Donnette scores in OT, Bucs sweep Vulcans
Summary: Des Moines, IA (3/27/99): Dan Donnette spoke for the entire team when he scored early in overtime - this team finds a way to win even when they have an off night. And it was an off night for the Bucs. Midway through the second period the Bucs found themselves outplayed and down 1 to 4. Things did not look good. The Bucs did not give up and fought back, scoring 3 unanswered goals in the second period to tie the game at 4 each.
The Vulcans did not quit and both teams battled hard for the win in the third period. The outcome of the game was in doubt until the final buzzer that sent play into overtime. The Bucs took control in the overtime not allowing a single shot on goal, setting up the 5 to 4 win with Donnette's goal. After the goal, the Buc bench emptied as they piled on Donnette to the roar of approval of the crowd.
Chiodo (Clarke, Chin), Miller (Buc Fans), Clarke (PP) (Jackson, Field), Stafford (Fregoe) scored for the Bucs in regulation time. Donnette (Krueger) scored in overtime.
Rantings
You may have noticed that Sarah has not been doing the rants lately, and have wondered why. Not to fear, she is only on spring break in sunny Texas. She is having a great time and I am sure she will tell you all about it. She will return to do the rants for round 2 of the Clark Cup, that is if we survive the Vulcans. I know it is a long shot as they would need to win the next three games in a row. The Bucs have not lost three games in a row all season. Still, these Vulcans are talented - they just seem to break down as a team...
First Period
The crowd was pumped and ready for some hockey. No one should take for granted all the great work Andrea and the rest of the Buc staff does to make everything happen so smoothly at the games - thanks Andrea. As the starting line up was introduced, the crowd cheered Wade Chiodo's first start as a Buccaneer. The Bucs took control of the puck right away and got a quick shot on net, and it seemed that the Bucs were going to take control of this game early. Wrong! The Vulcans came right back and tested Matt Carney early. It only took 5 minutes for Walsh to score for the Vulcans. Walsh was parked in front of the net and took a centering pass and one-timed it past Carney. The Bucs answered 5 minutes later when Michael Chin dug the puck out of the corner to Noah Clarke who was along the boards and slightly behind the net. Noah centered the puck to Wade Chiodo who tipped it in to tie the score.
Even though the score was tied, the play was dominated by the Vulcans and Walsh scored again 4 minutes later on a 2 on one break. Thirty seconds later the Vulcans scored again on a quick wrist shot from the top of the circle. The score was 3 to 1 and the crowd was stunned. The period ended with 5 saves for Carney and 14 for Samargia.
Second Period
I heard people talking in the crowd about how we would get them in the second period. When the Vulcans scored 7:30 into the period to make it 4 to 1, I thought it was all over for the Bucs. Carney had made some big saves on breakouts, but seemed to give up some soft goals too. The Buc D was being out hustled.
Maxwell had enough of the crowd sitting on its hands and encouraged the crowd to make some noise. They did and Larry came down and started some cheering. The place was rocking. I kid you not, just seconds later Kelly Miller smashed a guy into the boards, grabbed the puck and stuffed it in on a wrap around shot. The place went nuts. When the goal was announced, maxwell gave the assist to the crowd!
An altercation developed betweem KC Caudill and Twin Cities #19. The guy just would not let KC alone and finally KC was forced to drop the gloves too. The officials just stood back and let them go. It didn't last long as they both fell to the ice, but the Vulcan continued to throw punches when they were both down. Not very sportsmanlike. He was given an extra 2 minute penalty and thrown out of the game. Their was quite a delay while all this was sorted out. Once play resumed, the Vulcans played a very aggresive penalty kill and the Bucs were unable to convert. As soon as the penalty was killed off, Chin got slashed and the Bucs were back on the power play again. Pete Fregoe was getting some great chances but he just seemed to be a bit off and was unabel to score. Nick Field won a face off and got it back to Jim Jackson who shoved it quickly to Noah Clarke who had a full head of steam as he crossed the blue line. Noah let loose with a quick shot to make it 3 to 4. The goal was scored at 12:56.
