Durak (Reinholz, Sejna) and Sejna (PP) (Weber, Reinholz) scored for the Bucs. Mike Mantua was in goal.

Pre Game

I decided that I'd finally get my bum into gear and actually write this rant. It was so hard to get back home and actually work again. I'm still moaning and whining about it. While I was up in New York I was able to catch the Rensselaer/HSBC Holiday Hockey Tournament in Troy at RPI. Providence College, RPI, Bowling Green, and Union were all in this tournament. I of course was cheering for Providence and the past players who were on the team. Pete Fregoe and Matt Libby. I'm happy to say that Providence won the tourney and Fregoe came away with a couple of assists and Matt Libby also notched at least one. What a good game that was against RPI and Providence!

First

Onto Bucs hockey now. They began the game with trouble, the ice and the lights to be exact. Fortunately the game eventually got underway and though it seemed at first that the Bucs hadn't really come back from the break, they eventually pulled through and it ended up being a good game. Sioux Falls was the first to score, this coming from James Mason at 10:50. It was a fast paced period and went by with the Stampede still leading 1-0.

Second

The second period changed completely with Durak getting a goal 28 seconds into it (assist to Reinholz and Sejna). There were several times when both teams almost scored, but it would only be Sejna who would put another point on the board. This power play goal came at 10:34 (assist to Reinholz and Weber). The period would end with the Bucs leading 2-1 and it would be the story for the rest of the game.

Third

Mantua did a good job and the game was well played. I must say for the first game back that I felt the Bucs did a good job. The only other thing of interest in the third period was when Mantua got tripped up by a Stampede player. He was called for a penalty that the Bucs were not able to capitlize on. Total Saves: Mantua 36 - Bowen 25. Written by Sarah Bendy.

Pre Game

The Vulcans will be playing their first game in several weeks, which should give the Bucs an advantage. We will also have Troy Riddle back from Viking Cup play. We will also have Kyle Dolder back after being out after his knee surgery. Kyle played for the Vulcans last year.

First Period

The Bucs came out playing hard and Troy Riddle and Travis Doan both nearly scored within the first two minutes. Rob Novak and Kyle Dolder were also getting scoring chances. After three minutes of pressure the Vulcans were forced into taking a penalty. The Bucs wasted no time as Sejna, Weber, Reinholz and Kim all got shots off. Berkhoel was playing well and stopped all of the shots sent his way. At 5:18, just seconds after the penalty was killed off the Bucs scored in a mess in front of the net. Wade Chiodo had scored his first goal of the season with the assists going to Ryan Bennett and Jesse Lane. The Bucs seemed to be in control of the game. Mark Murphy was getting a lot of ice time as was Kyle Dolder and I thought it was just a matter of time before we increased our lead. It was to be the Vulcans who scored next on a nifty tip-in by Matt Nelson at 8:36. Morrissey did not have a chance on that one. The Bucs got a second powerplay chance but were unable to score. One minute before the end of the period Morrissey was forced to come up big as a muffed clearing pass ended up going right to a Vulcan. Disaster struck with just 1 second remaining in the period when a dump-in from the blue line got by Morrissey. The Bucs were behind 1-2 despite outshooting the Vulcans by 10 shots. Saves for Berkhoel = 14, Morrissey = 4.

Second Period

Mark Mullen and Ryan Kirchhoff both got quality scoring chances early in the period, but were unable to get it past Berkhoel. The Vulcans made it 3-1 at 2:28 on a quick strike by Chris Birch that caught Morrissey and the Buc D sleeping. The Bucs got another powerplay 3 minutes later but were only able to get one shot off as the Vulcans tightened up their defense. As the Vulcans killed off the powerplay they let down a bit and seconds after it expired Ryan Bennett scored for the Bucs (assist to Matt Weber).

Three minutes later the Bucs were back on the powerplay and putting on pressure but were unable to convert. The Bucs were out shooting the Vulcans by a 2-1 margin, but exceptional goaltending kept the Bucs off the board. At 16:14 the Vulcans score a powerplay goal to take a 2 goal lead. Coach Carroll decided to replace Morrissey with Mantua to try to get something going. Saves for the Vulcans = 14, Bucs = 7.

