Buc Win Brings Them Within 1 Point of First Place
Summary
Des Moines, IA (2/6/98): The Bucs picked up 2 crucial points by downing Dubuque in front of another sold-out arena of screaming Buc fans. The Bucs are now within 1 game of first place Omaha, who lost in Waterloo, 1-2. The game winning goal came from Jake Searles with just 2 minutes left in the game. Nick Parillo, who had earlier tied the game, got an empty netter to put the game away. Willie Raderschadt had 19 saves for the Bucs while Tim Peters had 33 saves. Jackson (Parillo), Maksimenko (unassisted), Vokes (Parillo), Parillo (Donnette, Jackson), Searles (Fregoe, Nightingale) and Parillo (EN) (unassisted) scored for the Bucs.
Ice-Slinging
- Rumor has it this week that it was Dubuque who complained about the Owens and Kourilin deal and pushed to have something done about it. Tomorrow it will probably be Omaha that did it, not Dubuque. I also heard it was Sioux City. Rumors, you can’t trust them.
- Gino Kourilin still isn’t back from his hometown, he’s having a bit of trouble over there getting his visa renewed.
- I’m afraid I really don’t have anymore tidbits to mention, it’s been a quiet week obviously!
Coaches Comments
Welcome to tonight’s contest against the Dubuque Fighting Saints. We have had success against the Saints in our previous three home meetings (4-1, 6-2, 8-4) but are out to avenge a costly 6 - 5 loss in Dubuque on January 16th. The Saints were involved in a big trade at the deadline. Look for newcomers Trent Clark and Tim Peters (both from Lincoln) to make an impact down the stretch.
Congratulations to Coach Steve Nelson for his successful debut behind the bench last weekend as he was able to collect three out of a possible four points against Fargo and Green Bay. It will be important for us to be totally focused tonight against the Saints, and not “look past” them in anticipation of the two game series with Omaha (Saturday and Sunday). With 15 games left in the regular season, they are all important!
Opening Period
Because of the possible snitching Dubuque had done and also because we have to avenge a loss from last time we played them, it wouldn’t surprise me if it would be a physical game. At 1:54 of the first period Jason Nightingale and Scott Deopere both went for roughing coincidentals. Willie Raderschadt was in goal Friday night, it's only the seventh game he's played and I thought he was having a fairly solid effort in the first period, he was making some good saves and decisions. My over all impression of the first period was that Dubuque has had some really good passing, but we seem to be working hard. Josh Kern and Trent Clark had a great play midway of the first period and the Bucs couldn't touch them. It was scary actually. Tempers seemed to be a bit hot. With about three minutes left at least three pucks had already gone into the crowd, little did I know it would continue to be like this all night. The Bucs had a lot of shots on goal, but not that many great opportunities. Still you have to give them credit for being in the attack zone for most of the time. Saves: Des Moines 5 - Dubuque 14
Second Period
Ok, now there has GOT to be a mistake on this Dubuque roster. Drew Nichols, by the roster, is supposedly 5'10" ...now in NO way after looking at this kid can he be 5'10"!! I'm sorry... he looks shorter then Tortorella! Ok for one thing, when he was skating around with Marty Rychley he was much shorter than Marty. Now when you look at this roster, it says that Marty is 5'8". Well, I'll give it up, but it was certainly VERY interesting. At 4:23 Scott Deopere got a goal for Dubuque (assist to Phil Lewandowski). Everyone in the crowd complained about this goal, because the puck went in after the net was off and the whistle was blown. Even Coach said he didn’t consider it a goal. So this was a bit upsetting, not only to all the fans but I’m sure Raderschadt was a bit shaken after that. About a minute later Pete Fregoe had a breakaway and took it all the way to the net. He had to be stopped though and so Dubuque’s Kris Harris took the job. He was called at 5:31 for holding. The period didn't seem to be going as well. It didn't look quite as good as the last one. To put it mildly they sucked! Dubuque notched themselves another goal at 7:40 from Trent Clark (assist to Even Stensrud). Jim Jackson got us the first goal at 16:33 when he ripped one in from the left point (assist to Nick Parillo). Dubuque got another goal near the end of the second period, the goal went to Tom Rouleau (assist Evan Stensrud and Trent Clark). Saves: Des Moines 8 - Dubuque 8
Third Period
Thirteen seconds into the third period Eric Maksimenko scored a goal (unassisted). Eric Anderson thought that the goal had been tipped in by Erik Jensen, but they gave the goal to Maksi. Jeremy Vokes got another goal about three minutes later (assist to Nicky Parillo). Things were starting to look good, we were now tied at 3. At 10:18 Josh Kern gave Dubuque a one point lead when he got himself a goal (assist to Evan Stensrud). Then Parillo answered with another goal at 14:28 tying the game once again (assist to Dan Donnette and Jimmy Jackson). The rest of the game would be ours, because Jake Searles scored the winning goal with 1:54 left in the third period (assist to Pete Fregoe and Jason Nightingale). Timothy Peters, the Saints goalie, had gotten caught up behind his net and Jake had taken advantage of the open net! After this a time-out was called, I believe that Dubuque probably called it. It was amusing to watch the two coaches so adamant and furiously telling their teams what to do in the remaining two minutes. Peters was pulled with about a minute left and with the net empty Nick Parillo got another goal with just eight seconds left. It was quite a game! Saves: Des Moines 6 - Dubuque 11. Total Saves: Des Moines 19 - Dubuque 33. Written by Sarah Bendy.
Des Moines 6 - Dubuque 4
Player of the Game: Nick Parillo; yep, he gets it again! Coach has been enthused about his progress in the last couple of weeks.
Lancers Beat Bucs in Shoot-Out
Summary
Des Moines, IA (2/7/98): Three former Oak Leaf players were on hand for tonights battle: Ray Mikulan (goalie from Winnipeg), John Annable (wing from Montreal), and Marcel Roy (goalie from Sudbury). What would else would you expect in a battle between the #1 Omaha Knights and the #2 Des Moines Oak Leafs but an overtime and shoot-out? Each team fought hard throughout the game and resulting overtime and still their was no winner. Both goalies stopped all 10 shooters in the resulting shoot-out and still no winner. It was on to a sudden death shoot-out. In the end, the Knights prevailed as Jim Callahan finally scored. What a game! Each team picks up a point with Omaha getting a bonus point. Bob Revermann had 23 saves for the Bucs while Dennis Basset had 31 saves.
Maksimenko (PP) (Stafford, Clarke), Clarke (PP) (Jackson, Basile) and Nightingale (Strand) scored for the Bucs.
Pre-game Rattle
We have been the proud recipient of several e-mails this week wanting to know more about the "Gino Kourilin" affair. Most were just looking for information and were supportive of the coach and Kourilin, but there is always one rotten apple in the barrel. The rotten apple was upset that we did not have details of the whole affair, and then closed with something like this: "I guess if you're cheating by using a pro player, you would want to keep it quiet". Well Buc fans, I guess the cat is out of the bag - we have been flying in pro players on the weekends - I hope nobody figures out that the new guy (Revermann) is really Richter in disguise.
OK, enough about that, let's talk hockey. The Lancers are in town for our "60's throwback" game. The Lancers will be wearing Omaha Knights jerseys, and the Bucs will be wearing Des Moines Oak Leaf jerseys. Three former Oak Leafs are in town to drop the first puck. Ray Mikulan (goalie) holds the record for most consecutive games played. He inched out former Omaha Knight / Des Moines Oak Leaf / Buc coach, Ivan Prediger when Ivan took a slash to the leg and had to miss a game. According to John Annable, Ray was born in 1907 and isn't really from Canada, being from Winnipeg. John Annable, who was the leading scorer in 1966, is from Montreal. Marcel Roy, a goalie, is definitely from Canada, calling Sudbury his home.
The Lancers would be starting one of the best goalies in the USHL, Dennis Bassett who is from Alberta, Canada. The Bucs would be going with Bob Revermann who also leads the USHL. As the Lancers completed warm-ups and skated off the ice, Chad Theuer was staring into the crowd and not watching where he was going. Hey Chad, don't you realize that along with pro players, we also cheat by planting good looking girls in the crowd to distract you?
Coach's Comments
Any meeting with the Omaha Lancers is significant, but as both teams head into the "home stretch," and the race for the division title so close, this home game and weekend series is important. The Buccaneers are 2 - 1 against the Lancers, but haven't played them since November 29th. Omaha is a veteran team and are led in scoring by Chad Theuer and Neil Breen. Goaltenders Dennis Bassett and Tony Zasowski have split the duties between the pipes.
