Bucs fall in overtime
Summary: Omaha, NE (1/30/99): An overflow crowd at Aksarben ice arena were treated to tough, playoff style hockey as a tough defense and a hot Matt Carney in goal sent the game into overtime. Matt Carney was super-hot in goal, stopping 33 shots in regulation play.
The Lancers put tremendous pressure on from the very beginning of the overtime period, and it paid off as they scored 1 1/2 minutes into the OT.
Fregoe (PP) (Sejna), scored for the Bucs.
Pre Game
Jackson really got his head smacked onto the glass hard Friday night and he would not only be out for Saturday’s game, but some of the games next week as well. The soonest he could play would be Friday night. This game Saturday would be the last meeting we had with the Omaha Lancers, unless of course we meet them in the play-offs. And we all know how likely that is.
First Period
The Lancers scored early on in the first from a wrap around at 5:18. Ryan Malone scored (Spiewak and Caponigri). Carney made some really great saves during the first period, but the clock was ticking down and it was time for us to get a tying goal. We had our chance to score at 14:13 when Mike Lucci went for holding. With five seconds left in the power play Pete Fregoe got us our goal (assist to Peter Sejna). Hastings, the Omaha coach, then began to complain and create something of a storm. It had to do with one of his players being tripped up. He just had to complain about something. Well after this Stafford did go for slashing and Omaha had their turn at a power play. They were unable to do anything with it. Although we had only two shots on goal, we had put on plenty of pressure - the shots just were not getting through. Saves: Des Moines 13 – Omaha 2.
Second Period
As can be predicted during the second period a Lancer tried to take a dive, but the ref didn’t fall for it. The fans sure did though, they wanted that call pretty badly. If you expected the score to change any in this period, it wasn’t going to happen. The Bucs did a good job at keeping the Lancers at bay and we were just as stifled. About the only thing of interest in this period were the amount of penalties taken. Saves: Des Moines 8 – Omaha 6
Third Period
The Bucs and Lancers were still tied at one, with both goalies very solid between the pipes. There was a lot of hard hitting going on. At one point Noah Clarke did a cartwheel on the ice, but just got up and kept going. When a penalty was finally called, it was on us. Peter Smrek went for cross checking beyond halfway in the period. At this late in the game the Ref was likely to call anything that looked remotely like a penalty on Omaha to try and even up the game. We left the period still in a tie, which meant we were going into overtime. Saves: Des Moines 12 – Omaha 7.
Overtime
Very disappointing, on a quick centering pass the Lancers won the game with a goal by Tim Harris. Total Saves: Des Moines 34 - Omaha 17
Written by Sarah Bendy
Bucs, Carney win again
Summary: Des Moines, IA (1/29/99): The Bucs earned a convincing 3 to 1 win over Sioux City with the strong goaltending of Matt Carney. Carney picked up his 21st win and missed a shutout by 17 seconds. The Bucs contended that a man was in the crease, but the goal stood to spoil the perfect game.
The Buc offense was also playing well against the "clutch and grab" Musketeers, as Pete Fregoe added another goal to his USHL scoring lead. The prettiest goal of the night was scored just 30 seconds into the third period. Dan Donnette outraced the defenders, deked, and beat the Sioux City goalie, Jake Morland. Jake was also having a good night, making 29 saves on the night.
Fregoe (Clarke), Caudill (Field, Reinholz) and Donnette (Sejna, Smrek) scored for the Bucs.
Pre-Game
It really gets hard to dig up anything interesting to say each game lately. It makes me feel like I’m really out of it and not aware of what’s going on anymore. Playing Sioux City we played with the top four scorers in the league (two on Sioux City). We also were playing against Josh’s brother Morgan. Billy Birrenkott was finally back on the ice for the first time in a few weeks; his infection having healed up. Berenguer sat out the game with Carney in goal and Luther as back up.
First Period
Though the Muskies didn’t end up scoring until the very last minute of the game, it seemed like the play was fairly even. For the first period most of the play switched back and forth without either team totally dominating a zone. After Noah Clarke rushed the puck down towards the net we got our first goal. This goal actually came from Pete Fregoe (assist to Clarke) at 8:16. Halfway into the period Jackson got hit pretty hard and skated to the bench as though he didn’t know who or where he was. He sat in the bench for a long time, occasionally putting his hand up to his face. When he did leave the ice with 7:45 left he needed to be helped off by Marty and our players. He was practically drug off the ice and he couldn’t even stand on his feet. Jimmy ended up with a concussion. Saves: Des Moines 8 – Sioux City 7.
Second Period
KC Caudill got us our second goal in the second period at 2:55 (assist to Nick Field and Jerrid Reinholz). I had looked down for a second and completely missed the goal, only to look up and see the goalie looking dejected with the water bottle in the net. You know how when you’re in the middle of something and your foot gets crushed, or you run your hand into something sharp. You just stop what you’re doing and just sit there with a look of agony on your face, and maybe nothing but little squeaks come out of your mouth. Well, that’s what the goalie looked like… like he was just put on pause with a look of pain. With 3:40 left Kelly Miller and Tyler Johnson got into quite a fight. Miller’s gloves, helmet, elbow pads, jersey… pretty much all of them went flying. Ok, so the jersey was an exaggeration, but it did come off too. Though Miller seemed to have the advantage, Johnson ended up going for Miller’s face and then pulling the jersey up and over his head. Johnson then pulled Miller to the ice and the fight was over. Miller got an extra two minutes for instigation out of that. Saves: Des Moines 14 – Sioux City 11.
Third Period
So far the Bucs had scored a goal in each period. This period was no different. Dan Donnette scored early, 33 seconds into the period, (assist to Peter Sejna and Peter Smrek). We came close to scoring another goal and were putting a lot of pressure on, but there was only going to be one more goal in this period and that would come from Sioux City. I wish I could think of some intelligent things to say for this period, but I was so tired at the time that I couldn’t think of much of anything. The fans were really pouring out of the arena with less then two minutes left. Sioux City was desperate to get one more goal though. With 17.6 seconds left after some hectic play around the net they did score. The goal came from Nathan Kotewa (assist to BJ Willis and Lee Arnold). I could have sworn that Arnold was in the crease and Carney was sure complaining, but the ref didn’t think that, because he didn’t even pay attention to Carney. Saturday night we will be playing Omaha and I’d like to add that Omaha did lose to Lincoln Friday night. So it should be a good game. Saves: Des Moines 14 – Sioux City 11. Total Saves: Des Moines 36 – Sioux City 29
Written by Sarah Bendy
Berenguer gets shut-out, Clarke gets a hat-trick
Summary: Des Moines, IA (1/24/99): It was a good night for the Bucs as Frank Berenguer earned a shut-out and Noah Clarke picked up a hat-trick in a 8 to 0 win over Thunder Bay. The Bucs exploded in the second period with 5 goals on 24 shots, while Thunder Bay only managed 2 shots on net. Noah got the Buc's first two goals, then finished up the scoring with his hat-trick.