Third Period

The Buc defense did seem to tighten up, led by Nathan Berry. Mantua was still tested though, and it came in the first two minutes. He came up big both times to keep the game within reach. At 7:15, the Bucs were on the powerplay again and Sejna, Chiodo and Reinholz peppered the Vulcan net with shots; Sejna even hit the post! Berkhoel hung in their but finally the Buc pressure paid off as Peter Sejna scored a powerplay goal to make it 3-4. Assists went to Weber and Bennett. The Bucs continued to get off good shots but their seemed to be a brick wall blocking the entrance to the goal. With a minute and a half the Bucs pulled Mantua for an extra attacker, but the Vulcans scored an empty-netter to put the game away. The Bucs had lost to the Vulcans, despite outshooting them by a 2-1 margin. Written by Steve Bendy.

Riddle (PP) (Weber), Sejna (Reinholz), Sejna (Lane) and Riddle (PP) (Mullen, Sejna) scored for the Bucs. Mantua was in goal.

Wouldn't it just figure, that with all the sickness that has been running rampant lately that I would finally get sick? Not that I haven't had my share of sickness, but this time it was a direct hit with strep. Oh yeah, it hit hard and hasn't been one bit fun! My throat has been killing me and luckily for the people who know me the best I have moments where I'm not talking as much as normal. How can I think about hockey when I don't want to think about anything? What I can remember of the game on Saturday night was that it was a pretty good game. The game was absolutely packed and it was also sold out. It was great to hear the noise. I also got a surprise visit from a fan that lives in Spain, he'll know who he is when he reads this and I want to say I appreciated meeting you! It's always a joy to talk to people who really love the site and hockey in general...and when I get the pleasure to meet someone so far away it just awe's me! Would love to hear from you again!

First

The first period was scoreless and things looked like it could too easily go anyway. The Stampede were just waltzing into the zone and leaking through holes and easily taking shots on Mantua. That just wasn't a good thing. Since not much went on in the first period and there was no score that's all I have left to say for that one. However the saves for Bowen of Sioux Falls was 14 and for Mantua 10.

Second

At 1:28 Mr. Miracle, Troy Riddle decided to score (assist to Weber). Then not long after this, at 3:24, Peter Sejna responded by hitting the back of the net with the puck (assist to Reinholz). The Sioux Falls Stampede didn't seem to have much faith in Bowen, because he was changed after this to Sikich. After only two goals Bowen gets the ax? It wouldn't help too much, Peter Sejna would make sure of it. Though Sioux Falls almost got the boost they needed by that goalie change, the goal they had almost gotten was waived off when it was deemed that two men had been in the crease. Yes I believe that was valid considering the fact that Mantua couldn't even get back into his net. It was after this that Sejna proved the point I made earlier. It came at 6:06 after a rebound that Sejna was able to be right there to snap it into the wide open net (assist to Lane). The Stampede would get two goals near the end of the period the first one coming at 13:46 and the second with only about two minutes left. The last half of this period was very telling with the goals that were scored...it had slowed down and the Bucs seemed to have gotten a little more lax. Saves for Bowen and Sikich combined 11 and for Mantua 14.

Third

Hoping that the third period would bring a game that was a bit better then the last half of the second period we launched into a period that turned out being exactly as we had left the last one. Rather bitter and dull. With the help of a penalty and just over six minutes left Riddle scored us another goal (assist to Mullen and Sejna). We were leading 4-2. There were just a few more things of interest that happened in this period, one of those happened to be the fact that the FibreLight went down for awhile, but was working again by the end of the period. The other interesting thing that happened was when Sikich supposedly speared one of our players and ended up going after one a Buc. Now I'm not saying that our players are little angels and that something wasn't said/done, but this is what I saw. I'm also not saying that that goalie for sure speared anyone, because I myself didn't see that. However what I do know is that Sikich got kicked out of the game and was escorted off the ice, but not before giving Mantua a little wave. I'm sure Mantua responded in a more verbal manner. Saves for the Stampede goalies were 7 and for Mantua 6. Total Saves: Des Moines 30 - Sioux Falls 32. Written by Sarah Bendy.