We will have to play with a lot of composure this weekend. The Lancers feature the league's top power play at 26.29%, and roughly one third of their goals come form the power play. We will need everyone to step up and make this a total team effort, similar to Saturday's win over Green Bay.
I hope you enjoy this key match-up and the atmosphere surrounding it as Des Moines and Omaha go back in time for "throw-back" night!
Period 1
The Metro Ice Sports Arena was sold-out as usual. Tonight, every available standing area was full. The Buc faithful must have beat the Lancer crowd to the tickets, because there were not many Lancer fans in attendance. The Bucs came out playing well, and almost scored 30 seconds into the game. Less than a minute later, Erik Strand, put on a great forecheck, allowing Jake Searles to grab the puck and shoot - hitting the post! The game was definitely physical, and two sticks were broken in the first three minutes. Mark Krueger was playing very well, too well perhaps as he (and Lancer Mike Lucci) were called for matching roughing penalties with just 4 minutes gone. Erik Jensen came right back and swept a loose puck in on goal that Bassett was somehow able to grab. It was 5 minutes before the Lancers were able to put any pressure on the Buc goal. Chad Theuer spoiled the Lancer threat when he took a 2 minute slashing penalty.
The Bucs set it up and Jim Jackson ripped a shot on goal that Bassett got a piece of and deflected up into the crowd. Bassett made a big mistake as he shot the puck up ice on a clearing attempt. Jeremy Vokes jumped up and knocked the puck down and got off a shot that almost went in. James Armstrong will remember Garrett Stafford for some time as Garrett sent him sprawling on a huge hit as the penalty expired.
Halfway through the period, it has been all Bucs. The Lancers were content to just chip it out of their zone and get line changes. With 12 minutes gone, Jamie Spencer went down after a collision with Pete Fregoe as Pete was breaking into the Lancer zone. He stayed down for a bit, but when he finally got up, the crowd applauded him.
The Bucs continued to put on pressure. Jason Basile got off a rocket that somehow was stopped. With 6 minutes left, there was a tie up at the Buc blue line. Jeremy Vokes came crashing in and checked Mike Lucci big time. Jeremy got a double minor. The Lancers, who have the best power play unit in the league would have a man advantage for 4 minutes. The Lancers set it up and moved it around very well, but didn't get any quality shots. Halfway through the penalty, Noah Clarke was able to get a semi-break, and although tied up pretty well, he got a shot on net. Then Nick Parillo grabbed the puck and got a shot off. Just as the penalty was expiring, Nick Parillo grabbed the puck and was hauled down by Neil Breen, saving a break away - and there was no call!
Eric Maksimenko got a breakaway as the penalty expired, and although this surprised Bassett, he was able to stop Maksi cold. With 17 seconds left, Vincent Bachet was hauled down by Neil Breen as he was breaking the puck out of his zone. This time Neil was called. The Bucs would have a man advantage at the start of the second period. Revermann had 5 saves, Bassett had 12.
Period 2
The Bucs were not able to do much with the power play, and only got one shot off. The Lancers were to score first on an innocent looking play that caught all of us off guard. At 2:24, Neil Breen got off a back-hand shot that beat Revermann (assist to Pete Summerfelt). The goal really quieted the crowd, it was as if we were in library. The Bucs did not let down however, Noah Clarke came in and passed at the last possible second to Eric Maksimenko who was robbed by Bassett who stretched out his goalie stick and deflected the puck up and out of harms way. Paul Caponigri of the Lancers took a 2 minute holding penalty as the Bucs were putting pressure on the net.
In the resulting powerplay, Eric Maksimenko shot the puck in the net which appeared to be deflected in by a Lancer player (assists to Garrett Stafford and Noah Clarke - 5:04). Dennis Bassett shrugged his shoulders and put his hands up in the air as if to say "it wasn't my fault!" The game was now tied.
After the goal, both teams opened it up and it was back and forth hockey - it was fun to watch them go up and down the ice. It is fun to watch Nick Parillo fight off the D and go in on the goalie. I am sure he will get a scholarship and be gone next year, but it sure would be nice to have him back one more year. Bill Birrenkott was called for a penalty, and then Noah Clarke was called for a penalty, giving the Lancers a 2 man advantage for 55 seconds. Pete Fregoe, Erik Strand, Peter Capouch and Jason Basile did a great job killing the penalty. Jake Searles came in for Fregoe and killed the penalty off. At 10:52, just as the penalty was killed off, Pete Summerfelt passed the puck across the ice to an open Neil Breen who slapped it into the open net to give the Lancers a 2 to 1 lead (additional assist to James Armstrong).
On the next face off, Jamie Spencer took down a Buc and went to the box, giving the Bucs another powerplay. Basile let go with a blast that almost went in, but the Lancers picked up the puck and cleared it. Jason Basile picked up the puck and shoved it to a breaking Jim Jackson who passed to Noah Clarke on a 3 on 1 break. At the last second, Jim passed the puck to Noah Clarke who puckered the twine to tie the game at 12:30. Erik Strand almost scored on the next face off, but it was Jason Nightingale who scored next. Erik Strand bounced the puck off the boards and Jensen streaked in and blasted the puck past Bassett at 14:23.
The Bucs continued the pressure, but were unable to convert. Near the end of the period, the Lancers put tremendous pressure on Revermann, and he came up big. With seconds left in the period Noah Clarke had another chance to score, but although he had deked out the goalie, Bassett was able to get just a piece of the puck and save the goal. The period ended with 9 saves for Revermann and 10 saves for Bassett.
Period 3
The Lancers came out strong, and Chad Theuer passed to Neil Breen who was all alone in front of the net. Breen shot but Revermann was not about to let him score. The Bucs had fallen back into a defensive style of play. In the next exchange, Mike Lucci was in the crease and a face off was called in center ice. Chris Paradise argued but was rebuked by the ref - almost getting called for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Bucs were called for a penalty and the Lancers would have a man advantage. It did not take long for the Lancers to score, and at 3:18. Chris Paradise shot the puck from the blue line and beat Revermann cleanly (assist to Jed Ortmeyer and Chris Hartsburg).
The Bucs had their chances. With 5 minutes gone in the period, Erik Jensen, Eric Maksimenko and Noah Clarke came in on a 3 on 1 break. Unfortunately, Bassett was on his game and was not going to allow another goal. For some reason, the Omaha coach began a conversation with the ref, which brought the familiar "Whiner, Whiner" cheer from the Buc faithful.
The period wound down, with the momentum gradually shifting to the Lancers. It was never totally a Lancer period, as the Bucs would break out and get shots on goal. In particular, Pete Capouch, Dan Donnette, Mark Krueger, Noah Clarke had quality shots. The Buc D was working hard - Bill Birrenkott, Jason Basile, Peter Capouch, Vincent Bachet and Garrett Stafford all working very hard.
Bob Revermann came up big when he cleared a puck that was intercepted by Jed Ortmeyer. Bob didn't realize that Jed had the puck and recovered just in time to stop the shot. Jed slammed his stick to the ice in frustration.
The time ticked down and it was obvious that the game was going into overtime. Maxwell encouraged the Buc crowd to make some noise saying "C'mon Buc fans, this isn't a library". The fans responded for a bit, then quieted down. Saves for the third period were 8 for Des Moines and 6 for Bassett.
Overtime
Parillo, Basile, Donnette, Vokes, and Basile started the overtime for the Bucs. Jed Ortmeyer came out smoking for the Lancers - he was all over the ice. Paul Caponigri had a chance to win it when he took a pass and was all alone about 4 feet in front of Revermann. No way, baby! Revermann stuffed his shot! Finally, the Bucs started to put some pressure when Stafford passed to Clarke, who put a great shot on Bassett. Jeremy Vokes came in and passed to Nick Parillo - Parillo was mugged by the D, but still got a shot off. Vokes came in again and was robbed by Bassett. Hey, isn't it cheating to have a Canadian as a goalie?
With a minute left in the overtime, both teams were exhausted and fell back to a defensive posture. If the game went into a shoot-out, each team would at least get 1 point. With 3 seconds left, the Bucs called a time-out. Great Balls of Fire blared over the PA. The face off was in the Lancer zone. The Bucs won the face-off and Jackson got a shot off, but Bassett stopped it. Time expired in the overtime and we were headed for a shoot-out!
Shoot-out
The Lancers went first with Chad Theuer. Chad skated in, then there was a moment of silence, then cheers! Revermann had stopped the first shot. The Bucs went with Noah Clarke. He skated in fast, deked, went to the backhand glove side, and Bassett laid on top of the puck - no goal!