Although the Flyers did not get many shots on goal, Frank Berenguer earned the shut-out as he came up big, robbing the shooters several times in what appeared to be certain goals.
Clarke (Fregoe), Clarke (Jensen), Jackson (unassisted), Sejna (PP) (Fregoe), Caudill (PP) (Krueger, Field), Krueger (Miller, Stodgell), Fregoe (Clarke, Jensen) and Clarke (Hat Trick) (Fregoe) scored for the Bucs.
Rantings
Frank Berenguer was in goal for the Bucs Sunday night. It took awhile for the arena to fill up, but we did end up having a pretty good-sized crowd on hand. Some freezing rain was spitting down, but not enough to cause a real big problem. I do have one thing to say that is in no way connected to this game (well, maybe not 100% true), and that is that I’m sorry this rant is so late. I’ve had school and work and more school… and perhaps to many people that’s not a good excuse, and to you I apologize. Otherwise, I’m sure you’ll understand when I say that school does call first for me.
First Period
Our Bucs put on quite a bit of pressure from the start. It didn’t take Noah Clarke long to get a goal at 1:53 (assist to Pete Fregoe). Noah scored the second goal as well (assist to Erik Jensen) at 8:43. Then with 4:26 left Jimmy Jackson got the third goal of the game and his third of the weekend (unassisted). Reinholz and Tyler Williamson got coincidental delay of game penalties for the altercation down by the Thunder Bay goalie. The Bucs got a power play at the very end of the first period that would carry over into the second period. After crashing the net Clarke got tousled by a Flyer and lost his helmet. Aaron MacKenzie got this roughing call to give us the power play. Coach Ownes then pulled Berenguer with a measly half second left, but nothing came of it. Saves: Des Moines 11 – Thunder Bay 20.
Second Period
With a 1:47 left on the power play we started the second period. Thunder Bay gave us another power play at 3:19 to Murray Magill. Peter Sejna got a beauty of a goal at 3:40 when camped out in front of the goalie he snapped one home (assist to Pete Fregoe). The Flyers by now probably frustrated began to do a lot of pushing and shoving and were very feisty. KC Caudill got a goal after a long set-up (assist to Mark Krueger and Nick Field) at 7:49. Just as Maxwell got done announcing the fact that it was our fifth goal, Mark Krueger skated in and shot on net to get our sixth goal (assist to Kelly Miller and Nick Stodgell). The coach decided to change goalies at this time from Cory McEeacharn to Ken Ritson. It seemed a wise choice, but Ritson would give up two more goals before the Flyers could go home. Halfway into the period after Ritson saved the initial shot the puck landed a space away from him in front of a completely open net. By the time Ritson stopped looking at the puck and made a dive for it Pete Fregoe had already slapped it in (assist to Erik Jensen and Noah Clarke). The Flyers opted to take a time-out at this point. With 5:05 left in the second period Noah Clarke got his hat trick and his fourth point of the night (assist to Fregoe). Saves: Des Moines 2 – Thunder Bay 19.
Third Period
Unfortunately I had gotten a migraine by the third period and was having trouble even seeing let alone moving my head much. However the thing I did take note of was when Michael Chin and Aaron Mackenzie got into a weird sort of… I don’t know what you’d call it. Anyway, here’s what happened, Mackenzie was sitting on top of Chin and when Chin got out from under him he turned around and sat on top of Mackenzie in retaliation. The fans booed the call when both players went for delay of game. I ended up leaving the game early since light, sound, everything bothered my eyes and head. So that’s all I have for you. But I’m sure since most of the scoring took place in the first and second that there’s not much more you need to know!
Written by Sarah Bendy
Give it to Jackson!
Summary: Des Moines, IA (1/23/99): The crowd was yelling "Give it to Jackson" Friday night, and for good reason. Jimmy Jackson, the second year defenseman from Marquette, Michigan, scored two goals including the game winner to beat Dubuque, 3 to 1.
Officially the Bucs got 43 shots on Ron Wiitanen, unofficially many more. Had it not been for his excellent goaltending the score would have been much worse. Meanwhile, Matt Carney faced 25 shots and missed a shutout when the puck trickled between his legs on a shot he thought he had stopped. The Bucs face Thunder Bay tomorrow at the Metro Sports Ice Arena, game time: 6:05.
Nick Field (Matt Shasby), Jimmy Jackson (Kelly Miller, KC Caudill) and Jimmy Jackson (Matt Shasby, Noah Clarke) scored for the Bucs.
Pre Game
Forgetting to bring tapes for my microcassette I was forced to manually take notes and found out why I had given that up to begin with. It’s a laborious process that requires me to look down at my paper too often. There’s not much I have to address for this time. Besides the discussion’s surrounding Sawruk’s recent departure. Tell me this, if instead of another player we got money…that would mean a trade right? Can you honestly do trading between leagues that way? That one baffles me a bit and I’m not sure that can happen, but if anyone knows let me know.
First Period
It was cold in the arena on Saturday night. My fingers were frozen and the ice was foggy. Neither of the two teams seemed to be making a real dominant effort in their quest for the win. The Saints managed to crash the net a bit when Smrek took a cross-checking penalty with just over 8 minutes left. We killed the penalty off though, with nothing major happening. Nick Field was the first to score (assist to Matt Shasby) at 16:40. After this our passing looked pretty good, but other then that nothing worth mentioning happened. Saves: Des Moines 8 – Dubuque 10.
Second Period
The ice did not completely freeze up for this period and stayed slushy and wet for most of the period. Dubuque took their second penalty at 2:31 and because of the stellar performance by their goalie, Ron Wiitanen (who is going to the All-Star game) the score stayed the same until the end of the second. We hit the post right after the power play expired and that was as close as we came for awhile. The crowd was beginning to get louder then they had been in the first. We also had quite a crowd on hand compared to when the game first started. With just 1:37 left in the period Jimmy Jackson got a great goal when he swooped in and snuck the puck up into the net (assist to Kelly Miller and KC Caudill). He didn’t stop skating after this until he smacked right into the glass in the southwest corner and celebrated with the crowd enthusiastically. The period wasn’t quite long enough because the pressure we put on after this almost gained us our third goal. Unfortunately the clock ran out and we were now ahead 2-0. Saves: Des Moines 8 – Dubuque 12.
