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Bucs Win Season Opener On Road

Kearney, NE (9.28.01): Coach Bob Ferguson and the Buccanners opened the 2001-02 season with a 6-4 win over Tri-City on the road. Last year, the Buccaneers spoiled the opening of Tri-City's new arena with 4 third period goals, winning 4-3. This year, the Bucs took the lead in the second period and scored 3 third period goals to calm the Storm.

The home crowd was pumped and ready for hockey, and the team responded by coming out on fire. The Bucs responded with solid defense and great goaltending by Chris Gartman. When Tri-City got on the board at 7:08, the crowd went crazy, only to be silenced 29 seconds later when Weston Tardy deflected the puck in the net. Seven minutes later, Alex Matieroukine skated around the defense and took a shot. The rebound was picked up by Jeff Genovy and buried it to give the Bucs a 2-1 lead.

The Storm capitalized on Buccaneer mistakes as they scored 2 short-handed goals in a row - one when the Bucs had a 5 on 3 advantage - to take a 3-2 lead. Ryan Dingle evened the score with a powerplay goal, assisted by Evan Stoefflet at 14:43 of the second period.

The Bucs opened things up in the third period with 2 goals just 1:37 apart. Kris Bouchard (assisted by Chris Collins and Sean Kotary) and Mark Langdon (assisted by Ross Carlson). Midway through the third period Justin Nikle made it 6-3 with an assist by hard-working defenseman Michael Hutchins. The Storm scored one more goal and put a lot of pressure on the Bucs in the final minutes, but it was to little, to late. The Bucs have now won 8 games with only one loss.

Written by Steve Bendy

Team Score Scoring Shots PIM Powerplays Winning Goalie (Saves-Shots)
DES MOINES 6 2-1-3 32 24 2-3 Gartman (34-38)
Tri-City 4 4 2-1-1 38 12 1-8 Young (26-32)
DES MOINES: Langdon (GW), Tardy (G), Nikle (G), Dingle (G,PP), Bouchard (G), Genovy (G,PP)
TRI-CITY: Laverdiere (2G,SH), Toll (G,SH), Boguslawski (G,PP)
9/28/01 - Attendance: 4.550

Bucs Lose Home Opener

Des Moines, IA (9.29.01): Although the Bucs entered tonights game with a 7-1 pre season record and an opening road win against Tr-City, coach Bob Ferguson was concerned about the consistency of the offense. Tonight, we saw why he was concerned. The Bucs struggled to generate any offense as Cedar Rapids beat the Bucs 3-1. It was the first time the Bucs had lost a home opener since 1991.

Both teams were unable to score in the first period as defense was the name of the game. When a rare shot did get through, Goepfert (Cedar Rapids) and Gartman (Des Moines) were there to stop the puck. The RoughRiders ended up outshooting the Bucs 10-6 in the first period.

Several minutes into the second period Cedar Rapids opened the scoring. The Bucs finally struck back 16 minutes into the period. Andy Jurek scored after taking a pass from Erik Johnson. Goepfert got a piece of the shot but the puck trickled across the line to light the lamp. The picture above was taken as the Bucs celebrated the goal. The crowd was not even done celebrating before the RoughRiders scored to take the lead for good. The goal was scored just 23 seconds after the lone Buc goal.

The crowd got a glimmer of hope at 17:08 of the third period when the Bucs scored a powerplay goal, only to have it waived off by the ref because it was directed in by a hand. The Bucs were 0-8 on powerplays for the evening. Cedar Rapids scored 46 seconds later to add insult to injury. The Bucs pulled the goalie for an extra attacker, but were unable to score and it was all over.

Jurek (Johnson) scored for the Bucs. Gartman was in goal and made 25 saves.

Written by Steve Bendy

Buccaneer Offense Clicks in 6-1 Win

Des Moines, IA (10.5.01): Any doubts about the abiliy of the Bucs to put points on the scoreboard were dispelled Friday night - early, very early. The Bucs took control of the opening face off and scored 21 seconds later - before most of the crowd was even able to get the first hot dog and beer down. Ross Carlson and Brett Skinner assisted as team captain Andrew Leach lit the lamp. The Bucs struck again two minutes later on a powerplay goal from Michael Hutchins, assists to Mark Langdon and Jeff Genovy. The early goals got the crowd in a festive mood that lasted the entire night. As usual, Andrea and her staff had planned great activities during the game and between periods.

