assist to Dave Boehm and Adrian Fure). At the beginning of the third period we had a few penalties to kill off. The Flyers had a 5 on 3. Clemmensen and the defense had quite a job to do. And they did it well. The Thunder Bay's goalies stick tapped on the ice and Erik Cole and Jake Searles flew out of the penalty box. Four and a half minute's into the third period Dave Boehm scored (assist to Erik Cole). The Flyers weren't done either at 12:50 they scored their third goal from Kris Bragnalo. There was a mess to clean up after that goal; two players from each side went into the box. Kris Bragnalo got the puck a little later from a mistake on the defense. He took off on a breakaway; he never got to the net. Garrett Stafford took him down and was called to the penalty box. That's okay Garrett, that was a good penalty. The power play that ensued gave us a big opportunity. That sounds strange doesn't it? How could a power play for Thunder Bay give us an opportunity? Well it went like this; Thunder Bay pulled their goalie to add the extra attacker. Pete Fregoe took the face off and back handed it...right into the open net (assist to Dave Boehm)! All I have to say about this game is "WOW!" Written by Sarah Bendy. Des Moines 7 - Thunder Bay 3
Bucs at Thunder Bay Flyers Jayme after having pulled a muscle the night before tried warming up tonight. He just wouldn't be able to play, but he could still dress as back-up while Scott took the start. Now the big question was this, could the Bucs win another game and sweep Thunder Bay in their barn? If they could it would be the first time in Buccaneer franchise history. And as the immortal Martha Stewart would say, that would be a "good thing." This time the first period was all Des Moines. If the first period was a page, the Buc logo would be indefinably stamped all over it. Chris Antzoulatos scored at 5:29 (assist to Derek Robertson and Christian Laden). If there was any doubt about Antzoulatos being back there wasn't any more. Eleven seconds later the Bucs showed just how much they would be dominating; Bill Trainor scored (assist to Erik Cole and Mike Hanson). Does that sound familiar? The night before every goal Bill got was assisted by those two guys. What a line. Soon Matt Libby gave Thunder Bay a chance at a power play, but Derek Robertson scored on that one (unassisted). It was a short handed goal for the Thunder Bay native, I was hoping he'd at least get one while up there. No, they weren't done, they had a few more goals to get out of their system. Mike Hanson scored 11:08 into the period on a power play (assist to Jake Searles and Erik Cole). Around eight minutes later Erik Cole scored on a 5 on 3 power play (assist to Sean Austin and Derek Robertson). This only minutes after Cole was speared and kicked while down on the ice. This action got Thunder Bay's Jason Burke a game ejection. Clemmensen was so far 100% perfect for the night. The second period wasn't as hot, but Pete Fregoe did manage to score 4:57 into the period (assist to Adrian Fure). The Thunder Bay Flyers finally got on the board with around 4 and a half minutes left in the second period. Belisle got that goal (assist to Michael Simeoni and Damien Liddle). I guess there was a notably funny incident during the second period. Alex Kim got the thumb of his glove stuck in his face shield. He couldn't get it out. Of course he was laughed at. Kim couldn't do anything, he just couldn't get that glove out of his face shield! Ian Sgambelluri [try saying that five times fast!] scored late in the second period at 19:14. (assist to Steve Bailot and Derrick McIver, but it could have been the other McIver, Chad!). Bobby Haglund had a little injury near the beginning of the period. We were worried he re-injured his ankle but he came back out of the locker room and was even playing soon afterwards. Hey, thanks Todd Kimm and Robb Lettingon for mentioning our site on the radio. Much appreciated and I can only do my wonderful away game rants through your guy's help! Sean Austin scored the Bucs' their seventh goal short handed at 8:45, Pete Fregoe assisted. It was under six minutes to go and Jason Furness scored (assist to Dave Boehm and Alex Kim). The Bucs were ahead 8-2. Was there any question that we'd lose the game? If there was a team that had to beat Thunder Bay both times in Buc franchise history, what a team to do it! Written by Sarah Bendy. Des Moines 8 - Thunder Bay 2