Third Period
Dubuque finally got their first goal from Micah Wouters (assist to Chad Kolar) at 4:09. It was kind of a boring period, it seemed that the Bucs took a step backwards and didn’t try quite as hard as they could have. It wouldn’t be hard for Dubuque to tie the game and give the Bucs a hard time getting the win they desired. The Bucs took some initiative and gained another goal to make it harder for Dubuque to catch us though. This goal was also Jackson’s at 9:37 (assist to Matt Shasby and Noah Clarke). Jackson, again very excited, got the crowd to respond to him when he celebrated after his goal. The Fighting Saints called a time out with 2:24 left in the final period. It didn’t do them any good and they never even pulled the goalie, but they did make a decent effort. Saves: Des Moines 8 – Dubuque 18. Total Saves: Des Moines 24 – Dubuque 40.
Written by Sarah Bendy
Pete Samargia, Vulcan defense too much for tired Bucs
Summary: Fridley, MN (1/17/99): What do you get when you combine a hot Vulcan goaltender, an inspired Vulcan defense and a tired Buc squad? - a 1 to 4 loss to the Twin Cities Vulcans. The Buccaneers were playing their fourth game in five days and the Vulcans took advantage of that fact, beating the Bucs to the puck. Although the Bucs did not play badly, the Vulcans just played better and the Bucs were never able to put sustained pressure on the net.
Peter Sejna scored the loan goal for the Bucs in the first period, making the score 1 to 1. The Bucs pulled Matt Carney with a minute and a half in the game, but were unable to score. Twin Cities got an empty-nete goal with seconds left in the game. Matt Carney took his second loss of the year, and both teams had 32 shots on goal.
Sejna (PP) (Fregoe, Smrek) scored for the Bucs.
Rantings
Minnesota football fans were in mourning, but for those of us who didn't even know which teams were in the playoffs, the loss had no effect. We were thinking about hockey, and we were wondering how the Vulcans would play the game today. You had to think that they would come in with a lot of confidence, especially since the Bucs were playing their fourth game in five days. The Twin Cities goalie, Pete Samargia, was very confident Friday night. If was on his game again, things could be tough this afternoon.
First Period
As soon as the puck was dropped you could tell the Bucs were in trouble - they just looked disorganized. It only took 31 seconds to confirm that fact. Shawn Roed scored and the Bucs were down early. After two minutes of play, the Vulcans had outshot us 6 to 0. Finally the Bucs began to play better and put some pressure on the Vulcan net. Midway in the period, the pressure got to the Vulcans as they took a 4 minute double minor for high sticking. The Bucs went to work and wasted no time in getting the powerplay goal. After a lot of pressure, Peter Sejna scored with assists from Pete Fregoe and Peter Smrek. The Bucs would now have 2 minutes left on the next powerplay. Although the Bucs put on good pressure, the Vulcans were able to hold off the Bucs. Both teams were skating up and down the ice, getting good shots on goal.
The Bucs were called for hooking, and the Vulcans were on the man advantage for the first time of the night. They wasted no time in putting pressure on Matt Carney and the Bucs were unable to clear the puck out of the zone. At 17:31 Shawn Roed scored his second goal of the night to take the lead 2 to 1. The Bucs were back on the powerplay after a Vulcan was whistled for checking from behind. The Bucs were unable to convert, and the Vulcans again began to put pressure on, but Matt Carney was up to the task. I noticed some activity around the locker room and saw a stretcher. Could it be for Matt Shasby? I saw him go off the ice earlier. I found out later that it was for Matt, but I have no information on his condition. The period ended with the Vulcans getting 15 shots on net and the Bucs, 10.
Second Period
The Vulcans got their second powerplay opportunity early in the second period when Kelly Miller was called for checking from behind. Kelly was not very happy with the call, and voiced his opinion. For some reason, the officials did not listen. The Bucs were able to kill off the penalty, and for the most part the Bucs were outplayed until the middle of the period. The Bucs then began to play much better defensive hockey. There were some chances for the Bucs: Jimmy Jackson almost scored on a tip in from Erik Jensen; Rob Novak and Peter Sejna also had some great chances.
Pete Fregoe had a breakaway at the middle of the period and was hauled down and the Vulcans were called for a penalty. On the powerplay, the Vulcans had a breakaway, but Shawn Roed couldn't get the shot off, even though the D was no where near him. Disaster struck seconds later at 11:47 as the Vulcans scored a shorthanded goal when Nick Anthony got the puck and scored to make it 3 to 1. It was the first shorthanded goal scored against the Bucs all year. It didn't get any better as the Vulcans were beating the Bucs to the loose puck, and the Vulcan goalie was playing very well. The Bucs finally got some pressure on goal in the last minute of play, but nothing went in. In the end, both goalies had 10 saves.
Third Period
The Bucs caught a break by getting a little longer time to rest between periods due to some special activities on the ice. Whether a couple of extra minutes will help a tired team, I don't know. The Bucs did look better as the play resumed and the Vulcans took their sixth penalty when Michael Chin put too much pressure on the goal. On the powerplay Erik Jensen, Noah Clarke, Peter Smrek and Noah Clarke did a good job putting on the pressure, but the Vulcans were able to kill off the penalty and the Bucs came up short again.
The Bucs were then called for a penalty, not a good thing being short of defenseman. The game was not going well for the Bucs. Noah Clarke did get a shorthanded chance, but was unable to score. As the clock ticked down, the Bucs were trying hard, but they too tired to play their game and as a result they were doing a lot of skating around with no real pressure.
With 4 minutes left, the Bucs had a powerplay again and they were doing a great job has Jerrid Reinholz got a great chance, but the puck just would not go in. Coach Owens called a time-out with 28 seconds left in the powerplay to talk things over. With a minute and a half, there were 6 Bucs on the ice and Carney was on the bench. The coach was going for broke. The Bucs put huge pressure on the net, but the puck was not going to go in. Peter Smrek and Garrett Stafford put huge blasts on net but Pete Samargia said no way! With 4 seconds left in the period, the Vulcans got the empty net goal to make it a 4 to 1 loss.
