Des Moines, IA (2/4/00): The Bucs ended a 2 game losing streak in a convincing manner by beating Thunder Bay 9-1. Wade Chiodo scored a minute and a half into the second period to give the Bucs a 2-1 lead, and never looked back. The hard working Bucs seemed to have a 40 minute powerplay as they scored 3 goals in the second period and 5 in the third. Paul Baumgartner got his first goal of the season and Jeff Ronkoske saw his first action in goal. Sejna (unassisted), Chiodo (PP) (Kim, Lane), Novak (PP) (Kim, Durak), Riddle (Sejna), Riddle (unassisted), Novak (Kim), Mullen (Weber), Baumgartner (Chiodo, Weber) and Bennett (PP) (Novak) scored for the Bucs. Mantua and Ronkoske were in goal.

Pre Game

Though Mantua would get the start for the game, Jeff Ronkoske was being put in for the back-up. The fans loved this. The end result of this game was to be quite different then the past couple weeks had been. It would seem that the Bucs were back.

First

The Bucs found themselves down 1-0 not long into the period. However Peter Sejna didn't take long to tie up the game (unassisted). Thunder Bay's goalie, Gallant, really did a wonderful job throughout the game. Because when the Bucs started playing he managed to hold the puck in place. He reminded me of my cat pouncing on anything that moves. However in the second period nothing would stop the Bucs. Not even a good goalie. Saves for Mantua 8 and for Gallant 13.

Second

The second period heated up big time. Chiodo started the second period scoring (assists to Alex Kim and Jesse Lane) at 1:38. Finally they were playing like a team. Novak at 4:05 got the Bucs third goal (assist to Kim and Miroslav Durak). Troy Riddle in this period had several shifts that were simply amazing. I don't know if I'd ever really noticed him work so hard before. That's not to say that he hasn't worked that hard, simply that I may have never paid attention before.

Among this period we would have times where we had several shots on net, but Gallant would stop them. Though the competition was a little lax, the Bucs were solid. After working very hard for it, Riddle pushed the puck into the net at 1:59 with a big hand from Sejna. This would be the last goal of the second period, but certainly not the last goal of the game. Saves for Des Moines 8 and for Gallant 17.

Third

Riddle scored his second goal at 4:38 when he rushed in, skated around several players and scored unassisted. Then at 5:49 Novak got his second goal as well (assist to Kim). For all those people putting Alex Kim down take a look at the three assists. Here's a guy who not only has talent, but is truly a great person. I frankly get sick of all the crap he gets. As soon as his interview gets typed up then you can hear what he has to say for himself (I just had to get my own 2 cents in there).

After Novaks goal the Flyers changed up their goalies in favor of Ritson. Ritson was baptized by Mullen not long after that at 6:45 (assist to Weber). Torretti and Greaves threw off their unneeded apparel at 7:17 to face off one another for a fight. They circled a few times before lacing into one another. Both players were wrestled away from one another before they even managed to make it onto the ice.

With about 9 minutes left Baumgartner got his first goal as a Buc and also the Bucs eight goal (assist to Chiodo and Weber). After this we also changed goalies. Mantua came out to the Bucs logo on the ice and valiantly slapped his stick on the ice cheering on Ronkoske as he left the bench and his other teammates to take his place in front of the net. Many fans stood and cheered along with the team as finally Jeff Ronkoske was being put in for a regular season game. Though he looked nervous his team and fans were completely behind him.

Our final goal came at 18:12 on a power play from Ryan Bennett (assist to Novak). We had gotten nine goals and beat Thunder Bay by an eight goal margin, racked up 49 shots, had been able to finally watch Ronkoske play (Larranaga gave Jeff the puck at the end of the game), and improved our record to 25-13-1. Saves for Mantua 3 - Ronkoske 3, and for Gallant 1 - Ritson 9. Total Saves: Des Moines 22 - Thunder Bay 40. Written by Sarah Bendy.

