Win wraps up a no-loss November
Summary: Des Moines, IA (11/28/98): The Bucs beat Thunder Bay 8 to 1 to stretch their winning streak to 10 games and record a perfect mark for the month of November. The score was tied at 1 each until the mid point of the second period, when Pete Fregoe scored the first of 7 straight Buc goals; 3 in the second and 4 in the third.
Thunder Bay played well, but the Buc offense got 15 shots in the second period and 23 shots in the third period to overwhelm the Flyer Defense. Garrett Stafford had a great night scoring one goal and three assists. Frank Berenguer got his sixth win, making 25 saves.
Donnette (Caudill, Stafford), Fregoe (Sejna, Stodgell), Fregoe (Chin, Stafford), Stafford (Field, Caudill), Krueger (Field, Stafford), Sawruk (Maksimenko, Miller), Larranaga (Sejna, Fregoe) and Birrenkott (Field, Krueger) scored for the Bucs.
Rattlings
Tonight we would face Thunder Bay for the second night in a row. When you watch the Flyers, you can tell that these guys can really play hockey. They know how to handle the puck and when someone gets a breakaway, they usually score. But for some reason, they are having a tough time winning. Tonight, they would be short on the bench again, and would have to conserve energy for the game against North Iowa tomorrow.
First Period
The Bucs wasted no time in getting some shots on Jason Wright, but he was looking sharp and was able to handle the shots by Donnette and Caudill. Two minutes into the period, Frank Berenguer had to come up with a big save as a clearing pass was intercepted in front of the net. The crowd roared in approval as Frank denied the shooter. The Bucs had several more clearing passes intercepted and it appeared that the Bucs were in trouble. Garrett Stafford was finally able to hit KC Caudill as he skated toward the red line. The Flyer Defense was all over KC, but he used his size and strength to get through them. Dan Donnette had slipped into the Flyer zone all alone and when he got the pass from KC, had a wide open net for a target. The Bucs took the lead 1 to 0. Both teams took two penalties but were unable to convert. Thunder Bay was doing a good job of slowing down the game and keeping the explosive Buc offense in check. The period ended with 12 saves for Berenguer and 14 for Wright.
Second Period
The Flyers were able to get on the board four minutes into the game to tie the score when a Flyer came in on Berenguer all alone and beat him. The Bucs responded by stepping up the play, but the Flyers played well and kept the Bucs from scoring.
Nick Field and Kelly Miller were playing a very tough and physical game. Halfway through the period, the Fregoe-Chin-Sejna line was really putting on the pressure. Pete Fregoe checked a Flyer into the boards and stole the puck. Pete skated toward the goal with a Flyer all over him and as he was being knocked to the ice scored with a quick wrist shot (assists to Peter Sejna and Nick Stodgell). The Bucs continued to put pressure on and I was sure the Bucs were going to score when Mark Krueger, Noah Clarke and Jerrid Reinholz teamed up to get shot after shot on goal. The pressure was bound to pay off and it did when Pete Fregoe scored again just 4 minutes later on a great setup from Michael Chin (additional assist to Garrett Stafford).
Less than a minute later, the Bucs scored again when KC Caudill and Nick Field came rushing in on goal. Nick Field fooled everyone when he left a drop pass for Garrett Stafford who was trailing the play. Garrett was all alone and instead of blasting it, skated in closer and picked his shot carefully. Garrett scored to make it 4 to 1. His goal really demoralized the Flyers, who had been playing very well. After this goal, one of the strangest things I have ever seen occurred. Kelly Miller and a Flyer were tied up getting ready to go at it, when a linesman came skaing full speed to get between them. Unfortunately, he caught the Flyer off-balance and sent him sprawling on the ice. It looked like the linesman had joined the fight on our side! The crowd roared its approval and both players were given 2 minutes for fighting. The period ended with 7 saves for Berenguer and 12 for the Flyers.
Third Period
The third period was dominated by the Bucs, as the Flyers seemed to lose all energy. They did not rush to the loose puck and seemed content to play defensive hockey. The Bucs kept pressure on and scored 4 straight goals. Mark Krueger scored first when Nick Field spotted him all alone on the opposite side of the goal (additional assist to Garrett Stafford).
Less than one minute later, Kelly Miller and Eric Maksimenko assisted on an Alex Sawruk goal to make it 6 to 1. Maksimenko had skated in on a semi-break and gotten off a quick wrist shot off. The goalie stopped it but Sawruk was there to pounce on the rebound. After the goal, there was a goalie change. A minute later, the Bucs brought the puck into the Flyer zone, but the action was at mid-ice. Kelly Miller and a Flyer threw their gloves off and began to go at it. The Flyer was getting the better of Miller, but they both quickly fell to the ice and it was all over.
The arena was getting warm and the ice looked slushy - it must have been tough playing hockey out there, as players from both teams were falling down as they tried to make quick turns.
Felipe Larranaga got his first goal of the year with 9:43 on the clock when Pete Fregoe and Peter Sejna worked the puck back to him at the blue line. Felipe skated a few steps forward and then scored with a quick wrist shot to make it 7 to 1. Less than two minutes later Bill Birrenkott got the puck at the blue line and blasted one in to make it 8 to 1 (assists to Nick Field and Mark Krueger). Although you like to see your team score, a game like this is not good for anyone. I was glad when the final buzzer went off and the game was over.
Written by Steve Bendy
Second period blitz wins game
Summary; Des Moines, IA (11/27/98): At the end of the first period the Bucs found themselves trailing Thunder Bay 2 to 1. The Flyers, playing with a short roster of 15 players, were playing well and things did not look good for the Bucs. I don't know what went on in the Buc locker room between periods, but it sure worked, as the Bucs scored 5 unanswered goals in route to a 7 to 3 victory.
The Bucs put 41 shots on goal and Matt Carney made 22 saves to keep the Bucs in the race for first place in the USHL.
Caudill (Field, Smrek), Chin (Clarke, Fregoe), Fregoe (Clarke, Chin), Sejna (Larranaga), Sejna (Donnette, Reinholz), Maksimenko (PP) (Reinholz, Field) and Caudill (Field) scored for the Bucs.
Pre-Game Ravings
Smoke enveloped Smrek at the beginning of the period when they were announced. Trying to waft the mist away did the Slovakian little good. The smoke ended up staying out on the ice just hanging in the air. The weather was warm to begin with and wasn’t the best for ice.
The Flyers were in town for the weekend and it would prove to be a disappointing time for them. Probably about the best time would be the first period of Friday’s game. Saturday I saw some of the players at the mall. They had nowhere better to pass the time obviously; either that or they were catching up on their Christmas shopping. And I thought guys left their present shopping until the last possible moment. As the unofficial Flyers website said it would prove to be a 9 game road trip from hell.