Written by Steve Bendy
Matt Carney sharp in 4 - 1 win
Summary: Sioux City, IA (1/16/99): Matt Carney faced 41 shots and came up big to lead the Bucs to a 4 to 1 win over Sioux City. Matt Carney has now won 19 games with just one loss and one shoot-out loss. For the Bucs, it was their third game in four days, with one more to go tomorrow afternoon when the Bucs face a confident Twin Cities Vulcan squad.
Noah Clarke had a strong game, scoring the game winner on a powerplay, and scoring an empty-netter with less than 2 minutes left in the game.
Donnette (Stodgell, Sejna), Clarke (PP) (Stafford, Fregoe), Jackson (unassisted) and Clarke (EN) (unassisted) scored for the Bucs.
Pre Game
The Bucs had won Friday night, but even if the score didn’t show it, it was a close game. Wednesday night they had lost to Omaha and now we were in the third game of our four game week. Sunday night the Bucs would be playing in the Twin Cities and they would make the drive after the game Saturday night. The Sioux City rink had always given us some trouble and with a sick team there was the possibility that tonight would be no different. Carney was in goal, Berrengeur having played the night before, and Luther on Wednesday. A little something that a certain someone let me know that might be interesting to know is the fact that Stafford did not end up cutting his lip as reported. He cut his septum in his nose and had to have it stitched up about 3/4 of an inch. Sounds nasty. I suppose he’ll be wearing a full-face shield from now on. That’s it for any news I have for now.
First Period
Dan Donnette would actually end up scoring first, much to my surprise at 4:52 (assist to Nick Stodgell & Peter Sejna). I figured our players would be tired and sick and that Sioux City would take control of the game. However that wouldn’t be the case. I think the only thing that Siuox City really took control of was the fight between Ryan Hale and Erik Jensen. Late in the game, at 19:51, the two fought after some pushing and shoving. Anyway, the two players were put away for the remaining nine seconds. During the first period coach was mixing up the lines some, but other then that nothing else really interesting happened. Saves: Des Moines 17 – Sioux City 8.
Second Period
The Musketeers tied it up in the second period from the Josh Roach’s brother Morgan 1:10 into the period (assist to Luke Hamlet & Unklesbay). It was a quick wrist shot that tied the game for them. We got our first power play at 9:23, but it didn’t do us much good. We would end up with a couple more power plays in the period, including one that would carry over into the third period. Saves: Des Moines 6 – Sioux City 12.
Third Period
The power play that carried over ended up giving us our second goal just 25 seconds into the period. This one came from Noah Clarke off a quick wrist shot. Jensen had managed to distract the goalie while Clarke blasted the puck (assist to Stafford and Fregoe). At 12:38 Jimmy Jackson carried the puck over the red line and fired it towards the goalie. The Muskie goalie made a pad save but fumbled and Jackson scored us our third goal (unassisted). The end of the period brought a slight surprise when the goalie was pulled with two minutes left in the third. Noah Clarke intercepting a pass scored the empty-netter for his second goal of the night (unassisted). Of course the goalie was replaced and we won the game 4-1. Saves: Des Moines 17 – Sioux City 11. Total Saves: Des Moines 40 – Sioux City 31.
Third period rally beats Vulcans
Summary: Des Moines, IA (1/15/99): The Buccaneers took a 1 to 0 lead in the first period when Felipe Larranaga put a perfect pass on the stick of Kelly Miller, but with 5 minutes left in the game, the score was tied, 1-1. Again, it was perfect pass from Larranaga that set up Noah Clarke for the game winning goal with just 4 minutes to go in the game. Less than two minutes later, Pete Fregoe tipped a Garrett Stafford shot in to make it 3 to 2, where the game ended. It was a very close, hard fought game.
Frank Berenguer played an excellent game, making 25 saves on the night. The Bucs put 42 shots on goal (unofficial).
Miller (Larranaga), Clarke (Larranaga, Fregoe) and Fregoe (Stafford) scored for the Bucs.
Rantings
I was hoping to get off work on time so that I could relax a bit before the game - no such luck, the CEO called the Help Desk at 5:00 and I needed to stay to make sure we got the question answered for him. So, I was in a hurry to even make it to the game on time and I felt mentally strained. Hey, we have all had times when things have not gone as we have planned and it gets to you mentally. It does effect you doesn't it? Hmmm, I wonder if the Bucs would be in a funk after the winning streak, flu and loss to Omaha?
Before the game started I noticed that Bill Birrenkott, Alex Sawruk, Matt Carney and Erik Jensen were not suited up. Bill was sick, Erik's knee was bothering him and I am not sure about Sawruk and Carney. The Vulcans waited to the last minute to come out on the ice, the ref had to go check on them.
First Period
When the puck was dropped it looked as if the Bucs were ready to play. Dan Donnette and Peter Sejna got a 2 on 1 right away, but were unable to convert. The Bucs then appeared to be on a 5 minute powerplay as they kept the puck in the Vulcan zone. When the Vulcans did get it out of the zone, they were unable to get a shot off, and the Bucs brought it right back down the ice. The Bucs were taking shots, but the goalie was doing a good job and the red light just would not come on. The first shot and pressure on Frank Berenguer came 5 minutes into the game. The Vulcans were able to keep the pressure on for almost a minute, and Berenguer got a chance to show us what he could do.
Dan Donnette and KC Caudill were working hard, making things happen. The first goal was a strange one, and came with 3 minutes left in the period. The Bucs had dumped the puck in the Vulcan zone, and the goalie had come way out to stop the puck. A Vulcan defenseman tried to clear it, but Felipe Larranaga was able to get the puck to Kelly Miller who was parked between the circles in front of the open net. The goalie lunged and slid across the ice in vain as Miller one-timed it into the waiting twine. The Bucs were up 1 to 0. The period ended with Frank making 7 saves and the Bucs getting 13 shots on goal.
Second Period
There was no scoring in the period, but the Bucs were working well, especially on the powerplay. In one powerplay, Michael Chin, Noah Clarke, Pete Fregoe, Felipe Larranaga and Garrett Stafford were really working well. How the Vulcans were able to keep the puck out of the net I will never know.
The crowd finally began to get into the game when Michael Chin was called for a penalty that never should have been. Halfway through the period, the crowd began to chant, "Larry, Larry, Larry" and Larry responded by coming down from his seat and leading a loud, unified "Let's Go Bucs!" cheer. As the period wound down, the Buc defense seemed to be playing a very gritty, physical style of play - especially Jimmy Jackson. Pete Fregoe, Kelly Miller and Noah Clarke were really hustling. The Bucs almost scored in a flurry of shots in the last 30 seconds of the period, but the puck would not go in. Berenguer had 8 saves and the Bucs had 10 shots on goal.
