Rochester wins Buc Bowl
Summary: Des Moines, IA (9/20/98): Weary after their hard-fought win over Omaha last night, the Bucs were not able to put much pressure on Rochester's net, and when they did Marc Ranfranz was there to stop the puck. Rochester won the game 3 - 2.
The Bucs first goal came on a turnover in front of the Rochester net. Noah Clarke grabbed the puck and beat the goalie with a quick shot. Our Slovakian players teamed up for the second goal. On a two-on-one break, Peter Senja fed Peter Smrek with a perfect pass and Smrek one-timed it past Ranfranz. Click here for more HyVee Buc Bowl information.
Clarke (unassisted) and Smrek (pp) (Senja, Fregoe) scored for the Bucs.
Bucs advance to championship
Summary: Des Moines, IA (9/19/98): Despite fog on the ice and cheap play by Omaha, the Bucs advanced to the championship game with a 4 to 3 shoot-out win over Omaha. The fog was so bad that play was stopped several times to let the players skate around and clear the thick soup. Several Lancers were guilty of cheap shots throughout the game and the team was guilty of "delay" tactics. At one point, to prove a point, the linesman dropped the puck without a Lancer in the face-off circle.
During the shoot-out, Maksimenko and Larranaga blasted shots that beat the goalie cleanly and nearly ripped the back of the net off. Peter Sejna took the style approach and faked the goalie out of his jock before lightly tapping the puck in the net. Only one lancer scored in the shoot-out. Matt Carney had 29 saves while the Omaha goalie stopped 26. Click here for more HyVee Buc Bowl information.
Sejna (Fregoe, Reinholz), Jackson (pp) (Fregoe) and Reinholz (Smrek) scored for the Bucs in regulation play. Maksimenko, Larranaga and Sejna scored in the shoot-out.
Bucs still undefeated; Win 9 to 3
Summary: Des Moines, IA (9/18/98): It was warm in the ice arena but the Bucs were even hotter on the ice as they won their 6th game in a row, beating Lincoln 9 to 3. The explosiveness of the Buc offense really showed as they scored goals number 3 and 4 just 19 seconds apart and goals number 7 and 8 just 12 seconds apart. Lincoln, larger physically than the Bucs, attempted to intimidate but were outplayed by the faster, skilled play of the Bucs.
Matt Carney had 18 saves while the Lincoln goalies stopped 38. Click here for more HyVee Buc Bowl information.
Chin (Fregoe, Clarke), Fregoe (Smrek, Senja), Jackson (Chin), Sawruk (Field), Clarke (Smrek, Chin), Fregoe (Maksimenko), Field (unassisted), Stodgell (Maksimenko, Jackson) and Senja (Novak) scored for the Bucs.
Bucs score 10 goals in game 1 of the Buc Bowl
Summary: Des Moines, IA (9/17/98): Pete Fregoe, Noah Clarke and Michael Chin all scored 2 goals and 2 assists in a 10 to 1 win over Dubuque in game 1 of the Buc Bowl. The Bucs had not scored that many goals since the 1996-97 team scored 10 against Sioux City in the Buc Bowl and 10 against Thunder Bay in the regular season. Frank Berenguer had 14 saves while Ron Wiitanen of Dubuque stopped 37. More HyVee Buc Bowl information.
Clarke (Fregoe), Sawruk (Maksimenko, Field), Clarke (pp) (Jackson), Larranaga (unassisted), Chin (Clarke), Reinholz (Sejna, Fregoe), Fregoe (Chin, Clarke), Fregoe (Chin), Chin (unassisted) and Sejna (Donnette, Flynn) scored for the Bucs.
Bucs end pre season undefeated
Summary: Des Moines, IA (9/12/98): For the second night in a row the Buccaneers scored 2 goals within the first 5 minutes and beat Rochester 4 to 2. Kelly Miller had two goals on the night, one on a short handed goal from a perfect pass from Jerrid Reinholz. Matt Carney was in goal and made 18 saves. The Bucs had 29 shots on goal. The Bucs are improving with every game and look for a strong showing in next weeks HyVee Buc Bowl. Games begin this Thursday and are only $1 (good for the whole day) when purchased at a HyVee store. Miller (Krueger, Reinholz), Donnette (Sejna, Caudill), Field (Clarke, Chin) and Miller (sh) (Reinholz) scored for the Bucs.