Bucs vs Thunder Bay Flyers Hello! I'm writing this in my little notebook, from a house I barely know, but love very much (I am house-sitting). It would be the third time we would be playing Thunder Bay, the third time in a row. Of course we could beat them for a third time... in a row. So as I don't wax euphoric or touch upon a subject that might be too, well, touchy. They would win, if they wanted to badly enough. With a little over a minute (12 seconds) Thunder Bay did a dreadful thing. They scored. Well actually Ian Sgambelluri got the goal (assist to Corey LaFreniere and Steve Bailot). How did they get this dreadful goal? Well I didn't see, I just heard a bang and the red light was on, behind Scot Clemmensen. O.K! So I wasn't watching! 14:38 of the first and Pete Fregoe got a goal (assist to Derek Robertson and Chris Antzoulatos). It was all messed up though, they said Robertson got the goal. He wasn't the one doing the celebration dance! Evidently Derek Robertson cross checked a Flyer guy and they both went for roughing. Antzoulatos was in that little "roughing" group too. He went and sat in the penalty box along with Derek, but he was called back out. He knew he'd done something, the ref's must not have caught it. Sure enough though, they did catch it, because they ended up sending him back to the box. At this point in my notes I'm supposed to say a big hello to Clint Hatcher. 2:08 left and Pete Fregoe got another goal (assist to Dave Boehm and Garrett Stafford). However this might not be right, there were different reports that Erik Cole scored. I don't know. With about a minute and a half left Erik Cole scored on a hard slap shot (assist to Jake Searles and Matt Libby). Scott Clemmensen started to heat up in the second period. This was good. We may have been leading 3-1, but the game was not looking pretty (with the exception of Clemmensen). 10:08 and Clemmensen made another terrific save, it was nothing new so far, but what was new was the crowds response; they started bowing down to the almighty Scott. I wish I could recall the number of the Thunder Bay player who decided he liked Boehm's stick. He had a hold of it and when the play was whistled dead, well he kept a hold of it. Dave let it go and the player skated backwards clutching it. Dave just followed with his head to the side looking straight at the guy. With that look? I'd have given it back real quick. 4:44, all I have to say is poor Doty! (linesman) He wasn't being treated nicely. 2:40 and Searles got the worst of the little fight that David Lacaria started. Both got four minutes for roughing. "Ya gotta keep 'em separated!" I personally thought that the Flyer should have been ejected! Both Searles and Lacaria got ten minute misconduct's. Mikhail Saliyenko also got a slashing penalty in all of this. Kevin Veneruzzo decided to take down Pete around 2:25 and was called for interference. Lincoln was losing. They still had no score against Waterloo. I felt sorry for all my e-mail pals in Lincoln. I was hoping they'd beat Waterloo. 18:33 and Bobby Haglund's Dad and uncle (who were both at the game) had to be awfully proud when he scored unassisted. The Bucs were ahead 5-1. A minute later Bill Trainor scored (assist to Mike Hanson and Erik Cole). Bobby came close to getting a hat trick at 14:40, he came so close! Jason Furness scored the Bucs seventh and final goal at 11:24 (assist to Derek Robertson and Chris Antzoulatos). There were seven minutes left in the period and Fregoe was starting to get a little nasty! He was doing' some pushing and shoving. The fans had a new cheer for the game, when Crazy Larry walks by they start chanting his name over and over. Players of the game? Erik Cole and Bobby Haglund splitting responsibilities on offense, while Scott Clemmensen got the glory on defense. Written by Sarah Bendy. Des Moines 7 - Thunder Bay 1
Bucs vs Waterloo Black Hawks Scott Clemmensen, who had such a hot game the night before, got the start again - besides Jayme was still out with his injury. Which I forgot to tell you, we have a new back-up goalie from Chicago, whether he'll stay with us or not I don't know. This was going to be a wild night, wait and see. Three minutes into (actually just four seconds shy of three minutes) the first period Alex Kim scored the first goal. The pressure was on and the heat was getting unbearable. Even the crowd was louder than normal. Erik Cole at 9:45 scored (assist to Chris Antzoulatos and Derek Robertson). This is how they should have played the first period the night before! It was an amazing start. It didn't last long when there was an extremely bad call on Jason Furness at the 9 minute mark. Furny got a major for high sticking and all those sweet feelings went sour. Unlimited scoring for Waterloo was not a good thing. 