Both anthems (ours and Canada’s) were played and the Flyers skated around the ice before ours was even over. Slightly rude if you ask me. Not that it isn’t rude when our own fans start chanting USA! USA! USA! During the anthems it’s always the quietest time of the game. We brought our two little cousins to the game and it was their first Buc game (they’re from Omaha, but not real Lancer fans). I got them to cheer with us, but they still said they preferred soccer.
First Period
Though the action was fairly good the Bucs looked like they expected to win and had taken it easy for the night. So when the Flyers scored the first goal the Bucs didn’t look at all ready. Josef Balej scored on Carney who was down on the ice (assist to Chris Shaffer and Derrick McIver) at 11:23. By the way, Balej is from Slovakia and was talking to Smrek some during the game. With about 7 minutes left a tussle erupted around the Thunder Bay goalie. This was expected from one of the penalty leaders of the league as well as it being a mostly Canadian team. The Flyers really took over the period when they scored again with 6:18 left in the period. With Carney down on the ice again (notice the pattern?) Murray Magill scored (assist to Patrick Sharp and Clayton Carson). Luckily we did score at least one goal before we left the period, this one came from the stick of K.C. Caudill (assist to Nick Field and Peter Smrek). We basically stayed in the right zone for the rest of the period, however we were not able to tie it up before the clock ran out. Saves: Thunder Bay 9 — Des Moines 9.
Second Period
Something must have happened in that locker room between the first and second period, because when the Bucs came out onto the ice they were ready. It took them only 23 seconds to score. The tying goal came from a backhand by Chin (assist to Noah Clarke and Pete Fregoe). A few rebounds and about four minutes later Pete Fregoe scored our third goal and our first lead of the game (assist to Noah Clarke and Michael Chin). Thunder Bay after this took the time out, but I think it did the fans more good then the Flyers. Because it just got them all riled up and loud. Peter Sejna was next to get a goal and after this the scoring would take off. The goal came with 12:26 left when Larranaga managed to pass it to Sejna at the point for a clean slap shot (assist to Felipe Larranaga). I know at one point in time I claimed I would never mention anybody’s hair before because it got me in trouble. However I feel it is safe since the player I mention is on the other team. It seemed we had another Nooyen in Aaron MacKenzie, with some long, stringy hair goin' on. Sejna got his second goal of the night and our 5th at 15:17 (assist to Dan Donnette and Jerrid Reinholz). So far their had been no penalties called and it had been a fairly clean game, but with 4:09 left the first one was called against the Flyers. It was the Nooyen for the Flyers that went for high sticking. Just a little over a minute from the last goal Maksimenko got our sixth goal on the power play (assist to Reinholz and Field). We left the period with a score of 6-2. Saves: Thunder Bay 8 — Des Moines 5.
Third Period
In the third period we slowed down quite a bit, we even allowed the Flyers to get another goal. Though I don’t think it was our choice to allow them to. It was Aaron MacKenzie that got the unassisted goal with 13:42 left in the period. The last goal was Caudill’s second goal of the night at 10:57 (assist to Field). It was beginning to get increasingly harder to concentrate on the game since my youngest cousin was getting very tedious and I myself was dog tired from the busiest shopping day of the year. And no I was not shopping, I was working, do you realize how rude people get at this time of year? It’s terrible, just terrible. Saves: Thunder Bay 17 — Des Moines 8. Des Moines 7 — Thunder Bay 3. Total Saves: Thunder Bay 34 — Des Moines 22.
Written by Sarah Bendy
Miller, Senja get hat tricks in 12 - 3 win
Summary: Des Moines, IA (11/25/98): Kelly Miller continued his goal scoring blitz with a hat trick, as did Peter Sejna in a 12 - 3 drubbing of the Twin City Vulcans. The Bucs scored 5 unanswered first period goals before the Vulcans got on the board with a power play late in the first period. The Vulcans scored again at the beginning of the second period to bring the score to 5 - 2. The Bucs then scored 7 straight goals to put the game away.
The Bucs put 52 shots on goal, while Carney stopped 14 and Luther stopped 4 shots.
Caudill (Field, Birrenkott), Miller (Sawruk, Jackson), Sejna (Stafford), Miller (Maksimenko), Clarke (Chin, Fregoe), Birrenkott (Maksimenko, Sawruk), Sejna (Donnette), Chin (Fregoe, Stodgell), Sejna (Hat Trick) (unassisted), Maksimenko (unassisted), Miller (Hat Trick) (Maksimenko, Jackson) and Field (Caudill) scored for the Bucs.
Pre-Game
Tonight the Bucs would face the Twin Cities Vulcans, a team that likes to skate. Earlier this month was the first time the two teams had met this year, and the although the score was 6 to 3, it was a closer game than that. Noah Clarke was hot that night, scoring two short handed goals and a hat trick. If tonight's game followed the same pattern, the Bucs would win again. The Vulcans are talented and can skate, but they seem to lack the discipline of a team.
First Period
The Vulcans won the face off and brought it into the Buc zone briefly, but the Bucs were able to break it out easily and Bill Birrenkott got a monster shot on goal from the blue line. Even though he did not score, you could tell the Bucs were hot as the passing was crisp and they were beating the Vulcans to the loose puck. Peter Sejna, Kelly Miller and Dan Donnette seemed to be skating with confidence.
The first goal game game with 4 minutes gone when Bill Birrenkott broke the puck out to Nick Field. Nick spotted KC Caudill breaking to the blue line and delivered a perfect pass. KC jetted past a defender and took a tough angle shot that lit the red light. The Vulcans came right back and Carney came up with a huge save. Halfway through the period, Kelly Miller split two defenders and came in on goal all alone to the left of the goalie. Just before he crossed in front of the goal he let loose a backhander that made it 2 to zip. Assists went to Alex Sawruk and Jim Jackson. With 8:54 on the clock, Peter Sejna delivered yet another picture perfect goal. Peter took a pass from Garrett Stafford and took the puck in from the red line along the boards. He beat the D and like a cool and calm technician, waited for the goalie to commit. When he did, Peter lightly tapped the puck in the wide-open net. The score was now 3 to 0. The Bucs continued to put on the pressure and it looked like a power play. James commented that Miller was looking good tonight - he was right. After the next face off, Eric Maksimenko got the puck to Kelly Miller, who took a shot. There was a pause, and then the crwod erupted and the light went on. The Bucs led by 4 to 0. About a minute later, Michael Chin dug the puck out of the corner and passed to a wide open Noah Clarke who one-timed it to make it 5 to 0 (additional assist to Pete Fregoe). Twin Cities scored next on a good looking power play (Carney did not have a chance) to end the period with a score of 5 to 1.