Sarah's Rant:
Pre game
The night before we had beaten the Mustangs by 4-3. So far we’ve been unbeaten during the pre-season, though we haven’t beaten anybody by a huge margin yet. However the team looks solid enough. Did anybody hear that Springfield beat Omaha? Omaha doesn’t have a home game until October.
Carney was in goal for the first time Saturday. It would be good to see how the red-shirted goalie would do. It would also give the Des Moines fans a chance to see him play. For Rochester, Marc Wise was in goal… all 6’5" of him. The tallest goalie I’ve seen yet. He supposedly played for the Aspen Avalanche last year. I can’t figure this one out though. Didn’t that team fold three years ago? That’s when Erik Strand came to us. If anybody has any clue on this subject please e-mail me!
First Period
Barely a minute into the first period Kelly Miller scored his first goal of the game (assist to Mark Krueger and Jerrid Reinholz). It didn’t take long for Dan Donnette to make the score 2-0 at 3:59 (assist to Peter Sejna and KC Caudill). Dan Donnette had scored Friday night as well. The Bucs had really come out hot and looked great. Mark Krueger got a roughing penalty at 4:52, but the Bucs killed it off without any real trouble from the Mustangs. They had (have) a lousy power play. Rochester scored their first goal at 10:39 from Gilkerson (assist to Markus). The Mustangs did not look threatening though. The last half of the period we had a slew of penalties on both sides. Kelly Miller and KC Caudill among the two buccaneers that were put away. Saves: Buccaneers 6, Mustangs 4.
Second Period
We still had some penalties carrying over into the second period, one for Rochester and Caudill and Miller for us, though Miller had very little time left on his penalty. This period seemed to slow down somewhat and the crowd also quieted down quite a bit. With 12:27 left in the period Nick Field took the puck down into the Rochester zone, completely faked out the goalie with a deke and scored. They gave the goal to Nick Stodgell with an assist to Nick Field and Noah Clarke, but Field definitely got that goal (assists to Clarke and Chin). Halfway through the period during some heavy play Marc Wise’s stick got caught in the side of the boards (between the ice and boards). It was sticking out into the playing area, wobbling up and down in a stupid fashion. Luckily it didn’t injure anybody and Wise retrieved it before long. It didn’t keep it from looking comical though. Then with 10:16 left in the second Mark Krueger was being pushed up against the boards by a Mustang. His face screwed up in a funny look and he turned around on the guy and instantly started pulling his shirt over his still helmeted head. Then Krueger started pulling his helmet off and basically just going at him. Well in turn Krueger got put in the penalty box and the Rochester guy was let loose. The crowd complained loudly at this, but in all respect this guy didn’t do a single thing. After this Rochester changed goalies in favor of Adam Coole. Kelly Miller got his second goal, when Coole was way out of his net, on a one-timer off a perfect pass from Jerrid Reinholz. This goal came at the 11 minute mark exactly. Nate Markus got the Mustangs their second goal at 12:19 (assist to Nate Legler). With two minutes left Sejna and a Mustang landed on the ice together and the helmetless Peter instantly punched him. Both players got penalized for roughing. Saves: Buccaneers 7, Mustangs 13.
Third Period
Nothing tremendously exciting happened in this period. I was getting very tired and the ice was very wet near the middle of the surface. With a few seconds shy of six minutes Matt Carney made tremendous save after tremendous save. After one scramble in front of the net, Carney finally gloved the puck both lines on the ice all started to brawl, even Carney was trying to get into the fray. However he was pulled back by the linesmen and held onto. For Rochester both Nate Legler and Rheese Carlson got roughing penalties, and for us Roach and Flynn. Rochester took a lot of penalties in this last period. Perhaps they were giving up. By that time, the game was practically over. Saves: Buccaneers 5, Mustangs 12. Total Saves: Buccaneers 18, Mustangs 29.