Pre Game

I talked to Wade Chiodo Thursday before the game and asked him what his thoughts were on the upcoming series with Omaha. He said that he, and the whole team, was looking forward to playing the Lancers. When asked if they were going to beat the Lancers, he replied "O, yeah, we are ready for them". If Wade Chiodo is that positive even though he has a sinus infection and is just recovering from the flu, who are we to be negative?

We arrived at the arena at the normal time and it was already filling up. It was a sell out and win or lose, people knew they were going to see a good hockey game.

First Period

The puck was dropped and the line of Lane, Murphy, Sejna, Reinholz and Riddle had their feet moving. Peter Sejna intercepted a Lancer clearing pass and got a quick shot on Ellis, the Omaha goalie. With only 1 minute gone in the period, the Bucs had 3 shots on goal. The crowd erupted into a "Let's Go Bucs" cheer and I knew this was going to be a good night for the Bucs. It was over 2 minutes before Mantua was forced to make a save. The Bucs were playing a very solid game on both offense and defense.

The crowd groaned as the Bucs were called for a needless penalty as the puck was shot over the glass by Mantua. The Lancers had a great powerplay. How would the Bucs respond? Aggressively! Kim, Mullen, Lane and Baumgartner were playing with passion and killed off the penalty easily. In fact, Mullen got a shot on goal! The Bucs were called for another penalty and this time the Lancers controlled the puck and peppered Mantua with shots. He stopped them all and the Bucs finally cleared the puck. However, Turner somehow snuck behind the Buc defense and came across the blue line all alone. Mantua came out to meet him but he scored. The Lancers had a 1-0 lead on a powerplay goal with 11:44 on the clock. It was discouraging because the Bucs had totally dominated the game so far. The Bucs found themselves on a powerplay but it was the Lancers that nearly scored on a short handed chance.

The Bucs were really tempting fate as Landon Bathe picked up 2 - 2 minute penalties and 10 minute misconduct. The coach was not happy with the call. The Bucs won the face off and Felipe Larranaga grabbed the puck and cleared it into the Lancer zone with a wicked slap shot that was curiously close to the referee. The Bucs again played tough and did not the Lancers to get out of their zone. With 1:16 left in the penalty to the Bucs, the Lancers were called and that ended the powerplay for the Lancers.

With less than two minutes left another series of groans from the crowd were heard as Mantua was called for another penalty for shooting the puck over the glass. Ryan Kirchhoff and Mark Mullen were playing like madmen and just took it to the Lancers throwing them into confusion. Peter Sejna poke the puck loose and slid it ahead to Jerrid Reinholz. Jerrid turned on the afterburners and puckered the twine for a short handed goal! With 1:19 on the clock the Bucs had tied the game. Tempers began to flare and I did not see what set Paul Baumgartner off, but I did see what he did to the Lancer - too bad Paul's stick broke. The period ended with 10 saves for Mantua and 7 saves for Ellis.

Second Period

The Bucs came out just as strong - maybe stronger than the first period. In the first minute Riddle got two quality shots off. With just two minutes gone, Matt Weber went down with what looked like a cheap shot to the legs. He limped off the ice and I don't think I saw him skate the rest of the night. All night the the Bucs had been winning face-offs, and it just gave the Bucs the advantage. I noticed that Mark Mullen was on the ice quite a bit and he was making good use of the time. Indeed, for several minutes the Bucs looked as if they had a powerplay as the Lancers were really back on their heels. Halfway through the period the play began to get a bit rough. I wasn't as bad as say the way the USA Under 18 team or Lincoln plays, but it would leave some bruises.

The Bucs put tremendous pressure on all period, but it was not until late in the period that it paid off. The Bucs were on the powerplay and were moving the puck around well. Alex Kim passed the puck back to Felipe Larranaga at the blue line. Felipe wound up and blasted it. Wade Chiodo redirected the puck and scored. The crowd went wild!

The Lancers put on a clinic for a minute and half were I kept looking up at the scoreboard. Were they on a powerplay? No. Finally, the Bucs broke it out but were called for a penalty. The Bucs were back on their heels for a minute but Rob Novak got a short handed break that Ellis said no way to. Seconds later Jerrid Reinholz broke out and was mauled by a Lancer, but was still got the shot off. I could not believe a penalty was not called - unbelievable! The period ended with 14 saves for Ellis and 5 for Mantua.