I am sure many of you have already discovered the new Guest Book, Vote Caster, Free-for-all Links, Chat room and E-mail form. The last I looked at the voting, the Omaha Lancers were well in the lead over their nearest rivals, Lincoln and Green Bay for the dubious title of "the team we most love to hate". I was a little surprised as I thought Sioux City would rank much higher. It could be that the brawl in Sioux City was so long ago that many fans have never heard that even happened. I was also surprised that Rochester has not had one vote yet. Doesn't anyone remember the 2 line brawl a couple of years ago? Still, the Lancers more than deserve to be our number one vote getter. I do feel a tad of sympathy for them, having never won a national championship.

First Period

You may have read in Sarah's last rant how the team had decided to focus their efforts on playing 60 minutes of solid hockey. It seemed to have worked Friday night as they blasted Thunder Bay 9-1. I wondered if they would be able to keep it up against Fargo. When the puck was dropped the Bucs got to work at once. They were crashing the net and the first 20 minutes looked like a powerplay for the Bucs. I sit on the south end of the ice and my neck got a cramp because the play was in the Fargo end all period. Ferguson, the Ice Shark goalie robbed the Buc shooters time after time.

Five minutes into the period O'Leary skated across the blue line and it looked like the Buc defense had him tied up. He broke through and put it upstairs to beat Morrissey. The Bucs came back with even more pressure and Ferguson was all over the ice stopping every shot. The Ice Sharks were doing a lot of hooking and grabbing but the Bucs fought on. Unfortunately, they were not able to score. Saves for the period, Des Moines: 6, Fargo: 11.

Second Period

After the first couple of minutes, it was obvious that the Ice Sharks had stepped up their game. The Bucs were not able to control the play like they did the first period. This, coupled with the fact that the crowd was totally out of the game made things look bad for the Bucs. The place was quieter than AKSARBEN when we are beating Omaha. Five minutes into the period the Ice Sharks got their only powerplay of the night and made the best of it. The Bucs were called for too many men on the ice. At first it looked as if the Bucs were going to kill it off as they were being very aggressive. Peter Sejna nearly got a break away. One minute into the penalty, Schlipp scored on a tough angle shot that caught everyone off guard. The Ice Sharks were up by two goals.

Paul Baumgartner nearly got his second goal of the year when he pinched in to slam a rebound that went just wide of the net. The Bucs nearly scored on a powerplay - or should I say, they did score but it was waved off. The Bucs were putting on a lot of pressure and Alex Kim just missed as his shot went wide. The puck was centered and a shot taken. Ferguson laid on the puck, the whistle blew, and the puck continued into the net. The replay on the big screen showed that it should have been a goal. With 5 minutes left Ryan Bennett took a perfect pass and slammed the puck too high. He had Ferguson down on the ice and it would have been a goal. The Bucs just could not get a break. The period ended with 14 saves for Fargo and 5 for Des Moines.

Third Period

The first couple of minutes saw both teams skate up and down the ice getting shots on net... this was good news for the Bucs as sooner or later we would score in this type of game. With 4 minutes gone in the period, Wade Chiodo scored and brought the crowd to their feet. The assists went to Jesse Lane and Landon Bathe. The crowd was on their feet and it was loud. The Bucs continued the pressure and 46 seconds later the red light was on again. Paul Baumgartner passed to Peter Sejna who broke it out and hit Troy Riddle with a perfect pass. Troy put on the afterburner and rocketed in all alone. He wound-up in the middle of the face-off circle and nearly ripped the twine off the back of the net.

The Bucs continued with pressure and it seemed to be just a matter of time before we scored again. Fargo responded by playing an even more physical game. The winning goal came with 4 minutes remaining in the game. Fargo had it in the Buc zone and had the Bucs disorganized. A Fargo defenseman took a monster slap shot and Nathan Berry went down to block the shot. The shot bounced off Nathan and Peter Sejna picked up the puck and raced toward the Fargo goal on a 2 on 1 break. Peter passed at the last second, only to have the puck bounce off the defenseman back onto his stick. Peter shot and the Bucs took a 3-2 lead. Fargo pulled their goalie in an effort to tie the game but the Bucs were able to protect Morrissey from a serious scoring threat. Morrissey ended up with 21 saves, Ferguson had 34. Written by Steve Bendy.