Next up for the Lancers was Chris Paradise. He tried a slap shot that Revermann gloved easily. The Bucs next shooter was Eric Maksimenko. Erik ripped a shot for the upper corner of the open net - but it was wide!
Nate Mauer was next for the Lancers. Revermann made it look so easy as he gloved the shot. Jeremy Vokes was next for the Bucs. Jeremy came in slow, watching the goalie. He went high to the glove side and was denied.
Jed Ortmeyer came in on the left side, tried to deke, but lost control of the puck before he could get his shot off. Nick Parillo was next for the Bucs. Nick came in fast, deked several times and also lost control of the puck before he could shoot.
Neil Breen would finish for the Lancers. Neil looked down the ice and pulled up both sleeves. The crowd booed. He came in with his head up, watching Revermann. He shot and Revermann gloved it! The last buc shooter was Pete Fregoe. Pete came in, deked and tried to slide it between the legs of Bassett. It almost went in, but Bassett stopped it at the last moment.
It was now a sudden death shoot-out. Jimmy Callahan went first. He deked, then lifted the puck into the net to score. he speed skated to the bench, and jumped into the bench (like a rock star into the crowd)!
It was up to Jason Nightingale. If he did not score, it was all over. Jason came in, shot, and was stopped by Bassett. The Lancers celebrated and the Bucs skated to Revermann (the former Lancer) to encourage him. As the Lancers left the ice, they offered words of encouragement to their former team mate. The Bucs skated to center ice and saluted the crowd who gave them a standing ovation! Hockey - there is nothing else like it! Written by Steve Bendy.
Lancers 4 - Bucs 3 (Shoot out)
Strand, Dube Goals Beat Lancers
Summary
Omaha, NE (2/8/98): The "60's Throw-Back" series continued in Omaha and the fans were not to be disappointed. Both teams were tired but played their hearts out. In the end, the Bucs were victorious with Revermann stopping 24 of 26 shots. The Bucs scored 2 second period goals just 22 seconds apart to take a 3 to 1 lead that would hold-up to give them the win. In a sad note, defensive stand-out Bill Birrenkott suffered a dislocated shoulder early in the game.
The Bucs are now just 1 point behind Omaha and 5 points ahead of third place Lincoln. Lincoln plays at Omaha this Wednesday. Hang on to your jerseys.. this is going to be fun! Clarke (Maksimenko, Jensen), Strand (Nightingale, Basile) and Dube (Fregoe, Flynn) scored for the Bucs.
Ice-Slinging
Omaha was having a throw back night as well, just like we had on Saturday night. They had former Knights drop the puck.
Opening Period
Noah Clarke got the first goal of the game on a rebound and with luck that would determine how the game would go (assist to Maksimenko and Jensen). Noah got the goal just a 1:08 into the first period! Jason Armstrong went for hooking at 4:59 giving us a power play. Along with this Armstrong got a ten minute misconduct. This wasn’t something that Hastings could be happy about. Just the same Omaha scored with Mike Lucci on a breakaway at 14:35 (assist Nate Mauer and Pete Summerfelt). I’ll have to mention that Lucci had some help on this goal, some help from our D. The Bucs defense were really taking some chances and Billy Birrenkott was now on the ice. He’d dislocated his shoulder and was helped off the ice, for the remaining two periods he stayed off the ice. When Chris Paradise ran into Bob Revermann, when both players were behind the net, Revermann was called for a delay of game. Now supposedly Revermann sent the goal over the glass, yet the ref called nothing on Paradise for the blatant run-in. Anyway Jeremy Vokes served the penalty at 19:31. Saves: Des Moines 9 - Omaha 6
Second Period
Armstrong started the period off right, with a power play for us!! He got called for high-sticking at 2:15 and was sent to the box for the second time of the night. Some players score a goal every game... some players sit in the penalty box a few times every game! Of course the power play did us no good because we couldn’t make anything happen of it. Erik Strand had only had two goals so far on the year, but when he decides to get himself a goal he isn’t shy about it. At 11:51 he notched the goal after forcing Dennis Bassett to his left and shooting the puck through the five hole (assist to Jason Nightingale and Jason Basile). Rob Lettington mentioned that it was the best move he’d seen the entire year in the USHL. So if you read this Erik, wish I could have been there to see it! Then just 22 seconds later Chris Dube scored top-shelf with a backhand (assist to Pete Fregoe and Josh Flynn). We were now leading 3-1. Garrett Stafford took a penalty which cost us our two point lead. Eighteen seconds into the power play the goal went to Neil Breen (assist to Chad Theuer and Pete Summerfelt). Revermann had made two initial saves but gave up the third one. Saves: Des Moines 10 - Omaha 4
Third Period
In the third period things got a little... ?homey?... in the Ak-sar-ben coliseum. The refs watched Paradise take a dive and called Bachet within less then two minutes of the start of the third. Then at 3:46 Jackson was called, with help from a Lancer actor, for interference. I think the Lancers have formed themselves a little actors guild! About midway in the third period we had close to 6 minutes of non-stop play. Revermann was amazing in this and kept our lead. The Lancer fans were loud and... obnoxious? Not long after this Parillo got hauled down and nothing was called!! What kind of a ref is this?!?!?! Omaha pulled their goalie within the last minute or so of the game... and after about thirty minutes of play like this they called a time-out. It would prove to be of little use because the Bucs capped themselves a victory against the Omaha Lancers beating them by a one goal. We now were only one point behind the Lancers in the race for first place, winning two of three games on the weekend. Omaha lost two of three just in case you wondered! Saves: Des Moines 5 - Omaha 1. Total Saves: Des Moines 24 - Omaha 11. Written by Sarah Bendy.
Des Moines 3 - Omaha 2
Player of the Game: Bob Revermann; he definitely deserved it, at least for his effort in those five to six minutes in the third period. Another mention will be Chris Dube and Erik Strand, both players deserve a mention for getting goals!
Bucs Drop Crucial Game in Green Bay
Summary
Wausau, WI (2/13/98): A tired, sick and bruised Buccaneer squad dropped a crucial game to the Gamblers in Wausau, WI Friday night. A win would have put the Bucs in first place of the USHL standings. The Bucs are now in second place, 1 point behind the Omaha Lancers. The Bucs jumped out to a 2 - 0 lead, led by Erik Strand's breakaway goal in the first period. Jake Searles added the second goal, but the Gamblers battled back, scoring three un-answered goals to win the game. Bob Revermann was in goal for the Bucs. Strand (unassisted) and Searles (unassisted) scored for the Bucs.
Ice Slinging
- Tonight the game wasn't in Green Bay, it was in Wausau, WI.
- Several of our players were either injured or not feeling well. Erik Jensen and Erik Strand both were sick... Strand however did play. Jason Basile was having problems with a bruised shin. Billy Birrenkott was still out with a disclosed shoulder, he would probably need surgery.
- The Bucs were going to have a long weekend, they probably wouldn't' be back until 5 am Saturday morning. It would make for a tough game Saturday night and we were already bruised and tired.
First
In the first period Jason Nightingale got pulled down, but he wasn't called... instead Erik Strand was called at 2:34. Erik must have been intent on being the first with everything tonight, because he got the first goal as well! 5:43 was the time of the five-hole goal and it was unassisted. Erik Strand had intercepted the lousy pass from Ryan Savarine. Everytime Green Bay made a mistake Strand seemed to be there. At 14:47 we got our second power play opportunity. Then Jeff Finger (the league leader in penalty minutes!), later, went two minutes for cross checking. So for the next 1:23 we had a five on three. We couldn't get anything going though and our power play opportunity went to waist. We failed to really go in for rebounds. Just the same we had the quicker and faster team. Saves: Des Moines 9 - Green Bay 15
Second
Dan Donnette had gotten a goal, but it was waived off because the net had come off. Coach was a little upset because if our goal was going to be waived off, then there should have been an interference penalty. However Jake Searles didn't take long to get the second goal we had almost gotten. Jake went back-hand and top-shelf to get that goal at 3:40 (unassisted). Things started to fall apart when Willy Todd got a goal for Green Bay at 15:51 (assist to Mike Perpich and Stephan Baby). Then with 2:46 left to go in the second Dallas Stewart tied the game (assist to Chris Lynch and Nick Anderson). Saves: Des Moines 11 - Green Bay 19
Third
The Gamblers Tyler Sawchyn was called for a penalty and put away, however the ref hadn't seen Sawchyn kick Jake Searles. Had they seen this it would have been an instant game ejection. Jason Basile got taken down by a Gambler and ended up with a cut. The player was escorted off the ice and the Green Bay doctor was called over to stitch up Basile. Basile ended up with a major cut on his forehead and would later suffer from a serious headache Saturday night. So we were just under seventeen minutes and would be without one of our key defenseman. Capouch was already under the weather, it would make for a short bench. On a mistake by the Bucs Dallas Steward got the Gamblers a third goal at 10:44 (assist to Stephen Baby). Josh Flynn took a hard hit and a penalty was called, but interestingly the penalty was called for Nick Parillo. Parillo was getting a five minute spearing penalty and we had about six minutes left. This could break us and end our chances for tying the game, it was a very stupid penalty to take. With 26 seconds left in the period the Bucs called a time-out to attempt to regain some composure. Bob Revermann was pulled and the extra attacker was added, but the seconds ticked down and we had lost the game. Saves: Des Moines 8 - Green Bay 6. Total Saves: Des Moines 28 - Green Bay 39. Written by Sarah Bendy.