Des Moines 4 - Rochester 2
Bucs make it three in a row with 4 - 3 win
Summary: Rochester, MN (9/11/98): The Buccaneers grabbed a 2 goal lead within the first 5 minutes from veterans Josh Flynn and Dan Donnette and went on to win their third straight pre season contest. It was the first time a returning Buccaneer had scored this season.
Michael Chin continued his point streak, grabbing a point in every pre season game. Frank Berenguer was in goal for the Bucs and faced 26 shots.
Flynn (Novak), Donnette (Smrek, Sejna), Field (Chin, Birrenkott) and Stodgell (unassisted) scored for the Bucs.
Bucs win shoot-out, 5 - 4
Summary: Des Moines, IA (9/5/98): Waterloo came out strong and led for the first two periods, not giving the Buc fans much to cheer about. The Bucs were a different team at the start of the third and scored 3 goals within 6 minutes to take the lead. Waterloo tied the game on a powerplay goal and the resulting overtime was scoreless sending the game into a shoot-out. Des Moines goalie Frank Berenguer allowed only one goal in the shoot-out while 3 of 4 Buc shooters scored.
Miller (unassisted), Novak (Sejna), Chin (Roach) and Caudill (Reinholz) scored for the Bucs in regulation time. Larranaga, Field and Sejna scored in the shoot-out.
Sarah's Rant: Ok, here's the info about the new radio announcer, just in case you don't know for sure. Brad Oistad is his name and he comes from Rochester, Minnesota. He's been announcing there for the last three years for the Mustangs. Eric Anderson went on to announce for the West Coast Hockey League, supposedly in Texas.
Their was some concern about the crowd turnout for the game, since it was labor day weekend. It's the first game they've had on labor day weekend, normally the games would start the weekend after. They roped off the west side of the arena just to make it look fuller. However half the arena ended up being full and it was a good, loud crowd (especially at the end).
Well, coach put Frank Berenguer in again, and it's quite interesting what unfolds later in the game with him. Joe Exter was not in goal for Waterloo this time, instead they started with the goalie that finished the game on Friday night, Mike Walsh.
First Period
The Blackhawks came out aggressive. They had to if they wanted to be able to really dominate the game. They didn't seem to really have the talent to keep up with the Bucs, so physical prowess would have to be their forte. You know, one of my pet peeves is when people yell "center it." It really bothers me. Anyway 5:25 into the period Kelly Miller got his second penalty in as many nights. This one was for holding and it gave the already hard working Blackhawks a power play chance. Not long after this Rob Novak served a bench minor penalty for us. The Hawks had their second chance. With 7:39 left in the period the Hawks did score first. Brian Canady got the goal (assist to Jim Murphy). About six minutes left in the period Frank Berenguer collapsed onto the ice after making a save, sort of falling inward. The play had gone on down towards the blackhawks zone leaving behind the hurting goalie. He desperately tried to slap his stick on the ice looking towards the bench. It took awhile for the ref to realize what was going on, by that time the play had come back down towards Frank. The play was whistled dead and our trainer, Marty, ran to his rescue. He was helped off and Carney went to see how he was doing and then began to stretch in front of the net getting ready to finish the job for Berenguer. Frank had dislocated his shoulder (he supposedly does that often) and it had to be popped back into place. Well, Marty said he'd be back in net for the second period most likely. With 3:48 left in the period the Blackhawks got their second goal from Tom Ogee (assist to Anthony Switek and BJ Stevens). The only way they were able to get goals seemed to be by crashing the net. Jake Tesar got called for holding at 18:47, he took Dan Donnette down. The first period quickly ran out of time and we were failing to get a goal that would give us any momentum. Saves: Blackhawks 12 - Buccaneers 7.