If I had to use two words to describe the game tonight it would be penalty kill. And after that I think it would have to be excellent. The boys played well and with heart and can I say goaltending? That certainly can't be forgotten since we have seen good solid goaltending for both games so far this weekend. From Mantua obviously, who has been so in tune with the game that I'm surprised Lincoln was ever able to score, to Russell who also was solid. Though I think Russell might have lost his cool tonight after letting in five goals...

Now is the time when standings become so important. You watch other key teams and count their losses as a good thing. Tonight with the loss Omaha received via the Sioux Fall's Stampede the night went from good to better. It seemed that even with 3-time Goalie of the Month, Dan Ellis, Omaha could not pull it off for the second night in a row... especially since he watched the game from the bench. So now we're five points behind Omaha in the standings and improved our record to 42-27-13 with 56 points...

Tomorrow night we'll play Twin Cities, which has been hard for us in the past. Hopefully it won't be one of those teams like we had when we couldn't seem to beat Lincoln no matter what. We have an added advantage of Omaha and Team USA not playing tomorrow, though Lincoln will play Dubuque. Hopefully Russell will not have recovered after tonight, that is if he is put in goal....

First Period Ravings...

The period started off with power play opportunities for us, but though we had a couple we couldn't make use of them. However in the grand scheme of things, I think it mattered very little. The penalties shifted the other way at 7:16 when Baumgartner got a holding call. Unfortunately Larranaga got called for slashing and Lincoln was getting a 2-man advantage for 1:42. I think this is when the Bucs really started to shoot down the Stars and dominate the game.

Riddle scored the first goal at 16:38 (assist to Reinholz and Sejna), he had Russell flat on his back and completely deeked out. It was just the first of five beautiful goals. Saves for Mantua 7 and for Russell 12.

Second Period Thoughts...

A the beginning of the second period the USHL scores were announced, Omaha was losing...was it coincidence that the Bucs came right out and scored twice after this? Starting where the first left off, Mullen got a goal right over Russell at 1:17 (assist to Weber and Chiodo). Then at 2:08 Bennett, waited and waited and snuck the puck around Russell's legs (assist to Kim and Novak). Action was definitely prevelent in the first three minutes, because next Alex Kim and a Stars player (I wasn't paying enough attention to the Lincoln player to make note, such a bad girl) threw off helmet's and gloves before play even began. That was a pretty fun fight, because even with two officials between them Kim still got a few punches in. Finally seperated far enough so no more pysical contact could slow down the game, the two were escorted to the bench with fighting penalties. You may be able to stop the punches, but it didn't stop the talk!

Andy Lundbohm got Lincoln a goal at 2:41 looking like they had caught Mantua completely offguard. But Kim was by no means done for the evening. He got a slapshot goal from the blue line at 10:52 (assist to Bennett and Riddle). It was after this goal that Lincoln seemed to fall apart. The Bucs played so well that they just left Lincoln behin. Kirschhoff played amazingly well, moving the puck around and it was a shame that he didn't get a goal after his hard work. Mullen, Kim, and Riddle also played hard and contributed greatly. I certainly missed other players in talking about who worked hard, because the whole team tonight really stepped it up a few notches.

Can't forget Mantua, who came up big and stopped some very important shots to shut down Lincoln. Unfortunately at 18:35 Mantua would let in just one more goal for the game when Lincoln rushed the puck down and scored. The period ended with a 4-2 score. Saves for Mantua 13 and Russell 9.

Third, Mudslinging...

At 7:10 Sejna got the fifth and final goal adding yet another point to his huge point total (assist to Reinholz and Riddle). We had to kill off yet another 2-man advantage at 16:44. Mantua cleared the puck but it went into the bench. The darling little ref thought it warranted a delay of game call. Having a Buc already in trouble Lincoln had the 5 on 3 for 1:27. I still think that was a bad call.

So the clock ticked down and the fans were loud. The Stars fans were quiet, and even though they started out loud, cheering "stars" during the anthem...they hadn't much to cheer about later. As the Omaha score was announced the fans went crazy as usual, this time with the added gusto of the Lincoln folks. The win was a big one and so far the weekend has boded well, even though we lost last night. However with the way the Bucs played Friday night I can find nothing to complain about even through the loss...and yes, this is real USHL hockey. Saves for Mantua 9 and for Lincoln 7. Written by Sarah Bendy.