Des Moines 2 - Green Bay 3
Bucs Beat Rochester in Overtime
Summary
Des Moines, IA (2/14/98): Many Bucs still sick and beat-up from their game against Green Bay last night, won a crucial game in overtime to tie Omaha for the USHL lead. Jason Basile played a solid defensive game despite the fact that he had a splitting head-ache and 15 stitches over his left eye from last night. Erik Strand was all over the ice and assisted in the game winner despite being sick. Jason Nightingale got the game winner with 35 seconds remaining in overtime. Jon Walker was tough in goal stopping 15 shots. Searles (Nightingale), Capouch (Jensen, Basile) and Nightingale (Strand, Searles) scored for the Bucs.
Pre-game Rattle
The Bucs return from cheese land bruised physically and in the win-loss column. Bruised? How about 15 stitches above the left eye to Jason Basile and no call! How does that happen? A win in Green Bay would have put us in first place, ahead of Omaha and Lincoln. Now, I know Omaha is the team we love to hate, but the other Nebraska team is the one we need to watch. With 11 games left, we play Lincoln twice at their barn. Omaha, while tough, has lost a goalie to injury and rumor has it that their is trouble in the ranks - several players having left the team. I wonder if they wish they had Revermann back?
Metro Ice Sports Arena was sold-out as usual, and all of the standing space was full. Even before the puck was dropped, the crowd was into the game. I talked to Jake Searles earlier in the week and he said that the Bucs were focused on winning the USHL championship and were not going to let down. Tonight was a game to watch.
Period 1
Coach Owens decided to go with Jon Walker in goal, Erik Strand at center, Jake Searles and Jason Nightingale up front, Bachet and Capouch on D. The Strand-Searles-Nightingale line has really clicked lately. The crowd was really jacked up and ready for the game to begin. For some reason, there was a several minute delay before the puck was dropped - but when it was, we knew that the Bucs were in for a physical game from Rochester. Within the first two minutes, Rochester's Scott Turner took a big run at Erik Strand, hoping to nail him into the boards from behind. Erik saw him coming but didn't let on till the last second. Turner crashed into the boards with a big thud, missing completely. Seconds later, Turner was called for boarding giving the Bucs a power play.
The Buc power play looked good. Everythime the Buc D got the puck, a Rochester player would hit the ice to try to block the slap shot. Jim Jackson got a shott off, then Pete Fregoe. Jason Basile was next, then Jim Jackson again. Marc Ranfranz, the Rochester goalie was getting a workout. The Mustang's killed off the penalty, and broke it out of the zone, only to give up a break away to Jason Nightingale. Jason was robbed on his shot. Erik Strand picked up the puck and almost scored but was decked for his trouble, giving the Bucs another power play.
The Bucs again set up the power play, but the Rochester D rose to the occasion and killed off the penalty easily. The Bucs had the momentum and it seemed that it was just a matter of time before they would score. Instead, Rochester picked off a clearing attempt by Walker and Chad Ohleiser scored from the blue line. Walker had it in his glove, but it popped out and dribbled across the goal line. The assist went to Kellogg - time of the goal: 7:36.
After the goal, Rochester regained the momentum and for the first time put some pressure on the Buc net. Garrett Stafford was having a good night, saving a scoring attempt when he broke up a centering pass on a 2 on 1 break. The Bucs came back and Pete Fregoe hit the goal post. Garrett Stafford checked Rochester's #3 up and into the Rochester bench - just a little more effort and he would have been all the way in.
The Bucs got another power play but were unable to score. Just before the period expired, Jeremy Vokes centered the pass to Mark Krueger, who could have scored had he been able to get a handle on the puck. The period ended with 3 saves for Walker and 5 for Ranfranz of Rochester.
Period 2
After the face off, the Bucs controlled the puck and Vincent Bachet put a slap shot on net that hit the goalie in the mid-section. Jeremy Vokes took a centering pass from Noah Clarke, deked several times, then hit the cross bar as he tried to go top shelf.
The Mustangs came back and Walker had the toughest test of the night. He faced quality shots from Nick Christensen and Tim Turner. Jon was up to the task. The Bucs came back as Vincent Bachet came from the blue line, skated in front of the net and put a back-hand shot on goal. Ranfranz stopped the shot and lunged out and covered the rebound. It was a good thing he did, because Fregoe was inches away from a goal. Erik Jensen was working very hard in the corners, and was able to get it out to Fregoe for a one-timer that just missed.
Halfway through the period, Rochester's Bill Robeck ended up with the puck all alone in front of Walker. They played a waiting game to see who was going to make the first move. Since Walker was in great position he could afford to wait. Robeck finally made his move, and Walker made the save look easy. Robeck skated to the bench and slammed his stick against the wall - temper, temper!
At 8:52, Rochester's Peter Runkel was attempting to clear the puck and fell, sending the puck sliding to Jason Nightingale. Jason quickly passed it across ice to Jake Searles who swept it into the open net. The Bucs had finally scored and the crowd went crazy!
The Bucs had several quality scoring chances, as did Rochester, but both goalies were playing very well. Both Maksimenko and Fregoe had break aways but were not able to score. At 14:15, Abel and Kellogg assisted Scott Turner's quick snap shot that surprised Walker. Rochester was back in the lead.
The Bucs evened the score at 17:52 on a beautiful play by Peter Capouch (assists to Erik Jensen and Jason Basile). Capouch got the puck near the center of the ice by the blue line. The Rochester D went down to block the slap shot, so Capouch skated around him and wound up to shoot. This froze the D and he skated closer and fired a hard wrist shot that stretched the back of the net! The crowd went bezerk and the score was tied again. Rochester had 7 saves and the Bucs had 6.
Period 3
The third period was characterized by some tough defensive play on both sides. Rochester came out the strongest, putting lots of pressure on the net. JC Newby had a break away that Walker stopped with his patented butterfly move. Rochester continued the pressure for the first 5 minutes of the period.
Pete Fregoe finally skated out with the puck and got a scoring chance that re-ingnited the Bucs. The Bucs then got pressure on the net. Josh Flynn was called for a penalty that wasn't - it was just a great defensive move that the ref didn't like for some reason. Bill Rosseau did a good job on D and the Bucs killed off the penalty easily.
Of course, things even out and right after that play, two Bucs decided to water ski off of one Rochester forward. The blades of the Buc sticks covered the number on his jeresy, so I don't know who he was.
As the period wound down, it seemed as if the game was destined for overtime. The crowd was loving it and I could hear several fans talking about how much they liked shoot-outs and hoped to see one tonight. Well, the game did go into overtime, but not before the Bucs put tremendous pressure on the Rochester goal. Chris Dube, Don Donnette, Erik Strand, Jason Nightingale, Jeremy Vokes, Jake Searles, and Erik Jensen all were working very hard.
Rochester also had some good chances, escpecially when Mike Stuart blasted a rocket at Walker. Walker's glove looked like a Patriot missle intercepting a Scud. I thought we were going to win it when Searles took a pass from Strand and was robbed by Ranfranz. With 30 seconds left, Vokes and Maksimenko teamed up for a chance but a sliding Ranfranz said no! The period ended and we were going into overtime. The Bucs had put 16 shots on net in the period, while Rochester only had 6.
Overtime
The teams skated to their benches and talked strategy. The crowd "hi-de-hooed" to Cab Calloway, eagerly anticipating the overtime. The Bucs wanted to win and they were taking chances, The D would pinch up and a Buc forward would cover for them.