Second Period
The Flyers scored again 3 minutes into the period to make it 5 to 2, and for a couple of minutes, the Bucs looked disorganized. Halfway through the period, Bill Birrenkott pounced on a loose puck and blasted it to make it 6 to 2 (assists to Maksimenko and Sawruk). Less than a minute later, Peter Sejna scored his second goal of the night when he picked the puck out of the air and shot it behind his back to score (assist to Dan Donnette. One minute later Michael Chin made it 8 to 2 with assists to Pete Fregoe and Nick Stodgell. Peter Sejna got his hat trick on a goal that should be on the highlight reels. He picked up the bouncing puck at the blue line and out skated the lone D. Again, he calmly waited for the goalie to make his move. When he did, he tapped the puck in and put his hands up as if to say, "was that cool or what?" I threw my hat out onto the ice, and in a classy move, Jensen, the Vulcan goalie picked up my hat and put it over the glass for me. That is class!
Third Period
The Bucs opened the scoring when Eric Maksimenko streaked in on goal and let loose a quick wrist shot that caught the goalie by surprise. It was now 10 to 2. The crowd began to cheer the Vulcan goalie every time he made a save. Kelly Miller got his hat trick with 14:54 on the clock with assists from Eric Maksimenko and Jim Jackson. Thirty seconds later, Nick Field scored with a quick shot (assist to KC Caudill). The goalie in frustration threw his stick to the ground. I don't blame him, the D was giving no help and the Bucs were hot. The Vulcans added another goal near the end of the period and the game ended with a score of 12 to 2. I have to tell you, you never know what kind of character a person (or team) has until adversity hits, and this Vulcan team has character. They never gave up and kept their cool until the end.
Written by Steve Bendy
Bucs beat Rochester 6 - 3
Summary: Rochester, MN (11/21/98): The Bucs upped their away record to 7 and 1 and extended their winning streak to 7 with a victory in Rochester Saturday night. The Bucs scored the first goal and never trailed, but it was not until Dan Donnette scored 2 goals midway in the third period that the Bucs put it away for good. The win wrapped up a strong two road game weekend that included a victory over Green Bay.
Kelly Miller continued his hot streak with another goal while Dan Donnette added two goals, including the game winner. Several dry spells were broken tonight - Jim Jackson getting his first goal and Garret Stafford picking up 2 assists on the night.
Clarke (Stafford), Chin (unassisted), Miller (Maksimenko, Stafford), Donnette (Fregoe), Donnette (Reinholz, Sejna) and Jackson (unassisted) scored for the Bucs.
Pre-Game
The Bucs record going into the game was 14-2-0 and they had a winning streak of 6 games. With a little effort we could make it 7 in a row. The Mustangs didn’t have quite a stellar record, they were 8-9-2. Playing against the Mustangs would hopefully not result in a physical game since our boys were tired. And considering the Rochester squad is more of a finesse team it didn’t seem that it would be that way.
First Period
The Bucs scored first very late in the period with only 1:30 left to go. Noah Clarke got the goal from an assist by Garrett Stafford. Though not a whole lot happened in the period, I felt that the Mustangs had better scoring opportunities and that Carney (as well as his teammates) did an excellent job. Saves: Rochester 7 – Des Moines 11.
Second Period
The Bucs turned the second period around, but most of the effort wouldn’t be capitalized on until the third period. But hey, you got to start somewhere. Michael Chin started 53 seconds into the second when he scored unassisted. It was all his effort and his 18th goal. When Stafford later in the period got a penalty for holding we had already had a player in the box and we gave the Mustangs a 5 on 3. We had thirty seconds to kill it off, but unfortunately Gilbertson got to it before we could and he scored their first goal. We left the period leading 2-1. Saves: Rochester 12 – Des Moines 4.
Third Period
Kelly Miller scored 2:54 into the third (assists to Eric Maksimenko and Garrett Stafford). We were now ahead by two goals. It was a short lived lead as Ben Johnson for the Mustangs made it 3-2 when he got the puck past Carney. The Mustangs couldn’t stop our fired up team though, because Dan Donnette scored at 9:27 (assist to Pete Fregoe). Just 45 seconds later Jeremiah Johnson scored. Don't you hate it when that happens? The Mustangs up until this point had stayed right behind us, but we were now going to take off and leave them behind for the win. At 12:42 Dan Donnette scored again (assist to Jerrid Reinholz and Peter Sejna). Then at 19:04 Jimmy Jackson scored the sixth and final goal. It was jackson's first goal of the year. Though it doesn’t look like it by all the goals we scored, our team was looking very tired in the last ten minutes of the game. Of course they’d been in Green Bay the night before and taken a four hour bus ride to get to Rochester. Saves: Rochester 7 – Des Moines 3. Total Saves: Rochester 26 – Des Moines 18.
P.S. Unfortunately Omaha won in a shoot out this same night and Team USA also won. Next week we play Wednesday night against the North Iowa Huskies, we’ll go on to play Friday and Saturday nights as well. It’ll be a busy weekend! Hopefully we can make it a 10 game winning streak!
Written by Sarah Bendy
Bucs end drought with win in Green Bay
Summary: Green Bay, WI (11/20/98): The Bucs topped Green Bay 3 to 1 to break a four year winless streak in Brown County arena in Green Bay. Not since Bob Ferguson's triple crown national championship team of 1994-95 had the Bucs come away with a win in Green Bay. Tonight was a different story.
The Gamblers scored first on a deflection, but Matt Carney was outstanding in goal stopping the next 29 Gambler shots. The Bucs then took it to the Gamblers, scoring two goals just 11 seconds apart in the last two minutes of play to put it away. The Bucs put 36 shots on goal.
Miller (Smrek, Maksimenko), Sejna (PP) (Smrek, Fregoe), Maksimenko (PP) (Field, Reinholz), Miller (Maksimenko, Sawruk) and Fregoe (Chin) scored for the Bucs.
Pre-game Rattle
Yes, we paid the price for not having the rant for the North Iowa victory done in a timely manner. Sarah apologizes, begging for your mercy and trusting that her math scores are worth the infraction. She promises the rant will get done. I thought college was supposed to be fun? Speaking of fun, did you know that we have not beaten Green Bay in their barn for four years? Would this be the night?
I noticed that there were several postings on the infamous Buc Guest Book wondering where the player interviews were. Not to worry, Lisa is hard at work transcribing player interviews. Josh Roach and KC Caudill will be posted soon. Of course, I am not sure we want to give away any secrets, since it seems that Mike Hastings (Omaha Lancer coach) checks the site out on a regular basis. We don't mind that he checks out the site now and then, how else would we get 25,000 people a month to our site?
First Period
The Bucs did not help themselves as Pete Fregoe was called for tripping just one minute into the game. Yes, I know we have the best penalty kill in the USHL, but the Gamblers have the second best power play. Matt Carney had to come up with several saves as the Gamblers wasted no time in getting some shots on net. The Bucs were able to kill the penalty and the play continued up and down the ice. Nick Field, Mark Krueger and KC Caudill seemed to be playing with great intensity.