Pre Game

The Bucs made the long trip to Ann Arbor to play two games against the very tough USA National team. USA and Omaha are tied for lead in the USHL standings. Both games are crucial for the Bucs as they battle for every point they can get in the race for the Anderson Cup. I also need to say that Marc Magliarditti, Jamie Adams and Erik Strand are coming to the 20th anniversary reunion. Russ Lettington has more names to give me, and as soon as I get them I will let you know.

First Period

The Bucs took the ice and got off to a good start as they put pressure on the net early. Mark Mullen got the first shot on goal, and it was a good one. Bonk slid across and stopped it in the nick of time. Team USA wasn't about to be outdone as they came right back to test Mantua. Mike handled the difficult shot well and it seemed both teams came to play.

At 7:10, Nick DiMella was taken down and the Bucs got their first powerplay. Alex Kim, Jerrid Reinholz, Troy Riddle, Peter Sejna and Matt Weber set the powerplay up and began moving the puck around. Team USA was reacting to the passes and as a result Peter Sejna was left all alone. Peter Sejna, who has a point in every game since December, slapped the puck in off of a great feed from Alex Kim. The Bucs had a 1-0 lead on a powerplay goal. Team USA nearly tied it up a minute later on a breakaway, but Mike Mantua said "No Way!"

The play was fast and furious and with 4 minutes remaining Justin Mizer scored for Team USA to tie it at one goal each. Both teams were getting excellent scoring opportunities, and I need to mention just how good the DiMella, Bathe and Kirchhoff line was doing.

The Bucs came right back as Jerrid Reinholz put it on the stick of Troy Riddle who had a full head of steam. He blew by the startled defenseman, wound up and blasted it past Bonk to make it 2-1. Peter Sejna also got an assist on the play. Team USA came back and a minute later scored on a great back-hand shot from RJ Umburger. With one minute left in the period, the Bucs were called for a penalty and would be down a man for the rest of the period. The Bucs ran the clock down and the period ended with 10 saves for Mantua and 7 saves for Bonk.

Second Period

The Bucs began the period with a minute left to kill on the penalty, and they did that without much problem. Both teams seemed to be playing a more conservative game, and as a result their were few shots on goal. The Bucs went on their second powerplay of the night with only two minutes gone in the period. The Bucs did a great job passing it around, but Team USA picked off a pass and got a 2 on 1 break. Alex Kim did a great job playing defense on the break, but it Mantua did not even have to stop the shot as it went wide.

After the penalty was killed off, Ryan Bennett and Ryan Kirchhoff got a 2 on 1 break. The lone USA defenseman went down on the ice to break up the pass to stop the scoring threat.

The play began to heat up as both teams decided to skate. Team USA put several minutes of consistent pressure as Mike Mantua was forced to come up with save after save to keep the score tied. Finally, Felipe Larranaga skated into the USA zone and passed to Wade Chiodo who almost scored. It had been several minutes since they had a shot on goal.

Team USA got their second powerplay 11 minutes into the period, and the Bucs put on a good penalty kill. Rob Novak always seems to do a good job pestering the forwards. The Bucs killed off the penalty, but had the puck bounced in USA's favor, it would have been different. In fact, that is how I would summarize the whole period. With 5 minutes left in the period, the Bucs got another powerplay. With 40 seconds gone in the powerplay, Team USA took a high-sticking penalty and the Bucs had a rare 5 on 3. The Bucs wasted no time as Reinholz and Kim took shots early. Bonk stopped both shots and froze the puck. The Bucs continued to play well, but Team USA killed off both penalties.

The Bucs continued to play well after the penalty was killed off and finally the Bucs were taking the momentum away from USA. Jesse Lane nearly scored as did Peter Sejna. Mark Murphy was playing all out causing lots of confusion among the defense. The Bucs were really putting the pressure on, and USA did not get one shot on Mantua the rest of the period. Total saves for the period for Mantua 9, Bonk 8.