Third Period
The third period began much like the first as the Vulcans were unable to get a shot off for the first 5 minutes. The only difference was that it was the Vulcans not the Bucs who scored next. The goal came on a one-timer from a centering pass from behind the net. All of a sudden all of the hard work by the Bucs meant squat as the score was tied. We needed to score to win, and we had to wait until the last 4 minutes for it to happen.
With 4:17 left in the period, Pete Fregoe raced up the ice as some of the Bucs and Vulcans were on a line change. It looked confusing as there were a lot of guys on the ice. Felipe Larranage got the puck, spotted Noah Clarke and fed him a perfect pass. Noah shot quickly and caught everyone by surprise; the Bucs were in the lead again. Forty seconds later Pete Fregoe tipped in a Garrett Stafford shot and just like that the Bucs were in the lead 3 to 1. It was ironc that the Bucs were able to score so quickly when all the hard work earlier in the game left them without a goal. The Vulcans called a time out, and as soon as play resumed and the puck was in the Buc zone they pulled their goalie. For the next minute and a half they put a lot of pressure on Berenguer, getting a lot of shots on net. The crowd counted the seconds off and the Bucs had won their 28th game. As we left the arena, the fans were celebrating by honking horns and yelling, and although I was happy, I was still tired mentally from work. In the post-game interview, coach Owens commented that the Bucs need to regroup for the next two games, saying they were tired mentally. I know what he means!
Written by Steve Bendy
Wild 7 goal first period too much for Bucs
Summary: Omaha, NE (1/13/99): A wild, 7 goal first period left the Bucs trailing 2 to 5, and the flu ridden Bucs were never able to recover, losing 3 to 6. No less than 8 Bucs were in various stages of the flu, and they did not have enough gas in the tank to pull off a win.
On a positive note, the Bucs were 3 for 4 on the powerplay. The Bucs next game is Friday at the Metro Sports Ice Arena in Des Moines against the Twin Cities Vulcans. They then play in Sioux City Saturday and in the Twin Cities Sunday at 4:05.
Fregoe (PP) (Smrek, Stafford), Fregoe (PP) (Smrek, Chin) and Field (PP) (Reinholz, Larranaga) scored for the Bucs.
Pre Game
As I drove to the Metro Ice Sports Arena to do some interviews, I was contemplating the foul comments in the Buccaneer Guest Book. I really want it to be a place for you guys and not be a "Big Brother", but foul language, sexual inuendos, and personal attackes can't be tolerated. So try to control yourselves, OK? Tricia Berry has joined the staff to moderate the Guest Book.
As I interviewed Jimmy Jackson and Bill Birrenkott, I learned that the Bucs were not in good shape. The flu bug had hit big time - just what we needed on the day of a road game with the Lancers, and the first of a 4 game week. So what is our record against Omaha this year? We beat Omaha in the Buc Bowl by a point in a shoot-out, then Omaha beat us by a point in overtime, then we beat them by a point in regulation play. To say it has been close is an understatement. We only play them two more times this year.
First Period
The Bucs started out playing well, and it seemed as if both teams were playing cautiously. With just two minutes gone, disaster struck. Matt Shasby coughed up the puck while bringing the puck out from behind the Buc net and Drew Kriner scored easily to give the Lancers the first goal of the game. The Bucs game back with a vengeance, as first Rob Novak and then Peter Sejna got semi-breaks. The Bucs then put 5 good shots on goal, but Tony Zasowski was up to the challenge. Then two minutes later, the Lancers won the face-off and Jason Jaworski shot a blast from the blue line and Ryan Malone tipped the puck in. The Bucs were down two goals.
After the goal, the Lancers took a penalty and the Bucs went to work. In the wink of an eye, Pete Fregoe had scored a powerplay goal, with assists to Peter Smrek and Garrett Stafford. Less than a minute later, the short time ex-Buc, Troy Linna scored to give the Lancers a 3 to 1 lead. What kind of game was this? It was weird - we were just plain sloppy.
The Lancers took another penalty and Pete Fregoe wasted no time as he scored another powerplay goal on assists from Peter Smrek and Michael Chin. The score was now 3 to 2 in favor of the Lancers. Scott Turner scored for the Lancers less than 2 minutes later to make it 4 to 2. Matt Carney was having a tough night and Scott Owens decided to put Landon Luther in net with 5 minutes left. The tendancy is to blame the goalie, but the D has to share the blame as they were not much help. The Bucs took a penalty and this time Brett Davis scored a powerplay goal for the Lancers on a screen. Three penalties in the period, three powerplay goals. The Lancers now led 5 to 2. Landon Luther was forced to come up with a couple of huge saves, and the period finally ended. Wow, what a wild period! Matt Carney had made 7 saves and Landon Luther saved 5. Tony Zasowski had 8 saves.
Second Period
The Bucs took the puck into the Lancer zone and Pete Fregoe had a shot on goal within 30 seconds. The Lancers tested Luther shortly thereafter - several times! Noah Clarke was robbed in the next exchange, and it looked like the Omaha goalie was playing with a lot of confidence. The crowd was really not into the game like they were in the first period.
Halfway through the period, Peter Smrek went down and stayed down courtesy of a Lancer high stick. He finally got up and skated to the bench. The Bucs were on the power play again. Stafford, Fregoe and Smrek took turns plastering the Omaha goalie, but he would not let the puck in and the Lancers killed off the penalty.
Alex Sawruk, Jerrid Reinholz and Kelly Miller seemed to be playing well, as was Pete Fregoe and Michael Chin. Jed Ortmeyer was playing well for Omaha, getting away with his share of cheap shots - as usual. The Bucs were the ones that called for the next penalty, however. Michael Chin was the guilty party getting two minutes for slashing. Luther was tested early, coming up with several big saves in the first 30 seconds of the penalty. Despite tremendous pressure, the Bucs killed off the penalty. Credit Landon Luther, who played the last 15 seconds without his stick! The period ended without a goal. What a contrast to the first period - 7 goals in the first period, zip in the second. Landon Luther had 12 saves, Zasowski had 10 for Omaha.