After the goal, the Vulcans really put the presure on the Bucs and almost scored several times. The Bucs were the next to score as Pete Fregoe blew by the Vulcan D and skated in on goal and let loose with a blast. His shot was blocked, but the puck bounced back onto the stick of Garrett Stafford who was right behind Fregoe. Garrett slapped it in to tie the game. With 46 seconds left in the period, the Bucs had tied the game. Matt Carney had 11 saves while Samargia had 9.
Third Period
Both teams played a cautious third period, and you got the feeling that the next goal would be the game winner. The play went fast and as the clock ticked down the ref swallowed his whistle. We were going into overtime. Matt Carney had 5 saves for a game total of 21. Samargia had 9 saves for a game total of 32.
Overtime
The puck was dropped and the Bucs took control. The crowd was loud as they cheered their Bucs on to victory. The Bucs put pressure on the Vulcans and never let off. They got two quick shots on goal and with only 1:46 gone in the overtime Mark Krueger dug the puck out of the boards and centered it to Dan Donnette who lit the lamp and ended the season for the Vulcans. Dan had been working very hard all night and it was good to see him get rewarded - and was he rewarded! The Buc bench emptied as they dog piled Dan behind the Vulcan net. Samargia, who was very "outspoken" the whole series sat on one knee in goal in disbelief. The crowd was going absolutely bezerk. After the two teams shook hands, the Bucs formed a circle and saluted the crowd by raising their sticks. It felt good to be a Buc fan - I can only imagine how good it must have felt to be one of those raising the stick on the ice.
Written by Steve Bendy
Fregoe gets hat-trick in 8 - 5 win
Summary: Des Moines, IA (3/26/99): The Twin Cities Vulcans came to play and with 5 minutes gone in the second period the Bucs were down 2 to 0. In the next 7 minutes, the Bucs exploded for 5 goals to the delight of the home crowd. Peter Sejna scored 2 goals within 2 minutes, a power play goal and a shorthanded goal. When the period ended, the Bucs were up 6 to 4.
Pete Fregoe scored 18 seconds into the third period to notch a hat-trick, adding to his two assists on the night. Kelly Miller finished things off with a minute and a half to go when he beat Samargia on a nifty move. Matt Carney had 30 saves on the night and the Bucs had 42 shots on goal.
Chin (Stafford), Fregoe (Jensen), Sejna (SH) (Fregoe), Sejna (PP) (Fregoe, Jensen), Smrek (Miller, Chin), Fregoe (Sejna), Fregoe (HT) (Sejna) and Miller (Chin) scored for the Bucs.
Rantings
Writing the rants is an interesting endeavor. I imagine it is much like a radio DJ working VERY late at night - or that paper you turned in to that lazy teacher. Sometimes I wonder if anyone is reading these things. Being in a playful mood last year, I listed Sioux City as being in Oklahoma. I expected to get some e-mail on that one but never did. I decided to try it again, this time spelling the Clark Cup, the same was as Noah's last name - Clarke. Well, I guess there are some people reading this as I heard from many of you about it. So, on to hockey. Would the Bucs look on tonight's game as an automatic win? I hope not, because this Vulcan team can be good. As we arrived at the arena, it was obvious that it was not a sell out. Let's hope the crowd gets behind the team.
First Period
At the drop of the puck, the Bucs began to take control of the game. Michael Chin was working very hard as was Dan Donnette. In fact, it took over 4 minutes for the Vulcans to even gain control of the puck in the Bucs zone. Three minutes later Bill Birrenkott got the puck to Nick Field who was all alone in front of Samargia. Samargia stopped the shot and seemed to taunt the Bucs with his attitude. With 6:21 on the clock, Birch put a rebound past Carney to score for the Vulcans. The crowd was quiet and the Bucs seemed to be in slow motion. The Vulcans came right back with more pressure. KC Caudill had a great chance when he ended up with the puck all alone in front of the goalie, but he too was stuffed. Near the end of the period, Peter Smrek had two great scoring chances, but he too was stopped. I began to wonder what our chances would be to win if Samargia was on his game. The period ended without any more scoring. Carney had 6 saves while Samargia had 9.