Third Period

The Bucs got 7 of their 8 shots in the last 5 minutes of the period, and I hoped the momentum would carry forward. It didn't take long to find out as the Bucs continued their pressure on USA. Jerrid Reinholz and Troy Riddle both nearly scored and as a result USA took a penalty. The Bucs were on their fifth powerplay. Despite great pressure and shots on goal, the Bucs were unable to score.

The Bucs continued to play well and kept the play in the USA zone. Alex Kim got a breakaway and was hauled down from behind, and plowed into Bonk. Kim was called for a penalty, which did not make sense to me as Alex was the one that was hauled down. In any case, Team USA got a powerplay out of the deal. The Bucs did a great job of clearing the puck and keeping USA from setting up and putting pressure on. Felipe Larranage did a good job and had been playing well all night. The Bucs killed it off and then Chiodo and Murphy came back with a great scoring chance. There was a pile-up in front of the net and as a result, the Bucs were awarded a penalty shot. Peter Sejna took the shot and Bonk was able to stop it. Not many goalies can do that. We were mid-way through the period. Play continued and the Bucs resumed their blistering attack. All of a sudden, Reinholz and Bassett dropped their gloves and went at it. Although Bassett is much bigger physically, Reinholz made him pay.

The Bucs were called for a penalty, but they were able to kill it off easily. With 5 minutes to go in the game the Bucs were called for another penalty. The Bucs again did a great job killing it off, although this time Mike Mantua was forced to come up with a big save on a slap shot. Troy Riddle had a short-handed breakaway but Bonk stopped him cold.

The last 4 minutes were fast and furious as both teams were really playing great offense and defense. Both goalies were on their game and caught some breaks as a Team USA shot went wide and a Buc shot clanked off the pipe. With 7 seconds left in the game Team USA had a face off in the Buc zone. A time-out was not called and USA got a quick shot off but Mantua was able to stop it. With 2 seconds left, Team USA called a time-out. Team USA pulled their goalie for an extra attacker, but it did not matter as Reinholz won the face-off to send the game into overtime.

Overtime

The Bucs controlled the face-off and began to put pressure on goal, but could not get a shot on Bonk. Felipe Larranga and Miroslav Durak were playing great defense as they protected Mantua from shots. The play was fast and furious, but it seemed as the clock ticked down the Bucs were getting better chances. With 55 seconds left in the game the dynamic duo teamed up to win it for the Bucs! Peter Sejna scored with the assist going to Jerrid Reinholz. The Bucs had picked up 2 points for the win and handed Team USA their second loss this year in their own barn. Written by Steve Bendy.

All lines contributed in the win as the Bucs came from behind to win the game on Mark Mullen's shot with just 5 minutes left in the game. Rather than go into a defensive shell, the Bucs continued their pressure not allowing Team USA to get it out of their own zone in the last minute and a half.

Riddle (PP) (Sejna, Kim), Kim (Mullen, Chiodo), Chiodo (Mullen, Weber), Reinholz (Riddle, Sejna) and Mullen (Chiodo) scored for the Bucs. Morrissey was in goal.

Pre Game

The Bucs got a lot of help in the Anderson Cup race as both Lincoln and Green Bay were both defeated. Every point is crucial as the race is very tight, especially in the west division where Omaha, Lincoln, Des Moines and Sioux Falls are all within several points of each other.

First Period

Wade Chiodo got the first shot on goal just 15 seconds into the period and as the puck was being cleared, Team USA was called for a slash, giving the Bucs a powerplay just 32 seconds into the period. Felipe Larranaga got a slap shot off, but Nick Pannoni stopped it. After the puck was cleared to the Buc zone, Alex Kim skated the puck out and got it to Peter Sejna. Peter saw that Riddle was open, and Troy Riddle buried it to give the Bucs a 1-0 lead on the powerplay. The lead did not last long as the US National team's Packard scored on a powerplay at 3:19. The coach was arguing that it was played with a high-stick (which it was), but the protest was to no avail. The score was now tied, 1-1.