The Bucs seemed to be playing very conservatively, as if they were waiting for the Gamblers to make a mistake. The Gamblers would score first as the puck was deflected in off a buc D midway through the period. Tom Priessing was credited with the unassisted goal.
Peter Sejna came back with a great move that forced the Gamblers to take a penalty. The Gamblers were able to clear the puck during the power play, not allowing any sustained pressure. Peter Smrek did get a blast off, but there was no rebound and no power play goal. The Bucs got another penalty with 2 minutes left in the period when the Gambler goalie, Rob Anderson shot the puck into the crowd without hitting the glass. Smrek, Stafford, Fregoe, Sejna and Chin worked the puck around putting the pressure on, but were not able to score and the period ended. The Gamblers led 1 - 0, but the Bucs had really come to life the last 8 minutes of the period. Shots on goal for the Bucs, 11; 10 for the Gamblers.
Second Period
There was a slight delay of game at the beginning of the period as a pane of glass popped out. It was quickly fixed and the Bucs really put on the pressure. Pete Fregoe and Michael Chin both got great chances. The pressure continued and paid off when Rob Anderson was unable to control a rebound and Kelly Miller buried the puck to tie the game with less than 4 minutes gone in the period. Peter Smrek and Eric Maksimenko picked up the assists. The momentum was cooled off a bit as the Jim Jackson was called for a hold and the Bucs were down a man. Matt Carney came up with save after save as Tom Priessing was playing like a mad man. The Bucs did get a 2 on 1 and just missed scoring. Both teams seemed to let loose as they traded odd man rushes. I love this kind of play! Jerrid Reinholz and Dan Donnette joined Peter Sejna in putting pressure on the net.
With 5 minutes left in the period, the Bucs picked up another power play on a roughing call in a pile up in front of the Buc net. The Bucs wasted no time as Pete Fregoe passed to Peter Smrek. The Gamblers expected Smrek to shoot; instead he fed it to a wide-open Peter Sejna who scored easily with a quick wrist shot. The Bucs now led 2 to 1 on the power play goal. They did not let up as Peter Smrek just would not let up.
The Bucs were called for a penalty, but the Bucs continued the pressure as Dan Donnette and Pete Fregoe got a 2 on 1. Pete's shot went high and time expired with the Bucs in the lead. Shots on goal for the Bucs, 11; 9 for the Gamblers.
Third Period
The Bucs had been hot - would they be able to keep it up? Two things could work against them - a 1 minute Gambler power play and a Zamboni that ran out of gas while scraping the ice. The Zamboni was fixed and the Bucs easily killed off the penalty.
The Bucs began to put some pressure with Alex Sawruk, but Notermann came in on a breakaway. Carney was not about to let him score as he held his ground and scooped the puck up in his glove. The Bucs were soon on another powerplay as Green Bay was called for an infraction. Eric Maksimenko wasted no time in scoring on the powerplay to make it 3 to 1. Nick Field and Jerrid Reinholz picked up the assists.
The Bucs continued to put on pressure, but Matt Carney came up big several times - and I do mean big time. How he stopped some of the shots, I will never know.
The Gamblers got a powerplay, but only seconds later Noah Clarke got a breakaway and was pulled down from behind. The ref raised his hand and whistled - Noah was going to get a penalty shot! Noah skated in alone amidst the boos of the crowd and was robbed! The Gambler came right back and Matt Carney robbed Jeff Finger. The Bucs killed off the penalty and the period was half over. The Bucs were forced to kill off another penalty before the Gamblers called a time out to talk things over.
Wow, what a game! A penalty shot, a Zamboni runs out of gas, and the Bucs were in control. If we could only continue to play well, we would win for the first time in four years. With 5 minutes to go, Peter Sejna got robbed, or it would have been 4 to 1.
The Bucs were playing all of their lines as Green Bay was taking long shifts to get something going. As the clock wound down, the Bucs did not go into a shell, but played smart defense and offense. Kelly Miller scored as the Bucs caught the Gamblers off-guard with assists to Eric Maksimenko and Alex Sawruk.
Eleven seconds later, Peter Fregoe took a centering pass from Michael Chin and scored to make it 5 to 1. The crowd was stunned as the arena became very quiet. I was excited for Chin, because he has a poiint streak going that is one of the longest in the USHL. The Bucs had taken it to the Gamblers big-time and really, could have been a shut-out. In any case, the Bucs had won and I think are on the way to another Triple Crown title. Total shots on goal for the Bucs, 36; 29 for the Gamblers.
Written by Steve Bendy
Bucs win hard-fought game 6 to 3
Summary: Des Moines, IA (11/14/98): In the first regular season meeting between former Buc assistant coach Steve Nelson and Scott Owens, the Bucs and Huskies played a wide-open, hard-fought game. Alex Sawruk gave the Bucs a one goal lead going into the third period. The Bucs broke the game open in the third period with two goals by Pete Fregoe. Pete, the USHL scoring leader, has just signed with Providence College.
Matt Carney in his second start this weekend, made 19 saves, coming up big time after time to keep the Bucs on top. The Bucs had 36 shots on goal.
Sejna (Larranaga, Reinholz), Sejna (Sawruk), Field (PP) (Reinholz), Sawruk (Field, Novak), Fregoe (PP) (Smrek, Stafford) and Fregoe (Clarke, Chin) scored for the Bucs.
Bucs hand Team USA second loss
Summary: Des Moines, IA (11/13/98): The Des Moines Buccaneers handed the league leading Team USA their second loss by a score of 5 to 2. The Bucs scored two goals in the first period, but were flat the second period. Matt Carney, in his first start since breaking his finger was on his game limiting Team USA to 1 goal. The Bucs held a 4 to 2 lead with two minutes as Team USA pulled their goalie. Thirty seconds later, Pete Fregoe in an unselfish move passed to Noah Clarke who scored the empty netter.
Tempers flared near the end of the game and Team USA ended up with over 50 minutes of penalties. Matt Carney ended up with 25 saves and DiPietro took his first loss of the season with 26 saves.
Fregoe (Clarke, Chin), Sejna (PP) (Fregoe, Smrek), Reinholz (Field, Larranaga), Sejna (Reinholz) and Clarke (EN) (Fregoe) scored for the Bucs.
Rantings
Well I had set out to do a good rant, however I have to admit that’s not how it will probably end up. For many reasons, but the major one is that I’m sick again. I must have a bad immune system or something, but I’m tired of this. Speaking of tired, I certainly am. I don’t think it’s really necessary to say that the game against Team USA was going to be a big one. We’re neck to neck with them as well as Omaha and Green Bay for the best record in the league. Of course it’s still early in the season to worry too much about that, but since we play USA only one more time this season we needed to make it count.