Third Period

At the start of the third period the crowd began chanting, "Ellis, Ellis, Ellis!" The Lancers were on the powerplay early in the period and Mantua froze the puck, but a Lancer knocked the puck in the net well after the whistle had been blown. The referee waved if off and then something happended that I still can not believe. Paul Capronigri (spelling?) skated over and wrapped the ref in a bear hug. My jaw dropped open - what was this guy doing? The ref shook him off with the help of a linesman and he was escorted to the penalty box for a 10 minute rest.

For most of the period the play was on the Lancer side of the ice, but it was the Lancers that were to score the only goal. With 5:23 on the clock Green scored on a screen. Both teams played hard but it soon became apparent that this show was going into overtime. Mantua had 9 saves and Ellis had 8 saves.

Overtime

Both teams seemed to be taking care of the puck in their own end first. It seemed as though they were hoping for the other team to make a mistake. Both goalies were on their game and no one was able to score. We were going into a shoot out. Both teams would get one point and the winner of the shoot out would get the bonus point.

Shoot Out

The Lancers shot first and missed. Justin Schabes shot first for the Bucs, deked and scored! The crowd went wild! The next Lancer skated in on Mantua. There was a moment when the crowd went quiet as he shot and then erupted as Mike stopped the shot.

Chiodo was next and looked to have Ellis beat but could not get the shot off. Turner was next for the Lancers. Turner shot and began to celebrate as he thought he scored. Mantua knew better and skated out of the crease and kicked the puck out at Turner. Mullen was next for the Bucs but Ellis was able to handle it.

Peter Sejna skated to the center of the ice and the crowd was so loud than the rafters were shaking. If he scored, the game was over. Peter skated in and deked to the glove side. Ellis took the deke hook, line and sinker. Peter Sejna tapped the puck in and the red light went on. I tell you, the net was so open that yoiu could have backed a Zamboni in there. What a game! Written by Steve Bendy.

I honestly haven't forgotten about the game that was on Saturday night and I realize I've been slacking a bit when it comes to doing something that I committed too. I'll just say my life has been either busy or filled with sick days (and I do mean bona-fide sick days). It seems though, that Saturday night was almost an exact replica of Friday night. Except of course for the small detail of us losing in OT. Despite that though, I'm not disappointed, in fact I felt like it was a really good game and that the Bucs played well. It was so similar that even the little pre game fashion show had the same clothes displayed for Younkers. Is that more then coincidence, or was there a conspiracy to repeat the win as was done in Omaha?

First

The Bucs started well and the defense was even kicking in big time in the first period. They were killing off penalties, keeping the shots low, and not letting any stinking Lancers get any one-on-one's. However the Lancers would get the lead as the puck got deflected in at 15:09 and perhaps this was an omen for the rest of the game. So can we use the excuse that Mantua had lost his stick and it was right after a power play? Well both are true, you use the excuse you want. The Bucs managed to tie the game with about a minute and a half left in the period. Jesse Lane got the goal catching Ellis off-guard (assist to Kirchhoff & Mullen). Saves for Mantua 7 and for Ellis 10.

Second

Though the Bucs dominated and it was a good period Mantua wasn't able to keep the Lancers out of the net after a few rebounds at 12:20. The Lancers were leading 2-1. Mantua got even less help at the 13 minute mark when the Lancers scored yet again. The crowd really got into it, but that's understandable right? I mean wouldn't our own hometown crowd be getting crazy if we were leading 3-1 over Omaha? Well I have absolutely nothing else to say about that period. Saves for Mantua 9 - Ellis 8.

Third

The third period started out looking scary and quiet, make of that what you will there. Riddle saved the gloominess for us at 15:01 on a power play (assist to Reinholz). The game would continue without either team scoring...playing out until the last possible minutes. Finally a time-out was called with 1:24 left. When the puck was sent all the way to the opposite end of the ice, a Lancer and Chiodo raced down to be the first to reach it. Both players ended up crashing into the boards and were slow to get up. Perhaps the college rule is something to consider then. Larranaga was able to tie up the game with forty-two seconds left (assist to Riddle and Reinholz). We were going into OT for the second time in two nights. I'm not even going to bother writing another paragraph for the OT period, considering the Lancers got the goal, and on a power play nonetheless. Total Saves: Des Moines 30 - Omaha 31. Written by Sarah Bendy.