Both teams settled down a bit as the concentrated on their defensive play. At 8:44, Rob Globke took a great centering pass and scored to take a 2-1 lead. The Bucs came right back and Peter Sejna hit the pipe on a great tough-angle shot. Less than a minute later, the Bucs were back on the powerplay. Wade Chiodo, who had been playing well all night, got a quality scoring chance early in the powerplay. Halfway through the powerplay the Bucs were called for hooking, so that ended the Bucs powerplay chance. In the resulting 1 minute powerplay for Team USA, Morrisey had to come up big once, but was scored on at 12:46 to put the Bucs behind by 2 goals. The momentum was with Team USA, although Chiodo and Weber teamed up to get a scoring chance. At 14:59, Alex Kim shocked Team USA when he skated end-to-end and scored on an outstanding personal effort to make it 2-3. Mark Mullen and Wade Chiodo got assists on the goal. The goal by Kim sparked the Bucs as they put the pressure on which resulted in another Buc powerplay. The Bucs were unable to score, but the Bucs were playing crisp, smart hockey. With 40 seconds remaining in the period, Troy Riddle was checked from behind giving the Bucs another powerplay. Like last night, Team USA seemed to be targeting Riddle. Saves for Morrisey 9, Pannoni 8.

Second Period

The Bucs had a minute left on the powerplay, but were unable to score and both teams continued playing all-out. The Buc defensive core of Berry, Baumgartner, Durak , Lane and Larranaga did not allow a shot on Morrissey for the first 3 and a half minutes. The Bucs got another powerplay with only 4 minutes gone in the period, but they killed it off without much problem. A minute later the Bucs were called for a penalty, which was not good as Team USA had already scored 2 powerplay goals tonight. The Bucs killed it off, and it wasn't long before the Bucs had another powerplay. The Bucs got great pressure on the net and actually had a goal waved off as the ref said the net was knocked off before the goal went in. The powerplay was killed off, but the Bucs got their seventh powerplay at 12:46 on a tripping call. On the powerplay, the Bucs did well again and Matt Weber, Troy Riddle, Jerrid Reinholz and Peter Sejna all were robbed on great shots, but it was Globke that scored on a breakaway to make it 4-2 in favor of Team USA.

With 4:20 left in the period, the Bucs went down a man and were forced to kill off a penalty, which they did. Several minutes later, Durak and Umberger dropped the gloves, but it wasn't much of a fight as both just wrestled a bit then fell to the ice.

With 1:29 left in the period, Wade Chiodo took a shot that caught Pannoni by surprise and scored to make it 3-4. Mark Mullen and Matt Weber assisted Wade's goal. For the rest of the period the Bucs put on pressure as Rob Novak and Ryan Bennett were working hard for a goal. The period ended with 7 saves for Morrissey and 14 saves for Pannoni.

Third Period

The Bucs came out on fire as Peter Sejna had a shot go a couple of inches too high or it would have been a goal. Thirty two seconds into the period Jerrid Reinholz put it into the net to tie the game, 4-4. Troy Riddle and Peter Sejna got the assists. The Bucs continued to put on pressure as Jesse Lane and Wade Chiodo had quality shots on goal. I know I have not mentioned some players in this rant yet, but every line was playing well and contributing to the effort. The pressure led to another Buc powerplay, and if Pannoni was not having an excellent game, the Bucs would have quite a lead. The Bucs could easily of had a 5 on 3, but the ref was cutting Team USA a break. The penalty was killed off, but the Bucs did a good job putting pressure on the net.

For the next 5 minutes, it was almost all Bucs. Team USA had a few opportunities during this time, but Morrissey was playing well and did not give them a second chance. The Bucs had yet another powerplay (number 9) and I do not know how Team USA kept it out of the net as the Bucs put tremendous pressure on the net. With 5 minutes left in the game Mark Mullen put it in the net to give the Bucs a 5-4 lead. Mark had been working hard all night and it was his third point on the night. The assist went to Wade Chiodo. Team USA came back and Morrissey made a fantastic save to keep the Bucs in the lead. The Bucs did not go into a preventive shell, but kept the pressure and did not allow Team USA to pull the goalie. With 35 seconds left in the period, Troy Riddle nearly scored and the Bucs were really taking it to Team USA. Team USA did not pull the goalie or call a time out and the Bucs had won the game and taken two wins on Team USA's ice! Written by Steve Bendy.