Third Period
The Buc D played much better the second period, now the Buc offense needs to put some points on the board. As the period got under way, you could tell the Bucs were not hitting on all cylinders. Jim Jackson was out with the flu, Bill Birrenkott and Erik Jensen were injured and did not play the rest of the game. I don't mean to take anything away from the Lancers, but perhaps the flu bug was taking its toll?
Rob Novak got the first quality chance for the Bucs but was robbed. The Bucs could not buy a goal tonight. Pete Fregoe caught fire with 10 minutes left in the period and would have scored on any other night. The Lancers finally reacted to the Buc pressure as two of their guys jumped Michael Chin. The Bucs were going on the powerplay for the fourth time. It only took 6 seconds for Nick Field to score on a quick wrist shot at 8:55. The assists went to Jerrid Reinholz and Felipe Larranaga. Just when the Bucs seemed to be gaining momentum, they were called for a penalty - Matt Shasby for checking from behind. The Lancers were able to score at 13:04, the powerplay goal scored by Scott Turner. The Lancers now led 6 to 3. The Bucs never gave up, but they were out of gas. Mark Krueger almost scored with 20 seconds in the game, but it was not to be. Landon Luther ended up with 9 saves for a game total of 33, having a great night between the pipes. Zasowski had 8, for a game total of 26.
Written by Steve Bendy
Shoot-out loss ends winning streak
Summary: Rochester, MN (1/8/99): A sudden death shoot-out goal by Peter Runkel ended the Bucs league leading winning streak at 19, and gave Matt Carney his first loss. We all knew it could not last forever. Congratulations Buccaneers on your record - what a run! If a team wants to set the new record, they will need to win 20 in a row!
The Bucs opened the scoring and seemed to control most of the game, but the Mustangs never gave up and seemed to step it up to match goals with the Bucs. Regulation play ended in a 4 to 4 tie, and neither team was able to score in the overtime period. Both teams scored twice with their 5 designated shooters, sending the shoot-out into sudden death and the Rochester win in the second round.
Clarke (Fregoe), Sejna (Reinholz), Caudill (Field) and Fregoe (Chin) scored in regulation time. Felip Larranaga and Mark Krueger scored in the shoot-out.
Pre Game
So the rumor is true - Marc Ranfranz, the outstanding goalie has been traded to the Billings Bulls. I know that the Bulls have had trouble this year, and I am sure that he will lead the America West league. I sure hope the player they got was worth it. Another rumor picked up in the Guest Book is that Willie Radershadt has left North Iowa and is a walk on at Minnesota. The Bucs are going for their 20th win in a row - would they be able to pull it off?
First Period
The Bucs came out hard, and Rochester netminder Adam Coole was tested early as Mark Krueger got a quality shot on net. The Bucs went on the powerplay just three minutes into the period and the Bucs did a good job putting on the pressure. Peter Smrek, Pete Fregoe, Michael Chin and Matt Shasby were all working well, but the Mustangs killed off the penalty. It was almost eight minutes before Matt Carney was tested, and tested he was. Rheese Carlson put a great shot on Carney but he was up to the challenge. The Bucs then cleared the zone and Pete Fregoe fed Noah Clarke with a beautiful pass that caught Coole by surprise and scored! The Bucs led 1 to 0. The Bucs continued pressure as Erik Jensen and Rob Novak put pressure on the Rochester net. I was also impressed by the hustle of Dan Donnette and Jerrid Reinholz. Also, the line of Noah Clark, Michael Chin and Pete Fregoe were just awesome. At times it appeared as if we had a power play they were able to control the puck so well.
With 3 minutes left, Nick Field almost scored when Mark Krueger's back-handed pass caught Coole by surprise. Unfortunately, Coole was in great position and stopped the shot. The period ended and the Bucs had played a very strong first period, while the Mustangs had trouble getting it out of their zone, let alone getting any quality shots on net. The Bucs had 9 shots on goal and Rochester had 6 for the period.
Second Period
The Bucs came out strong again as Dan Donnette, Jerrid Reinholz and Peter Sejna all almost scored. In fact, Peter Sejna's shot hit the pipe. With three and half minutes gone, Kelly Miller got in an altercation and was put away for two minutes. Rochester had the powerplay, and Tim Turner scored on a rebound that Matt Carney lost track of. The score was tied at 1 each. The Bucs came back as Michael Chin and Pete Fregoe almost scored. But it was Rochester who would score on a 3 on 2 break by Tanner Martell. Rochester now led 2 to 1. The Bucs came back with a vengeance as Erik Jensen's shot hit the post! The goal ignited the Rochester faithful and they began to make quite a bit of noise. This seemed to encourage the Mustangs and Carney had to come up with three quick saves. This all took place halfway through the period. Things got worse as Bill Birrenkott was called for interference. Rochester was not able to do much with the man advantage and the Bucs escaped that one.
As Bill Birrenkott skated out of the penalty box and jumped into the Buc bench, Peter Sejna leaped out and picked up the puck and skated in all alone on Adam Coole. Peter Sejna scored, the assist going to Jerrid Reinholz. Oh, was that a pretty goal! Sejna has a way with the puck that brings tears to your eyes. Just 20 seconds later, with 4 and a half minutes left, Peter Smrek lost control of the puck as he was breaking the puck out and gave it to Danny Gilkerson who stuffed it past the unprepared Matt Carney. The Bucs came roaring back and Nick Field attempted to center the puck. The puck hit the stick of the goalie and popped out to the stick of KC Caudill who put the puck in the net to tie the game at 3 each. As the period wound down, KC Caudill and Mark Krueger had great shots on net, but the period ended in a 3 to 3 tie. Shots on goal for the Bucs, 6; 9 for Rochester.
Third Period
The Bucs only took 17 seconds to score. Pete Fregoe scored on a perfect pass from Michael Chin. Man did the crowd get quiet - except of course for the Buc fans that made the trip. Nick Field, Mark Krueger and KC Caudill came back with lots of pressure and KC almost scored twice, but was denied. Felipe Larranaga blasted one from the blueline but was denied. Rochester finally broke the puck into the Buc zone and got a shot on Carney. Garrett Stafford looked like he had turned up his play quite a bit, this despite playing with a cut mouth from the last game.