Tulsa settled down and both teams were playing hard, concentrating on defense and waiting for good scoring chances. Jordan Pennington of Tulsa brought the Crude within a goal late in the second period, and I began to wonder if the potent Buc offense would show itself. At the end of the second period the Bucs had outshot Tulsa 29 to 22.

We didn't have long to wait for the Buc offense as Mark Langdon (assisted by Alex Matieroukine) scored a powerplay goal less than two minutes into the third period. The goal started a scoring run that saw the Bucs notch 4 goals in a 7 minute span. Brett Skinner a defenseman from Brandon, Manitoba was next to score. He took a pass from Michael Hutchins and Andrew Leach and skated in from the center line on Crude goalie Noah Ruden. A nifty deak and the puck was in the net. Don't you just love Canada? Spunky Chris Collins scored next (assists to Kris Bouchard and Sean Kotary). Sean Kotary's powerplay goal capped off the scoring with 11:27 left in the period, assisted by Brett Skinner. The Bucs would have scored more goals had the Tulsa goalie, Noah Ruden, not played so well. The Bucs ended up with over 50 shots on net, getting more shots on net was something Coach Ferguson said was crucial for the Bucs to do. I continue to be impressed with the heart the coaching staff has for teaching and developing their players. Yeah, I like to see the team win, but I also like to see the players develop. After all, isn't that one of the main reasons this non-profit organization exists?

Leach (Skinner, Carlson), Hutchins (pp) (Langdon, Genovy), Langdon (pp) (Matieroukine), Skinner (Leach, Hutchins), Collins (Bouchard, Kotary), and Kotary (pp) (Skinner) scored for the Bucs. Chris Gartman was in goal.

Written by Steve Bendy

Team Score Scoring Shots PIM Powerplays Winning Goalie (Saves-Shots)
DES MOINES 6 2-0-4 51 23 3-9 Gartman (26-27)
Tulsa 1 0-1-0 27 37 0-7 Ruden (37-43)
DES MOINES: Skinner (G,2A), Matieroukine (GW,A,PP), Leach (G,A),
Kotary (G,A,PP), Langdon (G,A,PP), Collins (G)
Tulsa: Pennington (G)
10/5/01 - Attendance: 2,511

Bucs Knock Off Undefeated Sioux Falls

Des Moines, IA (10.6.01): Coach Ferguson and Coach Gasparini (Sioux Falls) went into this game looking forward to the opportunity of testing their teams - the high-scoring Stampede (3-0) vs the solid defense of the Buccaneers (2-1). The game lived up to the hype, and the fans were treated to a great hockey game.

Sioux Falls dominated the game at the drop of the puck, and their aggresive play paid off as Thomas Vanek from Graz, Austria scored 2 minutes into the period. The Stampede kept up the pressure, and it looked as if the Bucs were in trouble. Alex Matieroukine (from Kiev, Ukraine), showed his skill as he deked a defenseman and skated in alone to score the Bucs first goal (assist to Mark Langdon). The crowd responded as the Bucs gained the momentum and with 4 minutes remaining were able to kill off a 5 on 3.

The second period began with both teams opening up the play. Both goalies came up big until halfway through the period. Luke Irwin assisted Sean Kotary to make it 2-1. The Bucs score again on a well-executed powerplay. Brett Skinner had pinched up and spotted Andy Nelson all alone on the other side of the net. Brett passed the puck across the ice in front of the net and Andy tapped it into make it 3-1. The Bucs really had the momentum, but Sioux Falls scored on a quick-developing play to end the period with a 3-2 score.

The Bucs continued to dominate, keeping the puck in the Stampede zone for the first 2 minutes. Unfortunately, when they did get it into the Buc zone they scored to tie the game. The Bucs fought back with a frenzy and took the lead for good a minute and a half later. Chris Collins got his on rebound to make it 4-3 (assist to Sean Kotary). The Stampede were unable to mount a serious threat the rest of the game despite pulling their goalie for an extra attacker. The Bucs had knocked-off Sioux Falls and convinced as lot of people that they are contenders.

Matieroukine (Langdon), Kotary (Irwin), Nelson (pp) (Skinner), and Collins (Kotary) scored for the Bucs. Gartman was in goal and made 32 saves.