Pre Game

The Bucs swept the USA Under 18 team, winning 2 crucial road games. If the Bucs could shake off the fatigue caused by the games and the long bus trip Rochester would be our next win. The team bus rolled up to the ice arena just 2 hours before game time. The crowd arrived late, but once the puck was dropped, there were not many empty seats. Mark Mullen got to start, and he deserved it after his play in the last two games. In fact, it seems like the entire team has really jelled and every line is a threat. Also, the defense has really matured and they are really taking care of the puck in their end.

First Period

If the Bucs were tired, they did not show it as they came out skating hard. The Buc offensive pressure kept the puck out of the Buc zone and 5 minutes into the period Rochester had not even gotten a shot on goal. At times it looked as if the Bucs had a powerplay as they controlled the play. Unfortunately, the Rochester defense was bending and not breaking. They would keep the puck tied up and block most of the shots before they got to Coole. When a shot did get through, Adam Coole was in the right place at the right time.

When Rochester did put pressure on the net, they did get quality shots on Mantua. Mike Mantua made some unbelievable saves near the end of the period to keep the score knotted at a scoreless tie. The period ended with 9 saves for Mantua and 8 for Coole.

Second Period

The Bucs continued where they left off, only this time the shots were getting through. It was Rochester that scored first just 5 minutes into the period. The goal came on what looked like an innocent play but a scramble in front of the net developed and a Mustang ended up with the puck all alone in front of the net.

The goal caused the Bucs to increase the intensity and Ryan Kirchhoff, Peter Sejna, Troy Riddle and Alex Kim nearly scored, but the Bucs were just not getting the breaks. You could see the frustration in their faces.

The Bucs first goal came 4 minutes later, just after Rochester had killed off a Buc powerplay. Ryan Bennett had worked the puck up to Wade Chiodo. Alex Kim skated in front of the net just a couple of feet in front of the goalie. Coole tried to poke the puck away and / or trip Kim. He did trip him, but as Kim was falling he shot it past Coole to tie the score. Alex has really been playing well, and it has been paying off in points! The Bucs came right back and Nick DiMella was robbed as his shot left the puck spinning on its edge, inches from the goal line. Coole saw it and pounced on it to force a face off.

Troy Riddle got a breakaway midway through the period, as he fought off several Mustangs who were hooking and grabbing to try to prevent it. Troy just missed, but man, does he have the speed. The Bucs had many more scoring opportunities, but the puck just would not go in.

Rochester had better luck as they scored with 2 and a half minutes left in the period on a broken play. The goal energized Rochester and they got several of their 9 shots in the last two minutes. If Mantua had not been playing so well the Bucs would hae been behind by more. Saves in the period, 14 for Coole, 7 for Mantua.

Third Period

As the Mustangs took the ice, Adam Coole tripped and fell bringing a cheer from the crowd. The Bucs looked tired as they came out of the locker room, but it was a full 4 minutes before Rochester could even get the puck in the Buc zone. When they finally did, it was almost as goal, but Mantua got enough of it to keep it out of the net.

The Bucs were playing hard and getting quite a few shots on goal, but the shots that got through were easily stopped. The Mustang defense was really clutching and grabbing, keeping the Bucs from scoring. Maxwell announced that Omaha had lost, and the crowd went crazy.

As the clock ticked down it looked like we were going to have to mark this one off as a loss. But the Bucs kept digging. With 1:38 left in the period, Miroslav Durak gave it to Ryan Kirchhoff, who skated in front of Coole and back-handed in the net to tie the game. The crowd went crazy and it looked like we were headed into overtime. The Bucs must not have wanted to play the extra 5 minutes of overtime, because with just 22 seconds on the clock Peter Sejna scored to give the Bucs a 3-2 lead. Assists went to Jesse Lane and Troy Riddle. The crowd went crazy and the Mustangs called a time-out. As they took the ice for the last 22 seconds, Coole stayed on the bench in favor of an extra attacker. The Bucs won the face off and dumped it into the Mustang zone. The Mustangs tried to mount an attack but were having trouble as the Bucs attacked the puck. Felipe Larranaga stole the puck and got it to Mark Mullen who passed it to Wade Chiodo. Wade shot it from the blue-line and scored with just 5 seconds left. The Bucs had pulled off a miraculous come from behind victory, and I do not know who was more excited - the team or the crowd. Written by Steve Bendy.