If I could use at least one word to describe Friday night's game against Waterloo, it would be exciting. Perhaps the first period lacked a little and could be closer described as dull, but it picked up in the second and third. The arena was packed, there were plenty of Hawk fans at the game and it was a cold night.

First

The Waterloo fans had plenty to cheer for in the first period, when Brian Canady scored the first goal of the game stuffing it into a wide open net at 9:45. We had a pretty good opportunity not long after this when Waterloo got the first of many penalties. However it would not be the Des Moines Buccaneers to score. The Black Hawks scored the shorthanded goal with 7:01 left. The next thing that happened in the period was the fight that erupted with 3:14 left in the period. Gastrock, the sweet little goalie for the Hawks, mauled Durak and soon it was just one huge mass of fighting bodies. The officials jumped in, but seemed to step away when too many men were fighting and they couldn't stop it. Mantua sat himself on the Bucs logo in front of his crease and watched the fray. He shuffled back and forth leaning forward watching. It didn't take him long to make up his mind to join it and concentrate his efforts on Gastrock. The crowd loved this and went wild, which was to be expected. However after it was all said and done, we had the extra penalty because Mantua got one for leaving his crease. I was not at all happy. On the power play Waterloo scored one more goal to end the period with a 3-0 score. I'm not sure if I should really say how they got this goal, but Mantua accidentally helped it into the net when he went to sweep the puck into his leg pads. Ouch. If there was going to be a shut out it looked like we would be on the down side of that. Saves for Mantua 5 and for Gastrock 11.

Second

Gastrock started in his net as though he were praying over the net. I can only imagine what the violent guy was praying for. It seemed that perhaps the period would be started with a goalie change, but that didn't happen...and when Mantua skated out for the second period, he looked ready. The entire team looked ready and it would turn out to be one of the best period's of hockey I have seen in a long time. The Bucs started trying to set it up, but that didn't work, it was Rob Novak who started everything by crashing the net (literally) and getting us our first goal at 3:08 (assist to Landon Bathe). It was right after this that Kirchhoff decided to fight again. The kid wouldn't let him up and so Ryan just threw his gloves and went after him. One great undercut from Kirchhoff came before everything really became a muddle. The two didn't stop fighting, even when they were pinned to the ice and half separated by the officials. Those of us that were lucky enough to experience that fight close up were afforded quite a view of that fight. All I have to say to the Waterloo player is....thong! We got our second goal at 4:14, off a one-timer by Chiodo (assist to Weber, who did most of the work for that one). The Bucs continued to play hard in the second period, they were crashing the net, the game was wild, there was no stopping them. We would end up getting the tie at the end of the game after a lot of talking by the officials. It turned out that we were to get a penalty shot. Gastrock who had already gone off the ice and into the locker room was called back out and Sejna got ready to take the shot. Since most of the Buccaneers had gone off the ice, they all waited in the small hallway watching what was taking place on the ice. Sejna easily put it in past Gastrock who was sprawled! So we left the period tied at 3. If I had failed to mention before, this period was just riddled with penalties. It was very rough and very cheap at times. Saves for Mantua 10 and for Gastrock 13.

Third

Sejna got us our first lead and the first goal of the period at 1:12 (assist to Bennet and Riddle). Such a beautiful goal. However it didn't take long for Waterloo to come back, it also didn't take them much space to put the puck into the side of the net with 16:38 left in the period. We were once again tied. It seemed that the game had let down a little bit from the excitement of the last period. Only to be expected though after the intense second period. However when we got a power play Alex Kim was able to break that tie at an even 15 minutes (assist to Larranaga and Riddle). With about a minute left to go Gastrock was pulled and then with about twenty seconds left took a time out. It didn't do them any good because we went on to win it 5-4. Saves for Mantua 5 and Gastrock 8. Total Saves: Mantua 20 - Gastrock 32. Written by Sarah Bendy.

Pre Game

The Bucs will play Waterloo for the last time this season, unless of course they meet in the playoffs. The Bucs have had success against Waterloo, having beat them by scores of 8-3, 5-1, 5-4, 5-4 and 5-4. This is not to say it has been easy as Waterloo is definitely a talented team. And of course their mascot, Tommy Hawk whom we have written about before, is first class. He is worth the trip to Waterloo. Enough about that, let's talk about hockey.