Written by Steve Bendy

Team Score Scoring Shots PIM Powerplays Winning Goalie (Saves-Shots)
DES MOINES 4 1-2-1 37 15 1-5 Gartman (32-35)
Sioux Falls 3 1-1-1 35 18 0-5 Briggs (33-37)
DES MOINES: Collins (GW), Kotary (G,A), Nelson (G,PP), Matieroukine (G)
SIOUX FALLS: Vanek (G,2A), Fylling (G), Forconi (G)
10/6/01 - Attendance: 2,600

Shut-out for Brown

Des Moines, IA (10.12.01): When a team scores 8 goals from 5 different players, you know the offense is working well; when you get a shut-out you know the defense is on top of things. When you get both in one game, you get one happy coach Ferguson: "I don't think I will be able to find anything to complain about in tonight's game. We played a complete game from start to finish... I just want to let the team enjoy this victory".

And what a victory it was! Sean Kotary opened scoring just 2:27 into the period when his blast ripped by the goaltender to make it 1-0. Chicago was playing a wide-open game, and despite getting just 6 shots on net in the first period, Jason Brown had to come up with some spectacular saves to kep them off the board. Jason had obviously recovered from his pre-season injury. On the other end of the ice things were not going so good. Weston Tardy waited until the goalie was screened before he let it loose from the blue-line. His powerplay goal at 13:49 made it 2-0. Four minutes later Alex Matieroukine took a great pass from Jeff Genovy and wrapped around the goal - he waited for what seemed to be an eternity until the goalie committed and then slid the puck in.

In addition to the Buc goal scoring the fans were treated to two fights from unlikely sources: Andy Nelson and Ryan Dingle pummeled their oponnents to the roar of the crowd.

Jeff Genovy increased the lead to 4-0 with a goal just 1:46 into the second period. Jason Brown had his work cut out for him as Chicago made a run to get the goose-egg off the board. The Buc defense was solid, but when Chicago did get a shot off, Brown was there. The Bucs were to score again as Sean Kotary and Alex Matieroukine made ti 6-0 at the end of the period. The Bucs were out-shot 12-10 for the period, but had scored 3 goals. Justin Nikle scored two goals in the third period to close out the scoring for the Bucs. His first goal was on a powerplay 6 minutes into the period and the second with just :42 seconds left when he skated in alone and slipped it by the goaltender.

Kotary (Collins), Tardy (PP) (unassisted), Matieroukine (Genovy), Genovy (unassisted), Kotary (Collins), Matieroukine (Langdon, Skinner), Nikle (PP) (Hutchins), and Nikle (Kotary) scored for the Bucs. Brown was in goal and made 30 saves. Also see the picture set of 49 photos in the photo area.

Written by Steve Bendy

Team Score Scoring Shots PIM Powerplays Winning Goalie (Saves-Shots)
DES MOINES 8 3-3-2 35 15 2-3 Brown (30-30)
Chicago 0 0-0-0 30 13 0-4 Daigneau (27-35)
DES MOINES: Kotary (2G,GW,A), Matieroukine (2G), Nikle (G,A,PP), Genovy (G,A), Tardy (G,PP), Dingle (G)
10/12/01 - Attendance: 3,217

Team Score Scoring Shots PIM Powerplays Winning Goalie (Saves-Shots)
CHICAGO 6 2-3-1 29 15 1-3 Bannerman (35-39)
Des Moines 4 2-1-1 39 13 1-4 Gartman (23-28)
CHICAGO: Stearns (G,2A), Richmond (G,2A,PP), Tharp (GW,SH), Morin (G), Smoleroff (G), Grynol (G)
DES MOINES: Hutchins (G,PP), Langdon (G), Bouchard (G), Genovy (G)
10/13/01 - Attendance: 1,799

Team Score Scoring Shots PIM Powerplays Winning Goalie (Saves-Shots)
SIOUX FALLS 5 1-2-2 29 14 0-3 Briggs (47-49)
Des Moines 2 1-1-0 49 10 1-5 Brown (24-29)
SIOUX FALLS: Vanek (2G,GW,2A), Przepiorka (2G), Webb (G)
DES MOINES: Nikle (G,A,PP), Tardy (G)
10/19/01 - Attendance: 4,037