8:22 and Clemmensen made the first save of a long power play. The Bucs did a good job the first half killing it off. At 6:19 the Blackhawks scored with Doug Schmidt (assist to Chad Poliquin and I couldn't hear the other assist, because of loud Waterloo fans behind us). At this time they decided that Furness also got a game misconduct and was ushered off the ice. The penalty was half over and then they tell us?! Off all of this the Blackhawks got their second goal with five minutes left in the period, the second one from Doug Schmidt (assist to Mark Wilkinson and Kelly Miller). With nineteen seconds left on the Furness penalty Waterloo's Kelly Miller took down Erik Cole and was called for hooking. Soon the Bucs jumped ahead with a one goal lead with Derek Robertson off a blast from Sean Austin (assist to Sean Austin and Bill Trainor). The Hawks came right back with another goal to tie on a rebound from Chris Cerella (assist to Mark Eaton and Chad Poliquin). If eye sight can be correct Clemmensen made eight saves during that long five minute power play. Pete Fregoe scored within 54 seconds in the second period (assist to Garret Stafford). About five minutes into the second period Adrian Fure got a penalty for charging. Jeff Melnechuk was rolling around on the ground like a fish out of water! Then with 13:19 left Sean Austin started falling apart while keeping watch in front of Clemmensen. Mouth guard, gloves, stick. You can't possibly pick those up at the same time. To give you one more example of where this game was heading at 12:49 Garrett Stafford took down a Waterloo player. Or did he? Garrett's stick was entangled in the Hawk players arms, or body, or... something. Fregoe scored his second goal 9:03 into the period. It was a beautiful flip into the net above the goalie, short handed to top it off. Not long after this Mike Hanson gave the Bucs a 6-3 lead (assist to Sean Austin and Erik Cole). We're back! 7:14 of the period was the first of many tiffs that would follow. It looked like something of a cat fight. Yvon Hopps skated by himself to the box while the others stayed behind trying to sort things out. Mikhail Saliyenko was put away also. It took them forever to sort everything out. How confusing could it be? You put a few of the guy's (preferably the one's who actually had something to do with it) in the penalty box, dish out equal penalties and it's over with! Just when you thought this couldn't go on any longer there was more discussion between the players, the coaches, the ref. The ref was beginning to get mad. Finally play did resume. Alex Kim was taken down bluntly with a facial. Play was getting chippy. 14:41 into the period Dave Boehm scored the Bucs seventh goal (assist to Pete Fregoe and Matt Libby). With three minutes left the play was in full force and there was a great shift out on the ice, it was marred by Yvon Hopps and Mark Wilkinson. They decided to get in a fight. Section five started a new chant for Melnechuk, this new chant only proves how out of control this game got. They started yelling "Sieve" at him. Melne just lifted his hands at them as if to say "bring it on!" Was he laughing under that helmet? Bobby Haglund got the next goal 16:52 into the period, mmm how sweet it is. Though we were leading, and though they were playing well everything was crazy. Excitement was on it's wire edge, everyone was strung up. There was another ruckus near the end. A few players jumped Erik Cole and then Cole decided to throw himself (literally) into the middle of the crowd of players. It didn't take long after this to get Erik Cole and Jimmy Mroz to go. Cole just set into him and the two fought for quite a while until the linesman separated them. 1:10 into the third period the Bucs got their ninth goal. They said that Chris Antzoulatos got the goal (assist to Pete Fregoe). I could have sworn it was Derek Robertson. They pulled Melne after this for Mike Sheehan. At 16:54 Adrian Fure took a stupid penalty for roughing, retaliation is never a good thing. Fure had been a little mad all night so after the penalty was served Adrian and Chad Poliquin went. You could see that one coming. Both got ejected for fighting, Poliquin got a cross checking penalty on top of that. I wondered, was it getting out of control? 