Second Period
Berenguer did go back in goal (f.y.i. the shoulder he hurt was his glove side). Nate Nomeland was next put into goal for the Blackhawks. Kelly Miller took the puck all the way into the zone early in the period and put a shot on net that went right into the pads of Nomeland. However it then came loose and snuck over the goal line for our first goal. (unassisted). Chris Welch made the score 3-1 against us at 13:21 (assist to #13). It was looking pretty pathetic. The ice wasn't looking to great, it was melty and looked like slush. A nice fine mist was beginning to rise from the surface enveloping the players. Saves: Blackhawks 10 - Buccaneers 5
Third Period
The Bucs looked better at the start of the period then they did at the end of the last one. If they had a chance at anything they had to start it now. The Bucs put on continuos pressure at the beginning of the period and didn't really begin to let up. At this rate it didn't take the Bucs long to score. It came from Rob Novak with 18:27 left in the period (assist to Peter Sejna). After this goal right off the face-off Kelly Miller and Brian Knaeble started fighting. I think that perhaps Miller initiated this, he had his helmet, gloves, and jersey off before the other guy even had his helmet off. As a matter of fact he never got his helmet off. As a result Miller was kicked out and the Hawk player just got put away with a fighting penalty and a misconduct. Soon the Bucs thought they had notched themselves another goal (short-handed), but the net was thrown off by the Hawks at the same time and so the goal was called off. The period was really heating up and the crowd was getting wild. Eric Maksimenko was skating towards the net with a Waterloo player holding on to him. He ended up taking Maksi down and was put away for a penalty. This was a great opportunity for us. 5:54 into the period Chin got us yet another goal with an assist to Josh Roach. Then KC Caudill got us a fourth goal not long after this (assist to Jerrid Reinholz). We were completely dominating the period. Waterloo tied the game halfway into the period on their power play (which was because of a little mishap by Berenguer, he came out of the net and checked a player). Waterloo began to dump the puck. It didn't take long for us to go into the five minute overtime.
Overtime
The first five minutes had very little going on, obviously neither team scored since they went on to a shoot-out. It was definitely a goalies period. We went on into the shoot-out and the fans went crazy over that. For the shoot-out we had Maksi, Felipe Larranaga, Nick Field, and Peter Sejna (in that order). The only one that didn't score was Maksi. For Waterloo BJ Stephens, John Grubb, Tom Ogee, and Anthony Switek took the shoot out. Only Grubb scored. Our players had some pretty nice shots to win the shoot-out. All of our new players got into a circle and for their first time as the Buccaneers saluted the rowdy crowd.
Des Moines Buccaneers 5 - Waterloo Blackhawks 4 (Shoot-out)
Bucs look impressive in pre season opener
Summary: Waterloo, IA (9/4/98): The wait is over and the Bucs looked good in their 3 to 1 victory over Waterloo Friday night. The Bucs put 36 shots on goal and the newcomers skated as if they had been Bucs for years. It is obvious that coach Owens has put together a talented team again this year. In goal, Frank Berenguer stopped 19 shots and was robbed of a shut-out when Waterloo scored with just 12.6 seconds left in the game. Chin (Maksimenko), Miller (Stodgell) and Reinholz (Smrek) scored for the Bucs.
Sarah's Rant: There’s been a lot of talk of this new fighting rule. Maybe some rumors, maybe reality. There’s supposed to be a 30-day trial period. I figured that trial would start tonight, but it was hard to tell. One question that has been raised is who the captain is going to be. Well, I’m going to gamble to say that it’ll be Garrett Stafford. Especially since he has seemed to be leading drills in practice and he seems like a good leader figure. Especially with the courage he showed at the final championship game last year.
It was quite a ride up to the game with a terrible back up because of a car fire. That was quite interesting. The one thing I wasn’t to know is just how many people actually brought soap or shampoo? Was there really any truth in that one?
The goalie from California was in goal, Frank Berenguer. The returning Joe Exter was in goal for Waterloo. Nick Krueger, our new assistant coach, was up in the stands somewhere watching the game.