Second Period Flurry Beats Stars

Des Moines, IA (10.20.01): Although early in the season, tonight was an important game for both teams. The Lincoln Stars were looking to improve their 1-3-1 record, while the Bucs were out to stop a 2 game slump. Although the Bucs had lost their last two games, it wasn't for lack of effort as they had outshot their opponents 88-58. As Coach Ferguson said, sometimes the puck just doesn't want to go in for you. As the Bucs were being introduced I began to wonder if the Lincoln Stars fans were going to show disrespect by yelling "Stars" during the national anthem like they had in the past. I had heard that after the September 11 attack they announced at a Lincoln game not to be disrespectful during the anthem and that they finally had stopped the stupid practice. They must have, as all the fans joined in the singing of the anthem with respect.

The Lincoln Stars came out hard and David Backes scored a goal just 26 seconds into the period. The goal, and the dominance of the Stars play made for a quiet arena. Halfway through the period a defensive breakdown led to another Lincoln goal, this time by Luke Erickson. Things were looking bad for the Bucs, but with 41 seconds left in the period Jeff Genovy fed Evan Stoflet to make it 2-1. More importantly, the momentum began to change, which brought the crowd back into the game. The Bucs ended up outshooting Lincoln 11-10.

Ryan Dingle tied the score at 10:56 (assisted by Brett Skinner). The goal really pumped up the team and the red light was on again two minutes later. This time it was a powerplay goal by Kris Bouchard, assisted by Sean Kotary (see photo). After the goal, Phillippe Lamoreaux, the young Lincoln goalie lay on the ice face down. He had been leading the USHL in keeping the puck out of the net. The Bucs were not done yet, and Maxwell had just finished announcing the goal when speedster Chris Collins put the Bucs up 4-2. The Bucs had scored 4 straight goals. Lincoln was able to score a powerplay goal late in the period, but the Bucs had a 4-3 lead and had outshot the Stars 21-10 for the period.

The Bucs ran the score to 5-3 seven minutes into the period when Alex Matieroukine finessed a the puck into the net. Two minutes later as the Bucs were on a powerplay and putting pressure on the net, the ref awarded the Bucs a penalty shot. Alex Matieroukine did the honors as the crowd was on their feet. He deked and shot, but the goalie got enough of it to keep it out of the net. No matter - 3 minutes later Andy Jurek (assisted by Leach) launched a smart bomb that hit the back of the net to make it 6-3. Lincoln did not give up, and pulled their goalie and scored a goal with 50 seconds left in the game. It was too little, too late and the Bucs had a 6-4 victory. Also see the picture set of 25 photos in the photo area.

Written by Steve Bendy

Team Score Scoring Shots PIM Powerplays Winning Goalie (Saves-Shots)
DES MOINES 6 1-3-2 42 18 1-7 Gartman (21-25)
Lincoln 4 2-1-1 25 20 2-6 Lamoureux (36-42)
DES MOINES: Matieroukine (GW), Collins (G), Bouchard (G,PP)
Hutchins (3A), Jurek (G), Dingle (G), Genovy (G)
LINCOLN: Backes (G,2A), Erickson (G,A,PP), Hontvet (G,PP), Potulny (G)
10/20/01 - Attendance: 3.019

Team Score Scoring Shots PIM Powerplays Winning Goalie (Saves-Shots)
GREEN BAY 4 0-3-1 28 16 0-3 Pfligler (23-26)
Des Moines 3 0-2-1 26 20 1-6 Gartman (24-28)
GREEN BAY: Michael (GW,2A), Deinema (G), Stapleton (G), Burish (G,SH)
DES MOINES: Johnson (G), Kotary (G), Langdon (G,PP)
10/26/01 - Attendance: 2,282

Team Score Scoring Shots PIM Powerplays Winning Goalie (Saves-Shots)
Des Moines 9 3-2-4 43 43 4-10 Brown (34-36)
GREEN BAY 2 0-1-1 36 36 0-7 Gartner (6-9)
DES MOINES: Skinner (2G,3A,2PP), Carlson (2G,GW), Johnson (G,2A),
Matieroukine (2G,PP), Hutchins (G,A,PP), Nikle (G)
GREEN BAY: Degenhardt (G), Michael (G)
10/27/01 - Attendance: 2,842

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.