First Period

Fourteen seconds into the period the Bucs got their first powerplay opportunity. The Bucs have moved up to the middle of the pack on powerplay statistics, with roughly a 17 percent conversion rate. Waterloo leads the USHL in short-handed goals, and they showed why as they almost got a short-handed break. They killed off the penalty and we were again even strength.

Both teams were playing wide-open hockey with the play going up and down the ice. Halfway through the period I thought Travis Doan had a goal, but he was robbed. The Black Hawks still did not have a shot on goal. The Buc defense has been playing much better lately. The Bucs were the first to score at 17:26 on a strange play. Jesse Lane dumped the puck in, and it took a funny bounce. Troy Riddle shot and Peter Sejna buried the rebound. The period ended with 4 saves for Mantua and 12 for Gastrock.

Second Period

Rob Novak has really been playing well lately, and at the start of the period a Black Hawk player held him as Rob was driving towards the net. The Bucs were not able to convert, and after the penalty expired Waterloo got a 2 on 1 break. Mike Mantua had not seen much of the puck so far, but he was able to come up with a big save to keep the Hawks off of the scoreboard. Novak and Riddle had an opportunity on a 2 on 1 short-handed break, but were unable to score.

Near the middle of the period, one of the strangest series of penalties were called that I have ever seen. The Bucs played a total of 6 minutes short-handed, some of which were a 5 on 3. The Bucs buckled down and played excellent defense, killing off all of the penalties.

Finally the Bucs were playing at even strength and even were able to get a powerplay a minute later. Unfortunately for the Bucs, Waterloo scored a short-handed goal with a minute and a half left in the period. The game was tied at 1-1, and the Bucs were fortunate the score was not worse. I also wanted to mention that Nick Dimella was getting a lot of ice time and was playing very well. Mantua made 8 saves and Gastrock had 7.

Third Period

The Bucs came out playing smooth, smart hockey. With 5 minutes gone in the period, Mark Mullen scored a goal with an assist to Ryan Bennett. The play developed quickly and I think it caught Gastrock off-guard. Two minutes later, Canady knocked down Mantua drawing a penalty and the wrath of Lane who skated in to show his displeasure. The Buc powerplay did not last long as 18 seconds into the powerplay the Bucs took a penalty.

Eight minutes into the period Miroslav Durak scored his third goal of the year on a wicked slap shot that beat Gastrock in the lower-left corner. The assists went to Alex Kim and Wade Chiodo. I don't know if you noticed, but Kim has really turned it up lately and has been rewarded with points. Two minutes later Alex Kim got an unassisted goal to make it 5-1 in favor of the good guys. The Bucs were really starting to control the game and were on their way to scoring their normal 5 goals against Waterloo. Des Moines has scored 5 goals against Waterloo every game except the first, when they scored 8. Three minutes later Miroslav Durak scored his second goal of the night on another blast to make it 5-1. Assists went to Alex Kim and Wade Chiodo. The Black Hawks did not give up and scored one more goal. The Bucs took care of business and did not fall apart like they did against Dubuque. Both goalies made 11 saves in the period and the Bucs had swept their series with Waterloo. Written by Steve Bendy.

Pre Game

You know, if you have a problem with me, you can always email me. I will respond. The chances of me reading something in the guestbook is highly slim. I do not make a habit of checking it.

Well it seems that winter weather has finally come to Iowa with a slew of snow to back up all that cold. I have to say that it's about time to get some snow, this is after all winter.

First

Let's talk hockey... The Bucs had won Thursday night in Waterloo, but the road trip to Cedar Rapids would be a little different. I suppose the first goal that the RoughRiders got was an omen. It was an even-strength goal at 12:46 from Matt Hoppe. The RoughRidgers had thought they got a goal not long after this when at the same time the net came off. However it certainly wasn't a goal and ___ talked to the official and made sure it was cleared up. As for anymore excitement in the third period it didn't really happen. We had three power play opportunities, but as you can see by the stats nothing really happened with those.