Eight minutes into the period, Tanner Martell got his second goal of the night when he ended up with the puck all alone in front of the net. The game was tied at 4 each. The Bucs and Mustangs then traded shots as they skated up and down the ice - it was wide open hockey. After a minute or so of this, both teams became tired and the play began to become more deliberate. There was now just 8 minutes left in the game. Matt Carney was facing some quality shots, and was coming up big. Was he thinking about his winning streak? The Bucs were also playing well, Nick Stodgell, playing against his old team almost scored on a wicked slap shot. Play started to get chippy, and there was a 10 minute penalty called on Rochester, and Chin went off for two minutes. With 4 minutes left in the game, Carney came up with 2 fantastic saves when Rochester was putting on tremendous pressure. As the clock ticked down, it looked as if we were headed for overtime. Pete Fregoe, Noah Clarke and Michael Chin were getting a lot of ice time. The crowd was going crazy, and it seemed as if Rochester was content to ice the puck when the pressure got to great. The tactic worked as the period expired and we headed to overtime tied at four goals apiece.
Overtime
The Fregoe, Clarke, Chin line began the OT and began to put pressure on right away. On the next line change, Garrett Stafford got a shot off, but Coole gloved it. Rochester got a shot off, but it was not a quality shot and Carney saved it easily. Mark Krueger came back and muscled his way towards the goal and almost got the pass to Clarke who was open. With 7 seconds left, the Bucs called a time-out, and then Rochester called a time-out. The face-off would be in the Rochester zone, to the stick side of Coole. Rochester was able to control the puck and time expired.
Shoot-out
OK fans, each side will shoot five times. If the score is tied after that, each team shoots until a team has an advantage. Nick Field shot first but was stopped. Matt Carney poked the puck away from Aaron Gill on Rochesters first shot. Felipe Larranage shot next and scored. Tim Turner shot next but Carney made a glove save. The Bucs were ahead by one.
Mark Krueger shot next and scored! Danny Gilkerson shot next and also scored. Peter Sejna shot next and was stopped. Nate Legler shot it wide. Adam Coole stopped Garrett Stafford. If BJ Abel did not score, the Bucs would win. Unfortunately, he scored as the puck trickled past Matt Carney.
We were now in sudden death. Noah Clarke shot first and was stopped. Tanner Martell who had scored two tonight also missed. Kelly Miller shot and was stopped. Peter Runkel, from Eagan Minnesota shot next, scored, and won the game for Rochester!
Wow, what a game, what a winning streak! If a team wants to set the record for consecutive wins, they will need to win 20 in a row.
Written by Steve Bendy
Landon Luther keeps winning streak alive
Summary: Mason City, IA (1/6/99): Landon Luther picked up his third win of the season, facing 25 shots in a 5 to 1 win over North Iowa. For the Bucs, it was the 19th consecutive win, putting them solidly into first place in the USHL standings.
Erik Jensen opened the scoring on a powerplay goal in the first period, and Pete Fregoe got the game winner mid-way through the second on great personal effort. Matt Shasby played an excellent game and picked up two assists. Peter Sejna and Peter Smrek made it back from the Minneapolis airport and played the last two periods.
Jensen (PP) (Shasby), Fregoe (unassisted), Donnette (Sejna), Caudill (Novak, Chin) and Krueger (Miller, Shasby) scored for the Bucs.
Pre Game
This game rant is going to be a little choppy. We were preoccupied with the funeral service for Vicki Allen, so I’m sure everyone can understand and let it slide. A few of the interesting tidbits were the fact that the Slovakians were en route to the game from Minnesota. Nick Krueger had picked them up and was racing them down to join the game in the second period. Landon Luther was in goal for a change for us.
First Period
In the first period Erik Jensen got a goal at 18:56 (assist to Matt Shasby) on a power play. Stafford had also managed to get a nick in his lip and though the doctor looked at it, he was going to have to go to a plastic surgeon. That poor guy always seems to get hit the mouth area. Saves: Des Moines 15 – North Iowa 5.
Second Period
Pete Fregoe scored at 10:05 (unassisted). The Huskies were off to a slow start, though they’d do slightly better then Lincoln would. It was really cold in the arena, so cold that the announcers had little hand warmers that weren’t helping that well. Off a backhanded shot from a North Iowa player they finally scored with 11 seconds left in the second period. Saves: Des Moines 9 – North Iowa 6.
Third Period
At 1:50 into the third Dan Donnette scored the third goal (assist to Peter Sejna). KC Caudill scored his seventh goal of the season at 10:39 (assist to Rob Novak and Michael Chin). Our final, and fifth, goal came at 16:36 from Mark Krueger (assist to Kelly Miller and Matt Shasby). After the goal, the North Iowa goalie got a ten-minute misconduct. At the end of the period Sejna, Sauer, and Shasby all got penalties. Sejna and Sauer were the original two that were tousling, but Shasby got himself into the fray. Saves: Des Moines 12 – North Iowa 14. Total Saves: Des Moines 36 – North Iowa 25.
Written by Sarah Bendy
Carney gets shut-out and win number 18
Summary: Des Moines, IA (1/5/99): Matt Carney added win number 18 in as many starts to give the Buccaneers their 18th consecutive win as the Buccaneers defeated Lincoln 4 to 0. Matt Carney made 35 saves on the night. The Bucs were 3 for 5 on the powerplay while killing off 8 penalties and scoring a shorthanded goal. Josh Roach and Michael Chin returned to the lineup and Erik Jensen was ejected for fighting (he won) early in the first period.
Clarke (SH) (unassisted), Fregoe (PP) (Clarke, Larranaga), Caudill (PP) (Field) and Field (PP) (Reinholz) scored for the Bucs.
Pre Game
With the death of Vicki Allen came a tribute from the Buc organization and a moment of silence before the game started. It was absolutely beautiful and you could practically hear a pin drop. Teri Allen and his family up in the lounge had privileged seats for the game. So I’d like to dedicate this entire rant to Teri Allen and his family.
Wayne Russell would start for Lincoln and Matt Carney, as usual, started for us. Lincoln had been struggling lately and we were hungry for our 18th win. We finally had Michael Chin back, the Slovakians were still gone, but were going to be back Wednesday night. The weather was freezing and the ice was hard, the whole arena was cold. It would be colder up in North Iowa the next night, that's for sure!
First Period
Josh Roach was finally able to play again and he managed to get the first penalty of the game for hooking at 3:18. Noah Clarke scored a short-handed goal at 4:53 when the goalie tried to beat him to the puck (unassisted). It was an embarrassing move on Russell’s part when Clarke was able to get the puck and score on a completely empty net. Lincoln started looking a bit better, like they had some life in them and then Erik Jensen and Todd Knott began misbehaving. Right after the face off they threw off their gloves and started fighting. Jensen was the smart one, he waited until Knott threw some wild punches and then began hitting the guy. I’d have to say Jensen won that fight after he got some good undercuts in and the two fell to the ice. Unfortunately the ref (who had been away at another league that didn’t have the fighting rule) threw the two off the ice in error. Saves: Des Moines 8 – Lincoln 13.