As for an injury update, Matt Carney got the pins taken out and is on the road to heeling his finger, it’s now in a splint. Josh Roach went into surgery last week for torn cartilage in his left shoulder, he’s expected to be out 12 to 16 weeks. You might be interested to know that Michael Chin is leading the league in goals, with Fregoe leading in assists. I really have nothing more ingenious to add, so I’ll get to the game. Oh, and Maksimenko and Miller were out, but…I don’t really know…too much about that.
First Period
We started the game off right, with a penalty, as Birrenkott took the role of enforcer. He was put away for checking from behind at 1:30. We got our first unofficial goal with 15:40 left in the period. The ref claimed he whistled the play dead before the puck went in the net. Perhaps that was true, the USA goalie sure was contesting it, but I am afraid the fans had something different to say about it. According to them, it should have been a goal. Pete Fregoe made sure he got the official goal at 13:14 (assist to Noah Clarke and Michael Chin). When Connor Dunlop got a penalty for USA he might have liked to know that he would be giving us our second goal, but how was he to know? Peter Sejna capitalized on this penalty with just 3:23 left to go in the period (assist to Pete Fregoe and Peter Smrek). So we were now leading the game by two points and USA still had yet to get on the board. It wouldn’t happen in this period. Saves: Des Moines 10 – USA 14.
Second Period
The second period was just a total slump. USA finally got a goal, which was a garbage goal in my opinion, at 1:54. The goal was credited to John Sabo with an assist to Andy Hilbert and Brad Winchester. So USA claimed the second period right away and the Bucs just let them take it. Luckily they took the game back in the third. Carney did an excellent job in the second period, especially on the USA power plays. Saves: Des Moines 9 – USA 4.
Third Period
Our third goal came at 11:47 with Jerrid Reinholz doing the honors (assist to Nick Field and Felipe Larranaga). Larranaga was most of the driving force of that goal. When he fell down to the ice he still managed to push it ahead of him so it could eventually become a goal. Unfortunately Team USA got their second goal with 8:20 left in the game, fortunately it would be their last goal. Troy Ferguson got the goal with an assist to John Eichelberger (what a name!). Our last two goals would come late in the period and from this point on things got a little chippy on the ice between the teams. With just 3:22 left Peter Sejna got his second goal of the night and our fourth (assist to Jerrid Reinholz). With just seconds over two minutes USA called a time out. When the play resumed their net was empty and they had the extra attacker. Noah Clarke managed to score an empty netter when Pete Fregoe obligingly let him have the puck. Immediately after this the refs and two teams were doing some heavy talking. The fans started booing and screaming (not that they weren’t already screaming). What they ended up doing was putting Michael Chin, Freddy Meyer, and Andy Hilbert away for ten minute misconduct’s. At the very end of the game one of the USA players went after K.C. Caudill and there was quite a mass of jersey’s for awhile near the player’s bench. So two more people got thrown from the game. Now the announcer said that it was #11, John Sabo, I was sure I saw #12 Troy Ferguson leaving the ice for the fight. Can anyone tell me which was the correct number? Anyway Todd Jackson also was kicked off the ice as well as Billy Birrenkott. So the last few minutes was pretty heavy. We ended up winning though 5-2 and that’s all that matters. Saves: Des Moines 6 – USA 8. Total Saves: Des Moines 25 – USA 26.
As a post script I just have to mention a few of the players that I thought played outstanding. Peter Smrek had a great game, probably one of the best I’ve seen him play. Carney, though he seemed to have a hard time holding onto his stick (probably his injury) was solid and really stood up well after being out for so long. Peter Sejna was stellar with two goals as well as an assist. The Bucs will next play North Iowa, be prepared for this one because Willie Raderschadt now plays for N.I. as well as Troy Linna. Of course our old assistant coach Nellie now coaches the team as well.
Written by Sarah Bendy
Balanced attack beats Flyers 9 to 4
Summary: Thunder Bay, Ontario (11/7/98): The Bucs used a balanced attack to defeat the Flyers 9 to 4 and sweep the two game series in Thunder Bay. Leading the Buc scoring was Michael Chin, who got 2 goals and 3 assists and Pete Fregoe with 2 goals and 2 assists. Chin and Fregoe lead the USHL in scoring. Other Bucs scoring were Bill Birrenkott, Rob Novak, Dan Donnette and KC Caudill.
The Flyers played a better game than the score indicates, and if it were not for the excellent goaltending of Frank Berenguer, the score would have been a lot closer, if not a loss for the Bucs. Berenguer faced 37 shots while the Bucs put 43 shots on goal.
Chin (PP) (Fregoe), Fregoe (Chin, Larranaga), Novak (Sawruk), Birrenkott (Chin), Donnette (Sejna, Larranaga), Fregoe (Miller, Chin), Caudill (Krueger, Field), Donnette (Reinholz, Sejna) and Chin (Fregoe, Sejna) scored for the Bucs.
Rantings
So what do you do during the day before the game? We always like to take in the sights, learn about the history of the area and shop. Unfortunately, Thunder Bay shuts down many of its parks and museums in early November so we were out of luck except for Kakabeka Falls. The rocky falls are dramatic, plunging 128 feet into the river gorge - worth the 20 mile trip. We then hit the Intercity Mall. We ran in to the Bucs wandering the halls and stopped to talk with the Krueger's and to ask Nick his impressions of the game. Nick was pleased with the Buc's play, but wants them to take care of defending the zone a bit better tonight. He was also very pleased with the penalty killing and shorthanded goals.
We arrived at Fort William Gardens ready for another great game of hockey. The ice arena reminds me of Metro Ice Sports Arena. The roof is arched and made of wood and the ceiling is painted white. There are individual seats all the way around the rink, with press boxes above. For some reason, you just know this is a great place to watch hockey. There is a wide variety of ages at the game - very young to very old and everything in-between. I noticed that the people didn't wear as much "Flyer team logo" like the Lancers, Bucs and Stars do for their team. However, the younger guys are all wearing hockey gear with the logo of the team that they play for. Let me tell you, there is a lot of hockey going on in Thunder Bay, it is on the news, radio and advertisements - everywhere!
As we entered the ice arena, we noticed that there were not many people at the game. After talking to Rob Lettington, he confirmed the fact that they were expecting a light crowd. It's too bad - the Flyers deserve a sold-out rink.