11:25 and I was wondering if maybe things were cooling down. I should have known better, once a ball starts rolling down a hill, it can't stop. Fregoe got dumped in front of the net and Jamal Mason got the penalty (2 minutes for roughing, 5 minutes for high sticking, a ten minute misconduct, and a game misconduct) and ejection. Then Chris Antzoulatos joined in and got a five minute slashing penalty, a ten minute misconduct, and a game misconduct. A fan from above us threw a glass of beer on the ice, and was hunted down and escorted out of the arena (he denied it all the way). Meanwhile the Waterloo fans behind us and Buc fans started arguing. This was getting out of hand! At 3:58 the "go start the bus" was chanted around the arena. Fifty seconds later Chris Cerella put the puck in the net (assist to Ryan Hale and Mark Eaton). Clemmensen was down on the ice and couldn't reach that far. For a few minutes we had no interruptions, from the ice or behind us. There was bound to be one more big adrenaline boost before the ball could come to a stop. It happened at the end. Alex Kim got taken off the ice with a game misconduct, bad call! There were players no longer suited up off the ice in front of the locker room. Now the player bench had room on it for everyone to sit down, and there was room in between them! Everything was over the Bucs had won and they saluted the crowd. The Waterloo fans behind us drenched one of the Buc fans with something very wet. The Buc fan went running after them, I wonder if she caught them? I tell you I have never been to such a crazy game, or been so embarrassed and righteously sick at a hockey game in my life! Written by Sarah Bendy. Des Moines 9 - Waterloo 4
Bucs vs Omaha Lancers Omaha! Can anyone tell me who is now on Omaha's team? Andrew Tortorella. I hear that Omaha was pretty glad to get him, and Tort was pretty glad to be there. He was eating up the attention (as I can well imagine). He wears the #18. It was weird to be at a game on a weeknight. Tonight seemed like a healthy crowd. Not quite as blood thirsty as Saturday night's crowd. Almost five minutes into the first period Bobby Haglund scored the Bucs first goal (assist to Alex Kim and Sean Austin). Bobby was very excited. When Tort finally got his first shift, around the thirteen minute mark, my father decided to be thoroughly embarrassing. Pounding on the glass yelling "Tortorella, Tortorella, look out for Tortorella!" I believe someone needs to tape Tort's mouth shut with stick tape, but I know it wouldn't work. I can guarantee you it won't work! He's always talking, and always will. If he wasn't talking he wouldn't be Andrew Tortorella. 12:39 into the first period and Erik Strand got his first goal of the season - unassisted! He just took the puck away from a Lancer and put it right in. With under five minutes left Andrew Tortorella brought the puck in on a breakaway. Scott Clemmensen made a tremendous save and than was right there to save the rebound also. Clemmensen came close to getting a standing ovation for that one. With 2:03 left Jake Searles got an elbowing penalty. "There must be some misunderstanding" wailed out of the PA system as Jake skated alone to the box. It was truly a sad sight. At this rate it didn't look like it would be a high scoring game, but then I didn't expect it to be. Omaha vs. Des Moines? It just didn't seem like it could be. That was a nice dance Tort! You just couldn't resist bouncing to our song could you? When the Bucs come out on the ice they play our song, well Tortorella was dancing to it and mocking us. The Lancers scored their first goal with 17:24 left in the second period. Clemmensen hadn't a chance to get back in position when Mats Carsberg pushed it in (assist to Scott Matzka and Jeff Edwards). With around five minutes left in the period Pete Fregoe received a pass from Derek Robertson. He rushed it down and then...with a wide open net slapped it wide. I'm not rubbing it in, but the net was wide open. A minute or so later Erik Cole dealt a nasty check to an Omaha player. The only reason I bother mentioning this is because Erik all night had been psyched. During warm ups he was all over the ice with a very...happy face (for lack of a better term). 3:15 left and Mike Lephart came behind Garrett Stafford and cross checked him down. Stafford never saw it coming. He got a two minute cross checking call, I think it should have been more. 17:07 into the period Dave Boehm scored the Bucs third goal on the power play (assist to Adrian Fure and Pete Fregoe). This from a guy who had just lost control of the puck, he gained control of it again pretty fast. Seconds left and Clemmensen continued to make great saves. It was his fifth straight game, and Coach was planning on using him over the weekend too. And Clemmensen has been pounded on lately so he's a little sore, but that won't stop him. Let me remind you, this fifth game straight he's played in, is also his fifth win straight! 18:03 of the third period the Bucs made it 4-1. Bill Trainor took the puck from Cole and swept forward to attack the net (assist to Mike Hanson and Garrett Stafford - I believe Erik Cole should have gotten an assist?). The Lancers bit back with a second goal 17:22 of the period with Kevin Swider (assist to Tom Kowal and Brent Voorhees). But about a minute later the Bucs made it 5-2 with Adrian Fure (assist to Bill Trainor and Erik Cole). 