Second Period
With 5 minutes gone in the period the Vulcans scored again on a power play. The Bucs had been doing very well killing off the penalty, and were playing much better, but things did not look good when you looked up at the score board. Matt Carney was coming up with some big saves to keep the Vulcans from scoring. Larry came down to the landing and lead the crowd in a rousing B-U-C cheer. Now, only the players know for sure, but I swear the enthusiasm of the crowd gave the Bucs a little extra something, because just seconds later Garrett Stafford made an unbelievable pass as he was falling to get the puck to Michael Chin. Michael let loose a blast from the circle and the puck almost broke the netting. The Bucs were on the board. Before the goal could even be announced, Twin Cities scored again to make it 3 to 1 in their favor. This just made the Bucs mad and they were not going to take it. Thirty four seconds later, Peter Fregoe came in and scored just like Chin did, with a monster blast.
Both teams were letting it all hang out now as they raced back and forth on the ice. The Bucs were called for a penalty and found themselves short-handed. They were very aggressive on the power play and it paid off as Pete Fregoe stole the puck and came in all alone. His shot was blocked, but the rebound was picked up by Peter Sejna who slid it past Samargia to tie the game. The Bucs got another short handed chance with Nick Field - the Bucs were smoking!
The Vulcans took a penalty and the Bucs scored on one of the prettiest plays I have seen in a long time. Erik Jensen passed to Pete Fregoe who was on the left side of the net. Pete spotted Peter Sejna on the other side of the net. Fregoe lifted the puck over the stick of the defender that was between them and Sejna one-timed into the net on a tough angle shot. Now that my friends is skill. For the first time in the game, the Bucs had the lead.
The Bucs were not done. With 7:42 on the clock, Peter Smrek blasted one into the back of the net to make it 5 to 3. Assists went to Kelly Miller and Michael Chin. Give credit to Kelly Miller who had been working hard all night and spotted Smrek open at the blue line. The Bucs had now scored 4 straight goals. Every line was skating hard for the Bucs. The Vulcan coach took a time-out to talk things over. The Vulcans did not give up and scored four minutes later on a nice play.
The Bucs put one more on the score board with just a minute and a half remaining. Peter Sejna threaded the needle to Pete Fregoe who put it into the net to score his second goal of the night and mae the score 6 to 4. The crowd was rocking! A group of guys behind me began chanting at Samargia. What a period. Matt Carney ended up with 14 saves while Samagia had 12.
Third Period
If you were still in line getting food, you missed Pete Fregoe's hat trick. It only took him 18 seconds to take a pass from Peter Sejna and score to make it 7 to 4. Peter was being mugged by a defender and was actually falling as he shot the puck. Nick Field had another chance all alone in front of the goalie but was unable to score. I am sure Nick was kicking himself. The Vulcans began to put pressure on and Matt Carney was working hard. The pressure finally paid off as the Vulcans score to make it 7 to 5.
After this goal, both teams slowed things down a bit and decided to play a more defensive game. With 5 minutes left in the game, Matt Carney had another work-out as the Vulcans made a last-ditch effort to win this game. Matt was up to the task and it was the Bucs who scored next. With a minute and a half left, Kelly Miller was finally rewarded with a goal for his hard work. The assist went to Michael Chin. We counted the seconds down as the Bucs won game 2 of the best of 5 series. It wasn't pretty, but it was a win and it was fun to watch from a fan's point of view. Matt Carney came up with 10 saves in the period for a total of 30, while Samargia had 13 for a game total of 34.
Written by Steve Bendy
Bucs take Clark Cup opener
Summary: Fridley, MN (3/25/99): The Bucs left no doubt that they were serious about winning the Clark Cup by thrashing the Twin Cities Vulcans 6 to 1. The Bucs started out slow, leading by only one at the end of the first period; but really cranked up the offense scoring 3 goals in the final period.