Second

With the way the game was going it was evident that if the Bucs didn't get a goal or start picking up that they would be left behind. It appeared it was going to be a rather low-scoring game. The second period seemed to start with more pushing and shoving; they had not only become more physical but the play was more open as well. At 11:05 when Mantua went down to make the save Cedar Rapids managed to tip the puck up and into the net. They were leading by two goals and the second goal they had gotten on a power play. Peter Sejna managed to get a power play goal at 13:41 though to get us back into the game (assists to Riddle and Reinholz). This had been a very good power play on the Bucs part and they had crashed the net with several shots on it before Sejna got us the goal. We left the period with four more shots on goal then Cedar Rapids, who had 10.

Third

Though the second period had seemed to establish that the Bucs were not dead yet, it only took 50 seconds for Cedar Rapids to tell us no. They got their third goal and we were now trailing 3-1. Luckily things changed halfway through the period. At 9:29 Riddle scored and we were that much closer to at least tying the game (assist to Sejna). Though I wasn't sure we would be able to win the game considering it was getting closer and closer to the end, Nathan Berry was able to tie the game up with about 8 minutes to go. We took a time out at the end of the period and were soon headed into over time.

OT

By the four periods were over the shots were tied at 36 and we were heading into a shoot out. In the shoot out, where we usually have strength, we lacked Friday night. The only player to actually get a goal was Justin Micek... every other player (Novak, Riddle, Reinholz, and Sejna) couldn't manage to get the puck into the net. So we lost the game 4-3. Written by Sarah Bendy.

Fargo beats Bucs 4-3

Des Moines, IA (1/29/00): The Buccaneers led 2-1 midway through the second period, but gave up three unanswered goals to lose to the Ice Sharks, 4-3. The game was not as close as the score or shots on goal would indicate as Fargo controlled the game from the first drop of the puck. In an interview after the game, Coach Carroll said, "I am not going to make excuses. Fargo did what they needed to do and won. We need to get back to playing Buccaneer hockey". Riddle (Baumgartner, Sejna), Riddle (Reinholz, Sejna) and Reinholz (Sejna) scored for the Bucs. Mantua was in goal.

Pre Game

This is going to be a very hard game to write about, because I don't even want to talk about it. It really was that bad! I have to be truthful, that was one of the worst games I've seen in a long time. Perhaps instead of deciding to play the last five minutes of the game we could start the game playing and end the game playing. You can call me cruel and vicious, but I cheer the team on no matter what and I always stay until the game is over.

First

I really didn't even want to write about this game and I still may not embellish much, but here goes...

The Bucs looked tired and the game was seriously lacking any enthusiasm. Even the fans were dead. About five minutes into the game we saw our first real disappointment. The Sharks, O'Leary scored the first goal. Before we left the period though Riddle at 6:47 tied up the game at one (assist to Baumgartner and Sejna). Saves for Mantua 10 and for Ferguson 6.

Second

We broke the tie at 8:11 in the second period from another Riddle goal (assist to Reinholz and Sejna). However with just under five minutes left the Sharks tied the game. We left the period tied at 2. Saves for Mantua 8 and for Ferguson 9.

Third

The third period took off for the Ice Sharks. Swanson got the third goal at 15:04 and Schlipp managed to tag the fourth one about two minutes later. The game would continue in this sorry state until we had two and a half minutes left. Many people had already started pouring out of the building. Reinholz would be the one to wake up the team and the crowd, when he scored (assist to Sejna). And though the Bucs played hard after this and the crowd was louder then they'd been all night, the Bucs had dug themselves a hole too deep. There just wasn't enough time to pull anything through. In reality the Sharks deserved the win anyway. Saves for Mantua 9 and for Ferguson 14. Total Saves: Mantua 27 - Ferguson 29. Written by Sarah Bendy.

Team	Score	Scoring	Shots	PIM	Powerplays	Winning Goalie (Saves-Shots)
Fargo-Moorhead	4	1-1-2	31	19	0-2	Ferguson (29-32)
DES MOINES	3	1-1-1	32	17	0-3	Mantua (27-31)
FARGO-MOORHEAD: Schlipp (GW,2A), O'Leary (G,2A), Miskovich (G,A), Swanson (G)
DES MOINES: Riddle (2G), Reinholz (G,A), Sejna (3A)
Attendance: 3,412

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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.