With 35 seconds left, Erik Strand passed to Jake Searles who shot. Ranfranz stopped it, but the rebound went flying. Jason Nightingale hit the puck in mid-air into the net. The crowd roared! The Bucs bench emptied and they mobbed Nightingale. The Bucs were celebrating in a pile on the ice, while the crowd sang "we're going to beat the puck out of you, and you, and you!" Written by Steve Bendy.
Bucs 3 - Rochester Mustangs 2 (OT)
Revermann Effort Key to Buc Win
Summary
Lincoln, NE (2/18/98): A superior effort in goal by Revermann helped lead the Bucs to a 3-2 victory over the Lincoln Stars. Jensen scored 2 goals in the first period. Fregoe got the game winner at the 18:32 mark in the third period. Noah Clarke played a great game, getting 3 assists. The Bucs are now tied with Omaha for first place and 5 points ahead of Lincoln. Jensen (Fregoe, Clarke), Jensen (Clarke), and Fregoe (Clarke) scored for the Bucs.
Ice Slinging
- Top 4 scorers haven't scored within the last couple of games.
- Blackburn was in goal Wednesday night, we've had particularly good luck playing against him. Revermann was also in goal.
- Strand, because of his effort has been moved up to the second line.
- Many of the Lincoln players have scholarships already to several different schools.
- Basile is now wearing a full face shield because of the 15 stitches he received in Green Bay.
First
Jake Searles threw some punches early in the first and he and Marc Suderman would be headed to the penalty box for coincidentals. The Bucs were looking sloppy in the early goings of the game and we seriously needed a win! Not to mention with the luck we had so far had in Lincoln we really didn't need another slap in the face. Halfway in the period Pete Fregoe was working hard and when his initial shot had been saved by Blackburn, Erik Jensen was there to crash and get the garbage goal. Jensen had stuffed it home on the left side of Blackburn at 18:51 (assist to Fregoe and Clark). Nick Ringstad and Garrett Stafford were both given coincidental unsportsmanlike conducts with about five minutes left. So far the ref hadn't called much of anything without two players going into the box. With Maksi being taken down just minutes before this and nothing being called it was a pretty sure bet things were gonna slide tonight! Jensen got another goal at 17:08 after he and Clark had made a break; this time Jensen back-handed it in (assist to Clark).
Second
During the second period those loud, rowdy, often obnoxious fans (not that we're NEVER obnoxious!) in Lincoln started to get back into the game. The damage that can be done by these people can have serious side effects... i.e. permanent jinx in playing in their barn. Andy Lundbohm was able to get a goal past Suderman when he stuffed it under Bob. The goal was at 6:55 (assist to Adam Kragthorpe). Lincoln was getting away with way too much and not being called for it. Strand was double-teamed and Noah Clarke was taken down. However behind the play we got called for slashing to Maksi at 10:47. Even short-handed the Bucs were doing a really good job. Brendon Hodge went for interference to give us a power play late in the second. It didn't do us any good...as a matter of fact after this penalty to Hodge he later got himself a goal. Revermann came out to meet Hodge, he lost his edge, tripped, lost his stick and Hodge was able to slam the puck home.
Third
At 10:07 Lundbohm took a dive and Erik Strand was put away for tripping and the Stars were on their second power play. Luckily we were able to kill this one. We had several penalties for both teams in the period, but really nothing happened. Clark had a back-hand that Blackburn stopped but Fregoe got the rebound with 1:28 left (assist to Maksi and Clark). We went on to win the game in Lincoln and hopefully break our rotten streak. It put us ahead of Lincoln by five points and tied with Omaha for first. We would have a difficult weekend ahead of us. Written by Sarah Bendy.
Des Moines 3 - Lincoln 2
Buc D Allows Just 20 Shots
Summary
Des Moines, IA (2/20/98): The Bucs put together a solid game on offense and defense before a sold-out arena whipped into a frenzy by "Crazy Larry". The Buc D limited Waterloo to just 20 shots on Revermann, while Waterloo's goalie, Phil Osaer, faced 45! The Bucs also converted on 2 power play opportunities. Meanwhile, Omaha beat Lincoln at home and must face Lincoln again tomorrow (at Lincoln).
Stafford (unassisted), Capouch (Fregoe), Nightingale (Searles, Capouch), Vokes (pp) (Stafford), Clarke (Stafford) and Jensen (pp) (Fregoe, Basile) scored for the Bucs.
Ice Slinging
- Blackhawks had a record of 23-23-2 going into the night. We were 4-1 against the Blackhawks and it would be our final meeting.
- Billy Birrenkott was playing tonight, even though he has a dislocated shoulder.
- Jon Walker, Billy Rouseau, and Josh Flynn were all sitting out the night.
- Crazy Larry has a new haircut!
First
Matt Chandler for the Waterloo Blackhawks came out onto the ice and left his stick in the locker room. So he had to go back in and get it. Garrett Stafford got the first goal of the night, 2:09 into the period (unassisted). With 14:14 left Erik Jensen gets penalty for hooking. It hadn't even looked like Jensen had taken him down. With five seconds left on the Waterloo power play the Hawks scored from the left point on a slap shot. Tom Ogee got the goal to Revermann's stick side (assist to Tim Murphy). At 7:46 Peter Capouch took a shot at Osaer and we were sure it went in, but Osaer was down on his knees holding on for his dear life. It ended up trickling behind Osear and Capouch got himself the second goal of the game (assist to Fregoe). Time of the goal still not sure why they took a time-out at 8:20. Now I'm still not sure why they took a time-out at this time of all times. Around the six minute mark of the period Nick Parillo had a pretty good shift, otherwise he hadn't been doing a whole lot lately. Jason Nightingale got a goal at 14:16 after Capouch had the original shot (assist to Searles and Capouch). Searles, Nightingale, and some of the Blackhawks were along the left side (left side of Osear) of the boards and the ref finally whistled the play dead. After this Jake threw a few punches (just like Wed. night) and the fans put up a fuss about this. Tom Ogee and Jake were put away for roughing coincidentals. Saves: Des Moines 7 - Waterloo 11
Second
At the beginning of the second period we weren't on a power play, but it sure looked like one. Tim Murphy was called for high sticking at 5:53 and he tried to go into the Des Moines penalty box! Well, at least he was trying to go to his rightful place! The ice looked a little wet Friday night. I swear some guy not far from me was wearing a pine air freshener as cologne! Or perhaps he was wearing it around his neck!! Waterloo's Kyle O'Keefe scored at 8:15 (assist to Frank Udovich and Mike Ritter). The score was now 3-2. 10:27 left and Jeremy Vokes after having crashed the net was down inside of it with a whole bunch of Blackhawks on top of him. Vokes and a few of the other Blackhawks were escorted back to their consecutive benches. With about six minutes left Crazy Larry was really starting to get the crowd going. He was going from landing to landing starting cheers and dancing. He was really shaking those hips! At 15:23 a delayed penalty was called to the Waterloo Blackhawks. Suderman skated to the bench and hoped up to sit on the edge with his legs dangling over the side. Frank Udovich was called for interference because he'd taken Erik Strand down. With 2:54 left Jeremy Vokes got a one timer in to the stick side of Phil Osear on this Udovich penalty (assist to Garrett Stafford). Saves: Des Moines 6 - Waterloo 14
Third
With 18:48 left my mother next to me and several of the other fans in our row were banging on the boards and glass picking on Kyle O'Keefe. We rarely ever see any emotion from the players on the ice in response to the fans. This time O'Keefe turned around and yelled "What?!" at us and managed a dirty look in our way as well! So just a hint for you fans out there...if you want to annoy someone and get a reaction O'Keefe is likely to give you one! Phil Osear thought he had it at 2:23, but the puck popped out from behind him and hit the back of the net. Jason Nightingale notched that goal (assist to Vincent Bachet). Jake Searles got a four minutes butt-ending penalty at a game ejection not long after this and Nightingale served the penalty for him. With 4:43 left Keith Stanrich went for hooking and Matt Murray for cross-checking and Owens called a time-out. Owens however was yelling at the ref because the officials wouldn't let Jason Nightingale (who was still serving Searles' penalty) come and listen to the power play strategy. Vokes after the time-out and before the face-off let Nightingale in on what was going to be happening. There wasn't much time left on Jake's penalty and we would be on a 5 on 3 after this. During this power play Phil Osear lost his stick and his own players weren't helping him out by giving them one of theirs. Steve Savre also lost his stick at this time. Erik Jensen got a goal with 5:07 left and we still had 24 seconds left on the power play (assist to Pete Fregoe). Saves: Des Moines 5 - Waterloo 14 Total Saves: Des Moines 18 - Waterloo 39. Written by Sarah Bendy.