First Period
The explosive Chin, Fregoe, Miller, Birrenkott and Smrek line would start for the Bucs. This line has scored almost as many goals as the entire Lincoln team. The Flyers came out playing a much more physical game than last night. Pete Fregoe was the first to get dumped to the ice. He got back up and shook his head back and forth a couple of times and kept going. The Bucs came close to scoring early when Peter Sejna fed Maksimenko and again when Fregoe hit the cross-bar. The game seemed to be a repeat of last night with both teams playing wide-open hockey. The Buc D usually stopped the Fylers before they could get a clean break, and when they did get a break, they reacted well. For example, Nick Stodgell broke up a centering pass on a 2 on 1 break to save a sure goal.
With 12 minutes left in the period, Alex Sawruk skated in all alone, deked and got the goalie to go down. Just as he went to the backhand and was ready to score, a Flyer took him down saving the goal but getting a penalty. In the resulting powerplay, Stafford and Smrek took shots from the blueline but were robbed. Pete Fregoe got control of the puck slightly behind the goal along the curved part of the boards as far from the goal as possible. The D let him alone and he waited there for what seemed an eternity. Then, in a lightning fast move, he passed to Michael Chin on the opposite side of the net, who buried it to make it 1 to 0.
The Bucs were controlling the play with their excellent passing and by staying in their positions. With 9:25 left in the period, Felipe Larranaga broke the puck out to Michael Chin who took the puck across the blue line. He spotted Pete Fregoe all alone to his right and did not hesitate to pass. Pete surprised the goalie with a quick wrist shot and scored to make it 2 to 0.
Chris Sharp scored for the Flyers with 8:03 on the clock on a wrap around shot. Berenguer had just robbed Sharp seconds earlier. The goal inspired the Flyers and they picked up their play and got several quality shots on goal. Unfortunately for the Flyers, Berenguer was having another great night in goal. The Buc D protected Frank the best they could, with Stafford leading the defense. Aaron Piccinin, Flyer veteran, team captain and USHL bad boy, had been fairly subdued until this point. However, after the whistle he decked Sawruk drawing a 10 minute misconduct. After some intense pressure by the Flyers, Alex Sawruk hit the post sending the puck 15 feet in front of the net and into Rob Novak's stick. Rob let go with a quick wrist shot and scored with 1:43 left in the game. The Bucs now lead 3 to 1. Shots on goal for the Bucs, 15; 11 for the Flyers.
Second Period
As the Flyers took the ice, Piccinin skated to the penalty box, joking with the officials. With a league leading 64 penalty minutes, Aaron has had cable TV installed in the box for moments such as these. The Bucs scored first with only 2:30 gone in the period. Michael Chin had the puck behind the net and spotted Bill Birrenkott crashing the net. He passed to Bill who slapped it in to make it 4 to 1. You should have seen the grin on Bill's face! Hey Bill, you need to do that more often!
After a whistle, Derrick McIver was being escorted to the players bench by a linesman, taunting a baffled Michael Chin. He was cussing and pointing to the back of his jersey so that Chin would remember his number. Michael was saying to his team, "What did I do?". As a side note, Peter Smrek has been learning some new words, which I can't repeat.
The Bucs scored again with 14:35 remaining in the period. Felipe Larranaga passed to Peter Sejna who got the puck to Dan Donnette who was at the bottom of the circle, a seemingly impossible angle to attempt a shot. Donnette wound up and made it look easy, putting the Bucs up by 5 to 1. The goal brought about a goalie change - the new goalie was Ken Ritson. The Bucs put tremendous pressure on Ritson, cycling and making it look like a powerplay. Ritson played tough, stopping the shots and getting lucky as Peter Sejna's shot hit the post. The pressure finally paid off when Kelly Miller dumped the puck in and Michael Chin tied the puck up on the boards. Michael spotted Pete Fregoe alone in front of the net and dug the puck out and centered it. Pete made it 6 to 1.
The Flyers staged a come-back scoring 3 unanswered goals, rallying the crowd. Bryson Busniuk got 2 goals, one with just 18 seconds to play in the period. The score was now 6 to 4 in favor of the Bucs. The score could have been worse had it not been for Berenguer's excellent play in goal. Another incident worth noting is the fight between Kelly Miller and Chris Shaffer. Right off of a face-off the two began fighting, and Chris won handily. He did get carried away with a cheap shot punching Kelly in the face after they were separated and done. Shots on goal for the Bucs, 15; 11 for the Flyers.
Third Period
The next goal would be very important, especially if the Flyers scored quickly. Heads-up play by Nick Stodgell broke up a 2 on 1 off of the face-off. The teams than traded 2 on 1 breaks without any scoring. Berenguer was getting a lot of help from the D, Bill Birrenkott breaking up a centering pass on one scary looking play. The Flyers were really putting on the pressure. Time after time Berenguer robbed the shooters to keep the Bucs in the game.
The Bucs seventh goal was the result of hustle by Mark Krueger. Nick Field cleared the puck to Mark who made a perfect pass at the last minute to KC Caudill who was crashing the net and scored. With 4:39 left in the period, Dan Donnette scored the seventh goal with assists to a hard working Jerrid Reinholz and Peter Sejna. With less than a minute to go Clayton Carson and Frank Berenguer were having a friendly conversation that ended with Frank bidding Clayton good-bye by flapping his big goalie glove at him.
As the buc fans counted the time down, Peter Sejna, Peter Fregoe and Michael Chin teamed up for a perfect tic-tac-toe with Chin getting the goal with one second left in the game. The 20 -30 Buc fans that made the trip cheered loudly as the Bucs celebrated on the ice. I was glad that the Bucs won, but the Flyers had played well and I felt sorry for the fans. Shots on goal for the Bucs, 13; 15 for the Flyers.
Written by Steve Bendy
Special teams click, Bucs win 8 - 4
Summary: Thunder Bay, Ontario (11/6/98): The Bucs special teams racked up 2 powerplay and 2 shorthanded goals to beat Thunder Bay 8 to 4 Friday night. The Bucs first two goals where on powerplays. Pete Fregoe scored 2 goals, one of them shorthanded, and an assist. Jerrid Reinholz scored the other shorthanded goal on a perfect pass from Dan Donnette near the end of the first period.
The Bucs led 3 to 1 at the end of the first period, and 7 to 2 at the end of the second. Frank Berenguer faced 24 shots, while the Bucs put 33 shots on goal. Maksimenko (PP) (Larranaga, Reinholz), Sejna (PP) (Fregoe), Reinholz (SH) (Donnette, Birrenkott), Field (Stodgell), Krueger (unassisted), Maksimenko (Krueger, Caudill), Fregoe (SH) (Smrek, Chin) and Fregoe (Larranaga) scored for the Bucs.