14:03 left and Bobby Haglund was having a great shift and somewhere in the stands a guy was doing karate moves. Except he didn't look much like a master, he looked more like Jim Carey (and I don't mean the goalie). Dave Boehm scored again 8:36 into the third (assist to Bobby Haglund). Well if the second period was at all scary (not too bad, but we could have done better) this one was not at all scary, except maybe for the Lancers. 10:32 of the period and the puck slid behind the goalie (he had made a sloppy save) and then proceeded to slide across the open net hitting the bar on the opposite side, not once touching over the line for a goal. This game was a little better than last Saturday's. That was something to be proud of. But Adrian Fure and Nate Mauer still got into a little mess. Both served matching minors for roughing. It was nothing compared to Saturday anyway. I was wondering if Erik Strand kept the puck he scored with, after all, it was his first goal here. Mikhail Saliyenko must have been fairly dizzy with around five minutes left. He was spinning around, getting spun around, and weaving around. "Dizzy, I'm so dizzy, my head is spinning..." Boehm and Trainor shared offensive players of the game, Fure had defense. They saluted us after the win in the middle of the circle, normally they don't even make it the circle before they leave. This time they all waited in the circle until they saluted with their sticks. Don't we love 'em when they do that? Well, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! Written by Sarah Bendy. Des Moines 6 - Omaha 2
Bucs at Green Bay Gamblers Don Granato coaches the Gamblers. His sister Cammi is well known in woman's hockey , his brother Tony plays for the Kings, Kevin Granato - a relative - plays for the Gamblers. As children they played "tape ball" a form of a hockey game in their basement with a vacuum cleaner as their zamboni. The Gamblers struck early 4:17 into the period with a goal from Jim Kotajarvi (assist to Chad Stauffacher and Ryan Forbes). Two minutes later Mike Hanson tied it on slap shot from the blue line (assist to Bill Trainor). Jason Axelrod (the G.B. goalie) thought he'd saved it as the Bucs were just shifting lines, but when Hanson shot it the puck made it's way behind Axelrod. It didn't take long for the Gamblers to take the lead again. Chad Stauffacher got a power play goal at 12:36 (assist to Billy Pugliese and Ryan Forbes). We were really having a terrible night. We had no offense and I'm sure Axelrod could have pulled up a Lazyboy and read a comic book. Near the end Alex Kim got injured, it took a while for him to get back up but he was fine when he did. Things started falling apart when Green Bay got their third goal 8:47 into the second period from Jim Westergaard. Still there was hardly any offense, I was wondering if the Bucs had eaten too much turkey too... Chris Antzoulatos and Ryan Forbes tied up during the second period. Just as we thought it was over Antonio gave Forbes one last shove, right into the ice. They escorted Antzoulatos off the ice into the locker room, it took them a few seconds before they escorted Forbes off. The Gamblers soon got their fourth goal from Heath Gordon (assist to Jason Cupp and Dan Zaluski). Derek Robertson got a goal off a power play 15:04 into the period (assist to Alex Kim and Dave Boehm). That was something of a good sign. Then Mikhail Saliyenko, 18:33 into, got the Bucs third goal (assist to Sean Austin). Better and better. We were one point behind the Gamblers. We couldn't get excited yet, because Kotajarvi got his second goal of the night late in the period. I heard the Gamblers roof was leaking! It was raining in Des Moines, it must have been raining up there too. Not much changed in the third. We were starting to get more chances, but with thirteen minutes left was it too late? I don't know about anyone else but I had much too much dessert over the holiday's! Ten minutes left in the game and I just wanted to go to bed. You got tired of hearing about what we had to do to win. It was about time we lost, however I would rather have lost to someone who was lower in the ranks. There were 3,820 in attendance at the Brown County Arena in Green Bay. The Gamblers got their sixth, and thankfully final, goal with about thirty seconds to go. Jason Cupp did the honors of that goal (Billy Pugliese). You could hear the fans getting louder and louder. The end was near... Written by Sarah Bendy. Des Moines 3 - Green Bay 6