Des Moines 6 - Waterloo 2
Player of the Game: I couldn't pick one player this time...I think Searles did an outstanding job, but Stafford also had a good game, as well as Nightingale, Jensen, Fregoe, Capouch, and Bachet!
Buc Win Streak At Four
Summary
Davenport, IA (2/21/98): The Bucs extended their winning streak to 4 as they continued their run for the Anderson Cup (regular season champions) and the automatic bid to the National Jr. A Championship. The offense contributed three first period goals and the D kept Revermann well rested on the night. Although he did not score, Chris Dube lead the offensive pressure that kept Dubuque on D most of the night. Vokes (Donnette, Birrenkott), Clarke (Fregoe, Jensen), Maksimenko (Parillo) and Jensen (Fregoe) scored for the Bucs.
Pre-game Rattle
It's the time of the season to seriously consider the regular season championship, the Anderson Cup. Where do the Bucs stand? Currently, we have 70 points and are tied with Omaha. Lincoln has 63 points and North Iowa has 64. Counting tonight's games, everyone has 8 games left, except North Iowa who has 9. The Bucs have winning records against all of these teams, and play each team one more time. It's going to be close, but at least he Bucs control their own destiny.
So tonight we play Dubuque, a team that by their own admission does not like us. Well fine, this is not a popularity contest. We are 4 - 1 against the Saints, who have been struggling. A recent trade with Lincoln gave them one of the USHL's top scorers, Trent Clark. Josh Kern is already the 6th best point getter in the USHL. For this, they gave up Josh Blackburn, who many say is the best junior A goalie in the country.
Tonight's game is being played in Davenport, Iowa, a place were neither team has played before. The Booster Club brought up a bus full of fans, and the Buc fans were making much more noise than the Saints fans. The Saints would start Tim Peters in goal, the Buc's go with Revermann. But enough of this, let's talk hockey...
Period 1
The Bucs came out strong and put pressure on the Dubuque goal early. Erik Strand and Jake Searles got off good shots and Jake was fore-checking well. By the end of the first 5 minutes, Revermann had faced only 2 shots. Vincent Bachet, Garrett Stafford, Peter Capouch, and Jim Jackson were keeping the puck out of their zone. Revermann's first real test came at the end of 6 minutes when Phil Lewandowski got off a great shot that Revermann blocked with his left shoulder. The Bucs came right back when Mark Krueger fed Erik Maksimenko, but was denied by Peters.
At 7:59, Bill Birrenkott cleared the zone with a pass to Dan Donnette. Donnette raced into the Dubuque zone and passed to Jeremy Vokes who got Peters out of position and slid the puck into the empty net. The Buc faithful executed the "B - U - C - S, BUCS, BUCS, BUCS" cheer in unison. Nick Parillo took the puck from Bill Birrenkott and his shot hit the side post! Dubuque, not to be outdone, came back on a 2 on 1 break but Revermann was up to the task. After the play was over, Stafford and Rouleau (the 6'2", 205 lb. bad boy) went to the penalty box.
Forty seconds later, at 11:39, the Bucs pulled off one of the prettiest tic-tac-toe plays of the year. Pete Fregoe and Erik Jensen passed it to Noah Clarke, who scored. The Buc fans went crazy.
The next quality scoring chance came 5 minutes later when Chris Dube passed to Eric Maksimenko who hit the cross bar! Shortly after this Erik Strand passed to Jason Nightingale whose back-hand just missed. Jim "flip" Jackson was doing a great job keeping the puck in the attack zone.
David Brien did not like how close Dan Donnette was to Peters and an altercation broke out. Both went off, but Donnette got an extra 2 minutes, giving Dubuque a power play. Trent Clark almost scored during the power play, but it expired with no damage to the good guys. In fact, right as the power play expired, Jason Nightingale got a breakaway. Peters saw it all the way and stopped the back hand shot. Jason slammed his stick to the ice in frustration. Nick Parillo won the next face off and shoved it back to Eric Maksimenko who put a quick shot on Peters that caught him off-guard. The goal came at 18:37. The Buc fans began to encourage Peters by yelling "sieve, sieve, sieve!"
Period 2
Jake Searles came out hard for the Bucs and got a little to aggressive, pulling down the goalie. Dan Starkey took exception to this and retaliated, cross checking Searles to the ice. This must have gotten David Brien excited, because he started wailing on Nightingale for no apparent reason. Their was a lot of confusion on the ice as players skated to the penalty box and then back to the bench. For a moment, I thought the Bucs would have a power play, but in the end, both sides had equal penalties.
On the next face off, just 10 seconds later at 1:07, Erik Jensen took a pass from Peter Fregoe and scored! The Bucs were now up, 4 to 0. As Dubuque lined up for the next face off, I noticed that there were a lot of big guys out there. Hey - all D on a face off? What's going on? Tom Rouleau (remember him?) started punching Erik Jensen as soon as the puck was dropped. The fight was over quickly as the officials were right on top of things. They were both tossed for fighting.
It wasn't until the 5 minutes had passed that Dubuque got a shot on goal. Halfway through the period, Trent Landry almost scored on a quick shot off of the face off. Dubuque continued to put on the pressure. Revermann had to stop 4 point-blank shots. Lewandoski, Kern and Clark were all playing well for Dubuque.
With 5 minutes left in the period, Josh Kern got a break away, but Revermann stopped him cold! Kern then mugged Revermann! So, who got called? Bill Birrenkott! Coach Owens called a time-out. The Bucs killed off the penalty easily, but Donnette took another penalty just as the penalty was over. In the resulting Dubuque power play, there was only one scary moment. Jason Basile broke up a pass that was intended for a Dubuque player on the open side of the net. The period ended with the Bucs firmly in control, 4 - 0.
Period 3
With less than 30 seconds gone in the period, Jason Nightingale got a back hand shot on goal and almost scored. However, just 20 seconds later Marty Rychley tipped in a shot to give the Saints their only goal and deny a shut out to Revermann. Assists went to Knorr and Harris.
The Bucs were conserving their energy for tomorrow, and were playing a more conservative game in the third period. Still, Nick Parillo, Jeremy Vokes, Chris Dube and Eric Maksimenko got quality scoring opportunities.
At 8:11 Jim Jackson was called for hooking. At a desperate attempt to gain a two man advantage, Dubuque called for a measurement of Revermann's glove. When the glove was measured and found legal, Dubuque was called for a 2 minute delay of game penalty - canceling out the man advantage.
The period wound down as Dubuque refused to give up. The Buc D was solid and Dubuque was unable to score. The period ended and the Bucs had beaten Dubuque 5 out of 6 times. The Bucs had put a solid effort together, and left the arena for the long drive to Green Bay and a 2:00 Sunday game. Written by Steve Bendy.
Des Moines 4 - Dubuque 1
Four Games in Five Days Too Much for Bucs
Summary
Green Bay, WI (2/22/98): Four games in five days coupled with a Sunday 2:00 game 375 miles away was too much for the Bucs to handle as they dropped a crucial game to Green Bay. The Bucs were not able to play a consistent game on offense, and it was just a matter of time till goaltender Jon Walker was beat. Walker had 25 saves on the afternoon. To the Bucs credit, they never gave up.
Fregoe (Donnette, Clarke), Basile (pp) (Fregoe, Jackson) scored for the Bucs.
Pre-game Rattle
Today's Sunday afternoon game will be the 4th game in 5 days. After the game Saturday night in Davenport, Iowa, they had to drive to Green Bay, Wisconsin - over 375 miles - and play at 2:00. If the Bucs are able to skate at all, it will be a win in my book! The Gamblers on the other hand are well rested, not playing last night. There were many parents of the Bucs in attendance, as well as Mike Nooyen, the very popular former Buccaneer.
So, let's look at some stats. The record against Green Bay this year is an overtime win, a shut-out win and a loss. By now, you may know that Omaha beat Sioux City in overtime and that Thunder Bay beat North Iowa in a shoot-out. We remain tied with Omaha, 9 points ahead of Lincoln, and 7 points ahead of North Iowa.
Period 1
The period began with back and forth play, the Bucs not dominating as they often do. In fact, the Bucs did not really have a quality scoring chance until 5 minutes went by when Bill Birrenkott's slap shot just missed. Dallas Steward came right back with a great shot that Walker was able to stop.