Dan Donnette scored two goals with Josh Roach, Peter Sejna, Peter Smrek and KC Caudill getting 2 points each in the balanced scoring effort for the Bucs. Matt Carney missed his shut out when the Vulcans scored late in the third period. Matt ended up with 26 saves, while the Bucs had 38 shots on goal. The Bucs return to home ice for games this Friday and Saturday at the Metro Ice Sports Arena in Urbandale.
Jensen (PP) (Sejna, Smrek), Krueger (Jackson, Roach), Donnette (Field, Caudill), Sejna (Smrek), Fregoe (Roach, Larranaga), Donnette (Field, Caudill) scored for the Bucs.
Rantings
Once again, our editor Trevor Grimm has written an excellent article - this time on the Clark Cup match-ups and his predictions. Since he has done such an excellent job there is no need for me to comment further. I don't even have any scoops or interesting stories to tell, so let's get to it.
First Period
The Bucs seemed ready to play in the warm-ups and as the puck was dropped it was evident that they were taking the Vulcans seriously. The referee must have decided that he was going to keep a tight rein on the game as the Bucs were called for a penalty within the first minute. The Bucs were able to kill off this and all Vulcan power plays in the period - and there were plenty. The Vulcans were not as lucky. At 8:46, only 14 seconds into the power play, Erik Jensen connected on a pass from Peter Sejna (additional assist to Peter Smrek) to take the lead 1 to 0. Near the end of the period, the Bucs had a 5 on 3 for a minute and 38 seconds, which carried over into the second period. Matt Carney had come up with 5 saves, while the Bucs put 14 shots on goal - most of them quality shots.
Second Period
The period began after several delays due to clock problems. Jerrid Reinholz got a shot off right away after getting a nice pass from Peter Fregoe, but was unable to score and the power play expired. The Bucs were now 1 for 4 on the man advantage.
The Bucs struck quickly about a minute later when Mark Krueger let loose a blast that just plain beat Pete Samargia, the Vulcan goalie. The assists went to Jim Jackson and Josh Roach. Man, does Mark have one wicked slap shot! Shortly after the goal, someone took a run at Pete Fregoe and Erik Jensen decided to make his feelings known. A skirmish erupted and as a result the Vulcans got a power play for the fourth time tonight. It didn't last long as the Vulcans were called for too many men on the ice, giving the Bucs a short power play.
With 8 minutes gone in the period, the hard work of Dan Donnette finally paid off as he took a pass from Nick Field and put it in the 5-hole to score. The score was now 3 to zip with an additional assist going to KC Caudill. More penalties were dished out and I began to wonder if this guy was being paid by how many penalties he could dish out. The period wound down, and it seemed as if the Bucs had this one firmly in hand. By the way, they do have good brats at Cloumbia arena! Saves for the period, Matt Carney - 11, Pete Samargia - 10.
Third Period
The puck was dropped and Jim Jackson and Michael Chin seemed to be working hard, attempting to get something going. Less than two minutes into the period, Bill Birrenkott looked as if he was going to drop the gloves, but the officials broke things up quickly and play resumed. Play was again halted as Jerrid Reinholz took a stick to the chin and was taken into the locker room for medical attention. Rumor has it that he lost a couple of teeth.
Just before the midway point, Matt Carney got lucky and saved the shut out when a vulcan shot wide of an open net; a rebound went right to an open player while Carney was down and out of position. Shortly thereafter, Peter Smrek took a shot and Peter Sejna tipped it in to make it 4 zip. Two minutes later Pete Fregoe made it 5 to 0 on assists from Josh Roach and Felipe Larranaga. Any hope for a shut put was put to rest just seconds later as the Vulcans scored. The goal seemed to inspire the Vulcans as they picked up the play a bit.
The Bucs were not happy and picked up their play. At 15:56, Dan Donnette scored to make it 6 to 1. Assists went to Nick Field and KC Caudill. Dan Donnette was not done and had several other scoring chances as he was going for a hat trick. Saves for the period for Matt Carney, 10 for a game total of 26. Samargia had 9 for the period and 32 for the game.
Written by Steve Bendy