The First Period started slowly and though neither team seemed very aggressive and both were tired, it seemed that if there was a slight tilt in any direction that perhaps it was in the Stampede direction. Which really after the weekend would be no big surprise. Though I'm not thrilled with the losing streak we are currently suffering, by no means am I depressed or am I disappointed. After last weekend and Omaha's current losing streak, it's hard not to feel a little comfortable with our position. However there's still Lincoln and Green Bay to worry about. Still one hopes that their team will win at least one game in a three game weekend, with luck we could at least pull away with a win in the final game. When the Stampede scored taking the lead at 12:35, it wasn't a big surprise... after all Sioux Falls was outshooting almost by a full 10 shots (we having an amazing shot total of 0). Nick Dimella and Dustin Lick up and fought right in Mantua's crease in the first period, for someone who isn't supposed to be much of a fighter, Dimella does very well! Des Moines was out shot 12-5.

It was no surprise, in the Second Period, that at 3:35 Sioux Falls scored a second goal. It was really no surprise either when Des Moines seemed to dig a deeper hole for themselves and slowly lose time that they could use to gain something. The game was tiring, almost boring. I think that the first intermission saw more action then the game itself. I can't imagine either team was terribly happy with the progress that was being made, though perhaps the Stampede's Coach Motzko was a little happier then Coach Carroll. It seemed that for the game tonight only Dimella did anything, because at 14:19 he scored his first goal of the season and the first goal of the game (Larranaga). In the second period saves had evened up somewhat and the Bucs had 11 with the Stampede having 12

It's really unfortunate when you begin to look at the loses of other teams (Team USA) for good news! The Third Period was going this way though, when you just had to hope for the best possible outcome, even if it didn't exactly go your way. Mantua had made some good saves in the third and the fans really got upset by this, only because in the process they thought their team had got a goal. The light had gone on, but it looked as though it had hit a pipe and was waived off. We were only trailing by one, it wouldn't be hard to tie it up. I was beginning to get very bored with the game, I hate to be swayed so easily, but... there it is! I was woken up from my own Sunday lethargy when Mantua was pulled and with only 33 seconds left Chiodo scored the tying goal (Sejna, Riddle).

We went into Overtime tied at 2. Our OT record is really pretty good, losing to Lincoln in the long shoot-out, but for the most part always coming out on top. So the chances looked good for us and afterall it was the Bucs who had the confidence boosting goal with less then a minute left in the game. Though it's rare to have a penalty called in OT, Sejna got put away at 3:14 for hooking. This really had to be called, but the good thing was that the Bucs were playing well. The Stampede took their time out after this call, but the power play didn't help them and we went into a shootout. The shootout was tied with a goal from Kim and Doyle, but when it went into the sixth shooter for Sioux Falls Jared Hanowski got Mantua to go down and was able to get the winning goal of the game. My thoughts were... at least we got a point!

The Anderson Cup Race just got a little bit tighter and little bit more exciting. We play Cedar Rapids this Wednesday night at their arena and after that we play Omaha on Friday. Good luck Bucs in both games, it's going to be a hard fought battle to the end. That's all for now folks, see you all Wednesday night. Take care!

Team	Score	Scoring	Shots	PIM	Powerplays	Winning Goalie (Saves-Shots)
SIOUX FALLS	3 (SO)	1-1-0-1	34	15	0-5	Bowen (25-27)
Des Moines	2	0-1-1-0	27	25	0-5	Mantua (32-34)
SIOUX FALLS: Vanek (G), Funk (G)
DES MOINES: DiMella (G), Chiodo (G)
Attendance: 4,211

Disclaimer
This is a game summary and commentary from a Buccaneer fan's point of view, and the viewpoints expressed in this column DO NOT necessarily reflect those of the Des Moines Buccaneer's organization.