After this shot, Nick Parillo was dumped behind the play - the ref would have called it had he been able to see it. Chris Dube stole the puck from Hill and almost scored; he would have had it not been for the excellent play of Green Bay goalie Jason Braun.
At 8:17, Jeff Finger was called for cross-checking, the result of big pressure on the Gambler net by Jake Searles, Jim Jackson and Chris Dube. The resulting Buc power play only worked well for 30 seconds. Peter Capouch and Garrett Stafford were working the puck around well, and Capouch was able to get one quality shot on net. The Gamblers were then able to keep the puck out of their zone the rest of the power play.
After the Gamblers killed the penalty, the Bucs were really playing sloppy hockey - their clearing attempts were just terrible. At 12:53, Jeremy Vokes was called for slashing, and the Gamblers would be on the power play. Walker had to stop blasts from Hill and another Gambler whose name I didn't get.
The Gamblers scored at 16:01 when Willy Todd won the face off and Jeff Finger ripped one by Walker - who was caught by surprise.
Period 2
The period began and the Bucs were able to get some shots off quickly. Jim Jackson, Jason Nightingale and Garrett Stafford got shots.
With 4 minutes gone in the period, Walker was tested big-time when he came up with a big save on a blast from the point. Jim Jackson came back and took a shot with Jake Searles just missing putting the rebound in the net. It was the first pressure that was put on by the Bucs since the opening minute of the period.
Pete Fregoe and Jeff Finger got tied up at 7:03, and it was obvious that Finger wanted more action than Fregoe. For their effort, both players got 2 minutes in the box.
Halfway through the second period, the Bucs began to play a little more physical, but you could tell they were not 100%. Maksimenko was really off of his game. Bill Birrenkott and Jim Jackson were playing very well and kept Green Bay from scoring.
Jeff Finger put a cheap shot on Eric Jensen and Jensen struggled to get off the ice. It was a legal hit, but the shoulder to the head was not necessary. Let's hope he is not seriously hurt. Willy Todd got a breakaway and came in on Walker and was denied.
Near the end of the period, the Bucs were called for too many men on the ice, and would be down a man for the rest of the period. In the resulting power play, the Bucs were able to clear the puck easily, not allowing Green bay any scoring chances.
Period 3
The bucs came out with some more zip, Peter Capouch getting a quality shot on net within the first minute. Jeff Finger came back and Walker was able to stop his shot - how he saw it through the screen, I do not know. Eric Jensen was back on the ice, although he looks a bit slow. Finger pulled off Fregoe's helmet for the second time - what is with this guy?
Nick Parillo had the best scoring chance on the night as he got a breakaway. Braun said "no way" as he stopped nick's shot. Jason Nightingale almost scored but the rebound was caught in the twine. Dan Donnette got 2 quality shots on goal, but was denied. Finally, at 9:04, Pete Fregoe put in the rebound to tie the game. Assists to Dan Donnette and Noah Clarke.
Green bay came right back with a shot from Stephan Baby, but Walker was able to save it. Noah Clarke fed Pete Fregoe was robbed when he tried to go top-shelf. The game was heating up, which under normal circumstances would have favored Des Moines. At 11:2, Scott Zwiers put in Ed Hill's rebound and the score was 1 to 2.
The Bucs began to take some chances, pinching up on defense. At 13:12, Stafford got caught out of position and Stephan Baby scored on a back-hand (assist to Nick Anderson). It was now 3 to 1 in favor of the bad guys.
The Bucs did not give up and came right back with pressure from Searles, Strand and Nightingale. Maksimenko and Parillo continued the pressure until the Gamblers were forced to take a penalty. At 16:35, Jason Basile scored on the power play (assists to Fregoe and Jackson) to make the score 2 to 3.
Just when I thought we may win this one, Jeff Finger scored at 17:40 on a totally screened Walker. The Bucs pulled Walker for the last 1:30 of the period, but despite pressure were unable to score. As the period expired, there was some pushing and shoving and Jeff Finger head-butted a Buc. He got a 5 minute and a game misconduct, meaning he will sit out the next 2 games. Stupid. Written by Steve Bendy.
Green Bay Gamblers 4 - Bucs 2
Revermann Blanks Sioux City Musketeers
Summary
Sioux City, OK (2/27/98): League leading Bob Revermann got his second shutout on the year, stopping all 22 shots. Bob came up big late in the third period to gain the shutout and win. Pete Fregoe got the game winning goal at 16:52 of the third period, just 23 seconds into the Bucs second power play of the night. Noah Clarke got an empty-net assurance goal with 49 seconds left in the game. Fregoe (pp) (Nightingale) and Clarke (en) scored for the Bucs.
Ice Slinging
One of the players to watch out for on the Sioux City bench was Mike Scott. He came from the Alberta Jr. Hockey League. A league that was the breeding ground for many of the major NHL players today.
Sioux City played Wednesday night in North Iowa and won in a shoot-out. This would hopefully mean they would be tired.
We haven't won yet in the Sioux City barn, they are a gritty team and play well on the small ice surface. Perhaps we could notch a victory tonight.
Omaha was playing Fargo in Omaha. Fargo had just undergone a coaching change bringing in Dave Christian. Omaha so far had not lost to Fargo. Perhaps with the vast years of experience the new coach was bringing in (several years of playing in the NHL) the Fargo team would find a new fire.
First
At the beginning of the period it seemed that the Bucs were really crashing the net and this often seemed to take Sanger by surprise. Jeff Sanger is a little goalie for Sioux City, but his tremendous talent has already won him a scholarship???. Erik Jensen had a good chance to get a goal high to the top shelf, but Sanger snatched it out of the air. With Suderman in goal for the Bucs and Sanger at the opposite end it would most likely be a battle of the goalies. The sad truth of it was, it was a battle of the goalies and nothing happened. I know there was a first period, but I'm still uncertain where it went to. Oh well, did you know that Jaromir Jagr racks up a $2,000 a month long distance charge... at least that's what it was reported a few years ago. You see most of his friends and relatives are in the Czech Republic! Mike Boylan was put away near the end of the period for tripping. It was a good opportunity for us, however our power play away hasn't always been noted to be that great. Plus Sioux City had so far gotten ten short handed goals. I believe two of those were against us! Saves: Des Moines 5 - Sioux City 7.
Second
The linesmen hadn't done a very good job with the game so far and it didn't look like they were going to get any better. There wasn't much to talk about in this second period... around halfway we did get five icings in about a minute, but that's not that exciting. The crowd was really quiet, which is always good for when you play away. You want to shut them up and keep them that way. Not that there was anything for our fans to cheer for. Near the end of the period the linesmen were still having a rough time keeping it straight. I also know there was a second period, and if anybody knows where this one went, let me know. If you didn't know, Blaine Lacher, the former Lake Superior State goalie (before he went pro) always wanted to be a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police! I don't think he's ready to give up hockey quite yet! With 4:31 left Randy and Stafford went for roughing coincidentals (is that important to know?). Saves: Des Moines 7 - Sioux City 8.
Third
So far Omaha was losing to Fargo, and they would end up losing at the end of the night. It's amazing what a new coach can do! It had been quite a game, our players seemed to be playing well, and we had successfully shut them and the fans down (perhaps all of Sioux City?). Yet... it was a very boring game. It was hard not to fall asleep. We had pretty much dominated, if you could call it that, at least the Muskies certainly weren't dominating the game like they had previous nights. It almost seemed like nothing would ever happen and it would go down in history for being a 0-0 game. I guess when Slava Fetisov attended his first baseball game a few years back he ended up leaving after two innings, he said "It takes too long." I wonder if he's gone to one since!? Finally at 16:29 something was happening. Sioux City's A.J. Kratofil went for hooking and we were on our second power play of the evening. Perhaps something would happen, but then again maybe not. Sure enough 23 seconds into the power play Pete Fregoe snapped one home just under the cross bar. Nightingale had a possible assist it sounded like, but I'm not even sure he was on the ice. You could hear several of our fans making some noise up there, at least somebody was making noise! The right somebody's! With just about a minute left Sioux City took a time out and you could bet Sanger was going to be pulled not long after that. When with 49.2 seconds left and the net was empty, Noah Clark came in and scored for his 17th goal of the season. We were ahead 2-0 and there were just seconds left. We would be getting our first victory in Sioux City and Revermann would add another shut-out to his list. So far the only place we haven't defeated a team in is Green Bay. With 32 and a half seconds left Mike Scott got a ten minute misconduct. Can you believe that?! Was it even worth it?! I don't even know what he did. Saves: Des Moines 10 - Sioux City 8. Total Saves: Des Moines 22 - Sioux City 23. Written by Sarah Bendy.