Rantings
The trip to Thunder Bay from Des Moines is an interesting one, and if you have never made it, I recommend it highly. This year, we combined our trip up with a stay in Minneapolis to do some Christmas shopping at the Mall Of America (main stop: the Old Navy clothes store) and to take in the art museum. We then drove up to Duluth, which is a couple of hours north of Minneapolis. If you get a chance to stay in Duluth, stay in the Old Canal area, which is right on the lake, next to the DECC (Duluth East Convention Center). There are lots of shops, eating establishments and the maritime museum to take in all within walking distance. Be sure to take the Skyline Road for a great view of Duluth's harbor and the Seven Bridges Road for a scenic view of streams and rock bridges. The drive from Duluth to Thunder Bay skirts Lake Superior and has great scenery; be sure to stop and look at some of the light houses. The drive is well worth it, because it is hockey night tonight!
The game tonight pits the division leading Buccaneers against the Flyers who currently occupy the cellar with a record of 4 and 7. The main problem for Thunder Bay seems to be the inability to score, with only 33 goals scored in 11 games. One area where the Flyers do lead the USHL is in penalties - Aaron Piccinin leads the league with 64 minutes. The Bucs would be without the services of Noah Clarke, Jim Jackson, coach Owens and Trainer Marty Anderegg who are in Finland for the Four Nations tournament.
First Period
The dropping of the puck saw Thunder Bay skating hard and keeping the puck in the Buc zone. Berenguer came up big early and the Buc D finally got things together, allowing the offense to do its work. KC Caudill got the first quality shot when he found himself all alone in front of the net. He waited for the goalie to make his move, and as the D pressed in had to shoot. Cory McEachran had kept the Bucs off of the board - for now. The Flyers almost scored when Jozef Balej and Bryson Busniuk teamed up only to be robbed by Berenguer. In the resulting pileup in front of the net, Aaron Piccinin was called for a penalty. After several shots on goal, Felipe Larranaga passed to Eric Maksimenko who was all alone a few feet in front of the net. Eric got the goalie to move and then slid the puck past him. With 12:48 on the clock, the Bucs had a powerplay goal to make it 1 to 0. An additional assist went to Jerrid Reinholz. The Flyers answered with a powerplay goal of their own 4 minutes later from Patrick Sharp. The Flyers had a 5 on 3, and Patrick got the puck with a wide open net. Berenguer did not have a chance. With 7 minutes left in the period, the Bucs got their second powerplay when Alex Sawruk was hauled down as breaking in on the goalie. Pete Fregoe spotted Peter Sejna on the side of the net, about 10 feet from the goal. The goalie did not expect a pass as the angle seemed to great for a shot. Sejna shot and the score was now 2 to 1 in favor of the Bucs.
With 4 minutes left in the period, the Bucs found themselves down a man. The Bucs, the league leaders with 5 shorthanded goals, got number six when Bill Birrenkott shoved the puck to Dan Donnette who streaked toward the Flyer goal with Jerrid Reinholz. Dan waited until the last minute when the goalie went down and then passed to Jerrid who put the puck in the net. Just a minute earlier, Dan missed a shorthanded break by inches. The Bucs were now leading by 3 to 1. Frank Berenguer had come up with some huge saves, and the Bucs were doing a good job of not letting the Flyers get to any rebounds. Stafford, Stodgell, Birrenkott and Smrek were all doing a great job on defense. Shots on goal, 7 for Des Moines and 10 for Thunder Bay.
Second Period
Frank Berenguer looked good in goal tonight - he was playing with a lot of confidence, and was he ever fiesty! You could see him jawing away, slashing other players with his stick when they got to close, and at one point gave an opposing player the snuggies with his stick. The Flyers werre testing him with rockets from the blue line, Shawn Perring had an especially accurate and hard shot, but he was able to stop them.
With about 3 minutes gone in the period, Nick Stodgell had cleared the puck toNick Field who brought it in over the blue line. He had a D skating backwards in front of him but a clear shot on net. He wound up and "Ding" the puck hit the post halfway up on the glove side and went in to make it 4 to 1.
Kelly Miller almost scored when the D let him skate in on a semi-break, but it was Mark Krueger who would score next. Eric Maksimenko and Mark Krueger skated in on a 2 on 1 break and Krueger got the puck to Maksi who hit the post. The puck just sat there for what seemed like minutes until Krueger slapped it into the net to make it 5 to 1. Thunder Bay was playing very sloppy, seeming to be out of position and passing wildly. Still, these guys could skate and Bryson Busniuk got a breakaway that showed how sharp Berenguer was tonight - he robbed the guy! Aaron Grynol scored Thunder Bay's second goal with 8 minutes left in the period. Frank got a piece of it, but it flipped out of his glove and in.
KC Caudill passed to Mark Krueger who skated up ice with Eric Maksimenko on yet another 2 on 1 break. Krueger shot and the goalie stopped it but left a rebound just out of his reach. Maksimenko buried it to make it 6 to 2. The score would have been 6 to 3 if it were not for a great save by Frank Berenguer. Thunder Bay had a 2 on 1 break and Berenguer slid across the ice to stop the resulting one-timer.
The Bucs got their second shorthanded goal of the night with just 45 seconds left in the period. Michael Chin cleared the puck out of the Buc zone to Peter Smrek who was breaking toward the center line all alone. He spotted Pete Fregoe who was about 10 feet ahead of him and unselfishly passed it. Fregoe skated in and waited for an opening, the goalie had great position and would not budge. Pete actually fired the shot from slightly behind the net and purposely bounced the puck off the back of the goalie to score. The Bucs now lead 7 to 2. Shots on goal, 10 for Des Moines and 6 for Thunder Bay.
Third Period
Thunder Bay opened the third period with 2 goals; one by Patrick Sharp and one by Aaron Grynol. The Bucs had many scoring opportunities during the period, but the new goaltender, Jason Wright, had sparked the Flyers to play a tighter game. Rob Novak, Dan Donnette and Michael Chin were all denied goals by his sharp play.
The Bucs final goal game with 7:20 left in the game. Felipe Larranaga passed to Pete Fregoe who skated past a defender who thought he would pass. He didn't. Instead he skated right in on the surprised goalie and slid it past him to make it 8 to 4.
Frank Berenguer came up with one final mega-save when Clayton Carson came in all alone from the blue line with all the space and time he needed. He deked, but to no avail as the puck was stopped with no rebound! The Bucs had won their 10th game and are locked in a race with Team USA and Green Bay. Shots on goal, 16 for Des Moines (game total of 33) and 8 for Thunder Bay (game total of 24).
Written by Steve Bendy
Clarke's hat trick, 2 short-handed goals lift Bucs
Summary: Fridley, MN (11/1/98): For the second night in a row the Bucs found them selves behind, this time by a 2 - 0 margin at the end of the first period. Tonight, they, or should I say Noah, would put it away in the third period. Noah Clarke scored 2 short-handed goals (in the same shift) to make it 4 to 3. He picked up his hat trick on an empty net goal with just 14 seconds left in the game to make it 6 to 3.