Bucs at Waterloo Black Hawks Already it had been an eventful night. Dad would be interviewed on the radio during the second intermission, with luck I would be doing the Macarena during the first intermission on the ice, and I would be "chucking a puck" during the second intermission (thanks to our friend Chris Brown who talked us into it well before the game started). Yes, it was going to be eventful! One thing you notice when you go to an opposing team's arena is the looks you are given. The faces of the fans as they turn around and realize just how many Buc fans are there is quite amusing. You get that same look no matter whether you are a Buc fan or a Huskie fan. That look of terror "oh no, not those fans! This is our arena!" It was bound to be a close game. The Blackhawks had been shutout 9-0 the night before. The Bucs of course had lost Friday night. This was the last match up between Waterloo and Des Moines for the 96-97 season. The few shots that the Hawks put on goal during the first period Scott Clemmensen managed to save. Managed might not be the right word. Managed sounds like her barely held on, that is not true. Clemmensen did a wonderful job. Even at 9:37 when the puck somehow slid behind Clem he squeezed his legs together and brought his hands to his sides and caught the puck somewhere in that. I also have to mention the great defensive move Sean Austin made near the end of the period when it looked scary for us. He made a sliding save to intercept the shot from a Blackhawk. It was a scoreless period and didn't necessarily look good for either team. At this point there was no advantage for either side. There wasn't much to say for the first five minutes or so of the second period. Sure we weren't behind, but what offense? Pete Fregoe had a good shift, because at 13:04 he had a half break. Unfortunately he was stopped by a Hawk player. He came close to getting a goal later in that same shift. This ended when the play was whistled and got a little frustrated. He was then put away in the penalty box for roughing. This was all for a good cause, because of Pete's penalty, Alex Kim got a goal with 11:58 left in the period (unassisted). A short handed goal is a good thing. From this point and on through the end of the second period the Bucs' pressure and offense were back. It would only be a matter of time, if they kept it up, before they scored again. With 3:41 left Doug Schmidt scored (assist to Matt Chandler and Mark Wilkinson). This was nothing to get worried about though. Less than a minute later Jason Furness got the second goal (assist to Jake Searles). Now this was a weird goal. There was a huddle of Bucs near the net and everything seemed to be going in slow motion. There was a whistle and out of the group that was frantically searching around came Furny, celebrating. Instant boo's from the crowd ensued. The Waterloo fans don't like Furness anymore. With the few minutes that were left we were handed a barrage of penalty's. Bobby Haglund and Chris Antzoulatos within seconds of each other both got penalties (Bobby's was a coincidental minor with another Hawk). Than with 1:14 left Fregoe, Adrian Fure and Matt Murray for Waterloo were all put away. Pete ended up getting a game ejection on top of a four minute for cross checking from behind. Fure had two minutes for roughing and Matt Murray was given two minutes for slashing. We now had a 5 on 3 to kill off. But with a minute left it didn't seem as terrible as it would have during the beginning of the period. Granted we'd have to split it up, but... Yes, I did the Macarena on the ice. Everything went smoothly and I survived thousands of eyes (3,011 to be exact, it was sold out, standing room only). I won't even mention how I bribed Tommy Hawk to let me do that furor dance with him on the ice! We looked dangerous on the ice (I'm talking about the game now). The offense seemed to be back in remission. Derrick Shaw had a breakaway and the Hawks seemed to keep penetrating our defenses. Attacking like lone fighter jets with a short shot of shells. Still Erik Cole scored with 11:34 to go in the period and it put us ahead with a two goal lead (assist to Jason Furness and Sean Austin). Ahh, don't you love getting those dirty looks from fans when you cheer for your team? You know you risk life and limb in someone else's territory when you cheer for your team. The net was empty and thirty seconds left and Antonio got a penalty for slashing, but it wouldn't help the Hawks at this point. By the end of the period the shots were even at 31. The scoreboard said the Bucs won 3-1. Though many of the Hawks shots weren't worth mentioning, there weren't many shots the Bucs had that were worth mentioning either. Written by Sarah Bendy. Des Moines 3 - Waterloo 1
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