First Period
The game was slow to start since we had to wait for the lights to come back to full power after the anthem. However, once it started the action was a little slow to start. For the first five minutes not much really happened. The Bucs had so far looked good, but the beginning of most seasons are a bit dull. However a dull blade can be sharpened. The Blackhawks looked bladeless. KC Caudill, supposed to be a real hot shot, did look good. He was fast and had good stick handling. He was also quite tall…an asset for any player. At 4:49 Maksimenko got a shot off on the goalie, the puck trickled behind him and Chin who was sitting there with an open net shoved it in. So Michael Chin got the goal (assist to Maksimenko). We had our goal with only five shots on goal. Waterloo still had yet to get one. I’ve been a bit unsure of our goalie status, since neither are returning goalies. It always helps to have one veteran in net. But Berenguer seemed to be proving himself very well. Then with 14:09 on the clock Kelly Miller got us our second goal (assist to Nick Stodgell). Alex Sawruk and #44 for Waterloo were both put away for roughing coincidental’s at 12:52. The announcer couldn’t even pronounce Sawruk’s name. He sat there trying to figure it out. With 6:46 left in the period Garrett Stafford was put in the doghouse for holding. The Waterloo fans loved this; after all they had little to cheer for so far, not that it stopped them from making plenty of noise anyway. Not long after this the play had to be stopped because the puck flew into the linesman's nose and caused a bloody mess. He had to be taken off and play resumed with two officials. With the end of the period the score was 2-0 in our favor. The entire team (ours of course!) went to congratulate Frank.
Second Period
Josh Flynn went in the box for tripping at 3:21. The Hawks had another power play but whether they’d make good use of it or not was a different story. They were still poorly behind in shots on goal; they’d have to add some more if they wanted a chance. With 15:26 left there was a stoppage of play because Billy Birrenkott got into a bit of a scuffle. A little before this time Peter Sejna (one of our Slovakian players) lost his helmet and kept playing like nothing was wrong. The coach and team were trying to get his attention and wave him off the ice. He didn’t know about the "you can't play without a helmet" rule. It reminds me of the time a few years back when we played the German Jr. team and one of the players lost his helmet and went on to touch the puck. The team got penalized and they put up a big fuss because they obviously didn’t know the rule. Jerrid Reinholz got the third, and what would be the last goal of the Buccaneers (assist to Peter Sejna). With just two minutes or so left, Noah Clarke was down on the ice after getting cross-checked by #9. Clarke got up before long, even if he was a little slow. KC Caudill and their #3 got into a fight with just 18 seconds left. Unfortunately Caudill lost that fight, but afterwards they gave one another a high-five. The two got ejected for fighting, so obviously this new fighting rule is not in effect yet.
Third Period
We still had just 3 goals, but the Blackhawks had…nothing! Waterloo switched goalies, Walsh was now in goal. They were trailing miserably in shots on goal. I thought the Blackhawks seemed to be improving some since the first period, although they had only 13 shots on goal to our 30. With 5 minutes left in the period, Ian Sgambelluri and Alex Sawruk had stopped playing and were facing each other talking quite a bit. They ended up midway between the two benches before they threw their gloves and started fighting. I really don’t think either of them won that one and they were both kicked out. After that my mind started to wander, I had a headache and a hurting side. I got jabbed in the gut playing roller hockey. So it was just getting hard to concentrate anymore on the play. With 12.6 seconds left the crowd erupted because they had finally gotten themselves a goal. It only took them twenty shots to get a goal. #24 got the goal with an assist to 9.
After thoughts
Ok, I just want to talk about this new fighting rule a little bit. There have been plenty of people who have thought it a bad rule. I want to talk about my view of it. I think it’s a good thing. The new rule will be more in line with professional hockey. I don’t think it will change the faces of the boys anymore then normal. You can get your face screwed up without even fighting. Rachelle in the guest book had written that if this fighting rule was now going to be the standard there should also be a rule that makes the players wear full face masks. That idea I don’t think is a good one either. I know that many of the players in college complain about the face mask rule and would love to change it. It’s the player's choice to decide to wear a face mask or not. If they want to scar up their face, that is their decision. No doubt they would be proud of those scars (as I know many are). This rule gives the players a chance to fight yet still play. If you will, a second chance. Well…those are my thoughts on this subject…enough for now!
Des Moines Buccaneers 3 - Waterloo Blackhawks 1