Des Moines 2 - Sioux City 0
Player of the Game: Bob Revermann (well who did you think it would be?!)
Ok...I got one more bit of info for ya... especially for you fellow Federov fans. While Shawn Burr still played for Detroit he was stuck with Federov as his roommate. Burr helped him as best he could with the language barrier. However one day Federov was wandering around mumbling "love, I need love." Burr finally said "I can help you with your hockey, but I can't help you with that." Finally Burr got him a dictionary and Sergei pointed to a picture of a glove, he needed a glove!
Revermann Gets Second Shut-Out in a Row
Summary
Des Moines, IA (2/28/98): League leading Buc netminder Bob Revermann got his second shutout in a row as the Bucs defeated the Thunder Bay Flyers, 5 to 0. Meanwhile, the Buc forwards were also busy: Eric Maksimenko ended a cold streak with 2 goals on the night, Jeremy Vokes picked up a goal and 2 assists, and Erik Jensen was all over the ice making things happen.
The sellout crowd was treated to two fights as Nick Parillo and Jason Nightingale pummeled their opponents. The Bucs lead the USHL and are 1 game ahead of the Omaha Lancers. The Bucs have 4 games left: North Iowa, Omaha, Sioux City and Lincoln. Jensen (Strand, Clarke), Clarke (Fregoe, Jensen), Vokes (pp) (Searles, Capouch), Maksimenko (Vokes, Capouch) and Maksimenko (Vokes, Capouch) scored for the Bucs.
Pre-game Rattle
Hockey fans, it is crunch time. The regular season championship, also known as the Anderson Cup, is well within reach. The Bucs are 1 game ahead of the Omaha Lancers and if both teams win their next two games, the Cup can be won by the Bucs when they face the Lancers at home, Saturday March 7. A win against Omaha would guarantee at least a tie, which would give the Bucs the cup since they have a better head-to-head record than Omaha. Winning the Anderson Cup means an automatic bid to the National Junior A Championship May 1 - 5 in Billings, Montana. I don't know about you, but I want to go to Billings. They have a great barn, a great city, and a restaurant with the best pork tenderloin sandwich I know of. Need I say more? But enough of that, let's talk hockey.
Pete Fregoe, Erik Jensen and Noah Clarke have been playing very well lately, but we need Maksimenko, Vokes, and Parillo to get some goals. Unidentified sources say that Nick Parillo has been under the weather lately, Gino Kourilin is still unable to obtain a visa and Chris Dube is making a college visit tonight. Thunder Bay's Jesse Heerema - the 4th leading scorer in the USHL, is unable to continue play in the USHL by virtue of his 2-24-77 birthdate.
Coach's Comments
The Buccaneers are currently 2-1 against the Flyers, with this being the final meeting of the year between our two teams. Several players to watch include speedster Gregg Zaporzan, who is among the league's leaders in scoring, and scholarship defensemen Erik Adams and Chad McIver. This will be an important game for us; coming off the heels of a tough game in Sioux City last night we will have to be ready for the Flyers right away. I feel we are competing hard each night and, despite the difficult schedule "down the stretch," I think we'll be ready for these remaining five league games and the playoffs.
Period 1
At the end of the warm-ups, Kris Bragnalo was one of the last players on the ice and decided to try and put the puck in the empty net from mid-ice. Bad move, Kris. When the puck slid wide, the crowd "encouraged" him as he left the ice. As Thunder Bay skated onto the ice, Kris was smiling and enjoying the "Barney" theme song that lovingly greets all visiting teams to the ice arena. Thunder Bay won the face off and they were in our face for the first couple of minutes. Noah Clarke and Erik Strand broke the puck out and Erik Jensen came in on the left side with a Buc on the right side. As a result, Troy Barnard could not came out of the net to meet him. Jensen let loose a quick wrist shot. The red light came on and a sold-out Metro Ice Sports Arena roared. The Bucs had scored at 2:44 to make it 1 to 0. Little did we know that this was to be the game winner.
Revermann came up big twice, once he stopped a one-timer, and again when there was a 6 man pile-up in front of the net and he lunged to the ice to freeze the puck. Mark Krueger and Vincent Bachet were playing tough.
The second Buc goal came at 11:31 when Erik Jensen picked up the puck in his own zone. He was tied up by a forward, but bounced the puck off of the boards to himself, skated a few steps than sent the puck to Pete Fregoe. Pete froze the goalie, then passed across ice to Noah Clarke who put it into the empty basket.
At 12:12, after a quick shot by Maksimenko that was handled easily by Barnard, there was a lot of pushing and shoving behind the Flyer net. Donnette and Pradal were escorted to the box, but the ref motioned Donnette out of the box - the Bucs had a powerplay. The Buc set up the power play and began to pass it around. Jeremy Vokes had the puck in the circle. The D left him alone, expecting him to pass it. Instead, he got off a quick shot that beat Barnard (assists to Jake Searles and Pete Capouch). It took the Bucs only 44 seconds to score on the powerplay. The Flyers made a goalie change at that point with Scott Sutton.
Revermann was tested by Chad McIver when he tried to go 5-hole; you have to respect the Flyers, they were down three goals early, but did not give up. Saves: Des Moines - 10, TB - 10.
Period 2
Thunder Bay again won the face off, but it was the Bucs who were to score early in the period. At 3:41 Peter Capouch and Jeremy Vokes assisted Eric Maksimenko to make it 4 - 0. Jeremy and Eric came in on a 2 on 1 break, and at the last minute Jeremy passed to Eric who put it in the wide-open net. The Bucs were playing very well as a team. Dan Donnette, Jason Nightingale, Jake Searles, Eric Strand, Nick Parillo and Eric Maksimenko were having a great second period. The D was also solid with Garrett Stafford, Pete Capouch, and Vincent Bachet playing very well.
Thunder Bay was playing hard, and they would not give up, but they were playing very sloppy hockey. They were passing blindly and looked unorganized. Thunder Bay had a powerplay but were not even able to get a shot on goal. Just a note to Mark Krueger - we all saw that guy mug you and it should have been a penalty.
The last 10 minutes of the period ground down and Erik Jensen and Dan Donnette were everywhere. had it not been for the goaltending of Sutton, the Bucs would have had several more goals. Saves: Des Moines - 7, TB - 9.
Period 3
The Bucs won the face off and before many fans were back from the concession stand had scored their fifth goal of the night within 20 seconds. Pete Capouch passed to Jeremy Vokes who broke across the blue line. The D forced him to the outside but he got the tough angle shot off. Sutton gave up a rebound and Eric Maksimenko slammed the rebound in.
Steve Bailot, Kris Bragnalo and Ian Sgambelluri came right back with huge pressure on Revermann. Revermann came up with 2 saves, the last of which left all of us shaking our heads - how did he do that? The crowd roared in approval.
Several events are worth noting here. One was when Garrett Stafford was called for a penalty. Garrett had skated to the players bench and had to be called out by the ref to the box. As Garrett skated to the bench, he made a comment to the ref. Now, I couldn't hear what he said, but I know it was only two words - why would the ref give him 10 minutes for two words? Unless those words were... Oh, now I know why!
With 12 minutes left in the period, the Bucs were really dominating and the Flyers were doing there best to avert a shutout. Jeff Pradal had pinned Nick Parillo to the wall behind the Flyer net and was being just a bit rough. Jeff, Nick is the wrong guy to mess with. The gloves flew off, the PA played "Macho Man" and the crowd was on their feet screaming. Of course my viewpoint is biased, but Parillo was hammering the heck out of Pradal, even though his helmet was still on. Nick must have realized this, so he began hitting up under the face shield. The officials finally broke it up and the crowd roared their approval as Nick left the ice.
About a minute later, Aaron Piccinin slashed Jason Nightingale on the back of the legs and then attacked him. Jason was forced to fight back. They were both tied up and went down on the ice. The linesman began escorting Aaron off the ice and he broke away to go after Jason again. The ref assisted the linesman by skating over and saying something. Whatever it was stopped Aaron and he left the ice. The Bucs wound up with a 4 minute powerplay. Although the Bucs had some good shots, they were unable to score. The seconds ticked by and the Revermann had his shutout - his second in a row and third of the season. Saves: Des Moines - 6, TB - 9. Written by Steve Bendy.
Des Moines 5 - Thunder Bay 0