Second Period
When Pete Fregoe raced to get the puck and actually came close to scoring with a Lincoln player water skiing behind him, the Stars got called for a penalty. Adrian Hasbargen had taken down Fregoe and got called for cross checking as a result of it. We had about thirteen minutes left in the second period and a player down on the ice by Carney. It was Chris Lieckfield for the Stars and when he did finally get up he could barely keep his own two feet under him, even with the help of his teammates. The guy looked like he’d just been hit with something hard and was not all there. Pete Fregoe scored our second goal at 8:15 on the power play (assist to Noah Clarke and Felipe Larranaga). Then with just 18 seconds left in the period we scored again, this time KC Caudill did the honors (assist to Nick Field). We were leading 3-0 when the second period ended. Saves: Des Moines 12 – Lincoln 9.
Third Period
Lincoln changed the goalies at the beginning of the third and now Mike Roff was taking a chance. Even a time-out for Lincoln in the third didn’t do them much good. Lundbohm, after being a goon the entire game, finally took a penalty at 12:35. The fans loved that. Nick Field scored our final goal with 5:46 left to go in the third and on another power play (assist to Jerrid Reinholz). Lincoln still had yet to get one goal. Saves: Des Moines 15 – Lincoln 13. Total Saves: Des Moines 35 – Lincoln 35
Written by Sarah Bendy
Bucs set USHL record with 17 consecutive wins
Summary: Des Moines, IA (1/2/99): The Buccaneers set a new USHL record by winning 17 games in a row, beating Omaha, 3 to 2. The previous record of 16 wins was held by the 1985-86 Sioux City Musketeers coached by Bob Ferguson and the 1986-87 Madison Capitals coached by Scott Owens.
Jim Jackson opened the scoring with a scorcher from the blue line, his third goal in the last two games. Then it was the Kelly Miller show as he beat Zasowski twice on great individual effort. The Bucs had their work cut out for them in the last 3 1/2 minutes as they had to kill off a 5 minute major penalty. Matt Carney was outstanding, saving 14 shots in the third period, with a game total of 26 saves.
Jackson (PP) (Fregoe), Miller (Donnette, Field) and Miller (Reinholz) scored for the Bucs.
Pre-Game Rantings
Well, here we were, playing the Omaha Lancers once again. Not having seen them since October 31st when we lost against them. It was our chance to beat the Lancers again and to break the USHL record for consecutive wins. That would be…17 straight wins, Baby!!
Though we were expecting back Michael Chin and Noah Clarke, only Clarke made it into snow covered Des Moines. Chin was stuck in Chicago where they were getting even more snow. The Slovakians were still in Winnipeg. It would give us a chance to have a few other players’ step up a little bit. Troy Linna now plays for the Lancers. If you’ll remember he had played for us last year before going home. He came back to the USHL this year, but not for us, this time as a Husky.
Because of the huge snowstorm we just had and the strong winds, travel was not recommended. Was that going to stop us from driving into Des Moines for the game? No way! It turned out we were not the only ones, as the ice arena was full of crazy hockey fans. At the end of the practice, Carney as usual waited for all the players on the other team to leave the ice, watching them as they skated past. The last Lancer shot the puck into the net and Carney turned around and stared at him and shot the puck back at him with a look to kill in his eyes.
First Period
Plenty of Omaha fans had traveled up for the game, which was no big surprise and they were all ready to make lots of noise. The first few minutes of the game the Lancers came out hitting hard trying to display dominance and only proved to show what goons they were. We looked like we were ready to play. Omaha’s goalie, Tony Zasowski looked really good and was making save after save as we peppered him with shots. Then with about eight minutes left, Drew Kriner, who threw his arms into the air as he did it (as though he didn’t mean to), smacked into Matt Carney. For the heinous crime he got put away for elbowing. Our power play came to nothing and gave the Lancer fans something to cheer for... Including the annoying girl who sat behind me screaming "Go Lancers, Go Lancers" every few minutes in high pitched whine With at minute and a half in the period, Pete Summerfelt took down Fregoe when he was making a break for Zasowski. Summerfelt prevented Fregoe from scoring, but we got another power play out of it. Saves: Des Moines 4 – Omaha 12.
Second Period
When Omaha took some more penalties we were able to get our first goal at 3:16 from Jimmy Jackson (assist to Pete Fregoe). There had been a lot of setting up to even get this goal which was a slapshot by Jimmy. Omaha responded with a goal from Troy Linna (assist to a Ty Hennes) at 8:03. Then the Buc fans had something to really cheer about as Kelly Miller came down on a breakaway to give us the lead at 9:13 (assist to Dan Donnette and Nick Field). After the last goal the Bucs seemed to slow down some and perhaps they were just tired. We would get one more goal to take us into the third period and this one came from Kelly Miller again when he sliced Zasowski like butter (assist to Jerrid Reinholz). This goal came with just 40 seconds left in the period and you could tell we were chipping away at Zasowski’s defense. We should have gotten one final goal when Pete Fregoe showed us his skill by making a fool of Zasowski on a breakaway. However the seconds just ticked away to nothing as Fregoe deeked the goalie out and put the puck cleanly into the net. Saves: Des Moines 8 – Omaha 10.
Third Period
In the third period the tables switched and Omaha took over, but Carney and the rest of the team kept up and held on. Though the Lancers terribly outshot us and even had plenty of power plays to contend with we kept them at bay only allowing them to get one goal. This goal came at 9:56 on a power play from Mike Lucci (assist to Ortmeyer and Kalajian). Unfortunately during a lot of confusion with about three minutes left Pete Fregoe was given a five minute major. If the Lancers were to score and we went into overtime the penalty would carry on into the fourth period. Nobody was happy about this including the coaches and captains who all argued it for a good amount of time. Our boys did an excellent job killing the power play off though. I have absolutely never heard the crowd so loud in my entire life. Then with 30.4 seconds left Omaha put on the extra attacker and left the empty net, but before they started playing they took a time-out. The Bucs held on to give us the win against the lousy Lancers and our 17th straight win. Saves: Des Moines 14 – Omaha 4. Total Saves: Des Moines 26 – Omaha 26.
Written by Sarah Bendy