Michael Chin opened the scoring just 30 seconds into the second period, followed by Peter Sejna's goal less than 2 minutes later. Landon Luther had 25 saves while the Buc had 36 shots on goal. Chin (Fregoe, Stodgell), Sejna (Fregoe, Smrek), Clarke (SH) (Chin), Clarke (SH) (unassisted), Chin (Fregoe, Smrek) and Clarke (EN) (unassisted) scored for the Bucs.
Rantings
Only a hockey crazy would take a week of hard earned vacation to drive to the Twin Cities to watch a Buc game, and then take a couple of days to mozy up to Thunder Bay to catch a couple more Buc games. Call me crazy! The Vulcans play north of Minneapolis in the arena where the Mighty Ducks 3 was filmed. As we entered Columbia Arena, it looked like I wasn't the only one with Buc fever - there were so many Buc fans that it looked like a Buc home game! We saw John Searles (Jake's dad), Trevor Grimm, Chris Holt, and many other familiar faces. There were a lot of player's families in the stands, with a large group cheering for Landon Luther. For those of you that have never caught a game here, you are missing a good time.
First Period
Jerrid Reinholz took the face-off and in short order got the first shot on net. For the next 4 minutes both teams skated up and down the ice, neither team getting a shot on goal. The play looked sloppy. Twin Cities took a penalty giving the Buc their first of their two powerplays. They passed the puck around, trying to work it to Chin who was parked in front of the net. The puck never got to Chin, but Peter Smrek did blast one from the blueline, hitting the goalie in the chest. At the end of the powerplay, the Vulcans got a breakaway forcing Luther to come up big. The Bucs came right back with two quality shots on net; but the Bucs looked disorganized in their play.
The Vulcans scored first when Mike Walsh slipped the puck past Luther in a pileup in front of the net. The Bucs came storming back and Nick Stodgily almost tied the game with a shot from the blueline. The Vulcans scored again on a strange looking powerplay. Drew Otten brought the puck into the Buc zone and put on the brakes. The Buc D skated on past and Drew did a 360 degree circle like a compass getting it's bearings, and then let loose a rocket that found the back of the net. The Vulcans now lead 2 to 0, not giving the Buc faithful much to cheer about. The Bucs almost scored when Pete Fregoe and Noah Clarke skated in on a 2 on 1. Pete passed to Noah at the last second and Noah shot only to be robbed by a sliding goalie. Seconds later, Pete picked off a clearing pass and skated in all alone, only to be robbed again. The Bucs were down by two, but the way the teams were playing, I did not get the feeling that we would lose the game. The period ended with the Bucs getting 13 shots while the Vulcans had 8.
Second Period
The puck dropped and the Bucs came out on fire! Noah brought the puck into the Vulcan zone, leaving it for Stodgell. Nick Stodgell passed to Pete Fregoe, who quickly fed Michael Chin who was all alone on the other side of the net. Chin knows what to do when he gets the puck all alone in front of a goalie, and the Bucs had their first goal. After the next face-off, away from the play, Maksimenko got tripped drawing a penalty. On the resulting powerplay, Peter Smrek blasted the puck from the blueline. The goalie stopped it, but Pete Fregoe grabbed the rebound and passed to Peter Sejna. Peter Sejna shot it from what looked to be an impossible angle, surprising the goalie and puckering the twine. The score was not tied at 2 each.
After some back and forth play, the Vulcans picked up the play and got a 2 on 1 break. Jim Jackson went down on the ice to block the shot but Vulcan #21 picked up the puck and got it past Luther to make it 2 to 3. Nick Field showed his puck handling ability as he came right back and danced around a defender to get a shot on net. The Vulcan goalie who was really on his game, robbed him with a great save. At the midway point of the period, the Bucs had 22 shots on goal to only 11 for the Vulcans. Unfortunately, the goalie would not let the puck go in.
In the last couple of minutes, the Bucs got three shorthanded scoring opportunities from Dan Donnette, Jerrid Reinholz and Noah Clarke. Although none related in a goal, you knew it was just a matter of time. Stafford and Sejna also got semi-breaks, but were also robbed. Not to be outdone, Drew Otten got a clean breakaway, deked, got Luther to go down, and than shot the puck into Luther's sprawling body. Eric Maksimenko came right back to try a wrap around that was well covered. The period ended with the Bucs getting 26 shots to 13 for the Vulcans.
Third Period
With 2 minutes gone, Stodgell was called for a penalty that he was not guilty of. Michael Chin picked up the puck and streaked down the ice with Noah Clarke on a two on one shorthanded break. At the last second, he passed to Clarke who put it in the open net. The Bucs had tied the game! The Bucs came right back, putting pressure on the Vulcan goal, despite the fact that they were down a man. Clarke skated in front of the net, holding back a defender with one hand while backhanding the puck past a surprised net-minder. Noah Clarke had scored his second shorthanded goal just 22 seconds after his first! The Bucs had taken the lead for the first time. The Bucs began to take control of the game, getting shot after shot on net. If it were not for the excellent play by the Vulcan netminder, it would have gotten ugly. I began to think we ought to play shorthanded more often! After slight pressure from the Vulcans, Dan Donnette got a shorthanded try, although he was pretty well tied up. After the penalty expired, Vulcan #5 found himself all alone in the Buc zone and skated in on Luther. Luther would not go for his dekes and held his position, forcing a weak shot that had no chance of going in. Luther came up with several more great saves and was looking good. It was wide open hockey, and the Buc faithful were cheering loudly. Then came the B-U-C-S cheers. I suppose the Vulcan fans thought we were crazy.
The Bucs scored again with 6 minutes left in the period, just as a Buc penalty was ending. Peter Smrek had cleared the puck to Pete Fregoe who skated down the ice with Michael Chin on a 2 on 1 break. About 10 feet in front of the net at full speed, Fregoe put the puck on Chin's stick and the puck went up and over the sprawling goalie. The score was now 5 to 3. Michael Chin and a Vulcan went down hard after they were racing for the puck and tripped head first into the boards. Michael was bleeding and in pain and was taken off the ice - let's hope he is OK.
With a minute and a half in the game when both teams were skating four on four due to penalties, Twin Cities called a time out. They talked over their strategy and pulled their goalie. They began to work the puck around and the Bucs were content to tie it up on the boards, rather than dump the puck wildly down the ice. With 14 seconds left, Noah Clarke got the puck and flicked it up and over the players to clear it to center ice. The puck slid down the center of the ice with the Vulcan D in hot pursuit. To everyone's surprise, it slid in the goal! The Bucs had won 6 to 3 and the Buc fans were going crazy. Noah Clarke, who is on his way to Norway for the world junior play, had a hat trick! Total shots for the Bucs, 36; Twin Cities 25.
Written by Steve Bendy
