The Des Moines Buccaneers took to the ice on December 17, 2011 against the Youngstown Phantoms. At 15-6-1, the Phantoms were on paper 10 points better than the Bucs. The last meeting between these two teams took place on October 14 and 15, with Youngstown taking both games on their home ice 4-2 and 5-1 respectively.
The Bucs started Jason Kasdorf in goal. He had J.D. Cotroneo and Connor Schmidt on defense in front of him, and Justin Hussar, Chad McDonald, and Anthony Greco leading the offensive attack.
The Phantoms tested Kasdorf very early in the game, and netted their first goal before most in the crowd had a chance to finish their first $1 hot dog promotion. Phantoms forward Soren Jonzzon scored on Kasdorf just 34 seconds into the game, and it appeared right away that the Phantoms might again have the better of the Bucs. But Des Moines would come right back. A shot by Mac Olson beat Phantoms goalie Matthew O'Connor at the 1:47 mark and tied the game at 1-1.
The rest of the period saw some great end-to-end action, with no team having an overall advantage or prolonged offensive push into their offensive zones. Heavy hitting and physical play was the highlight of the first period, much to the crowd's enjoyment. The Bucs found themselves on the power play at 7:03, and found themselves a man down at 14:32. Neither power play squad could connect, and both power plays seemed unable to get set up and get quality chances going. The period came to a close with the Bucs Tanner Karty and the Phantoms J.T. Stenglein sent to the penalty box at 19:03 for fighting. The period ended with a 1-1 tie, and the Bucs enjoying a 16-10 shot advantage.
The second period found Youngstown right back on the quick offensive, with Dylan Margonari scoring on Kasdorf just 2:19 into the period. Margonari was sent off the ice 34 seconds later for cross-checking, and the Bucs found themselves with the first power play of the period. Unfortunately, they were unable to get on track, and the Phantoms tallied a short-handed goal by Austin Cangelosi at the 4:14 mark. With only 41 seconds left on their power play, the Bucs found themselves down 3-1, and their extra man advantage expired with nothing positive to show for it.
The Bucs then found themselves down a man at the 5:52 mark when Matt Miller was sent to the box to serve a minor for too many men on the ice. Not to be outdone by the Phantoms, Kevin Irwin brought the Bucs back to within 1 with a short-handed shot that got past O'Connor at the 7:25 mark. When the Phantoms found themselves short-handed again at 9:04, the Bucs were able to set up a strong offensive zone presence that paid off. Trent Samuels-Thomas evened the game at 3-3 as the power play ended with a goal at 11:06. Tempers began to flare, and the Phantoms Michael Gunn was sent to the box with a 5 minute penalty for cross-checking before play even got started after the Samuels-Thomas goal. Only 34 seconds later, the Phantoms regained a lead they never relinquished as Mike Ambrosia netted their second short-handed goal of the evening.
The remainder of the period was penalty filled, as referee Maciejewski filled the penalty boxes with coincidental minor infractions at 14:43, 15:54, and two coincidentals for each team at 17:48. The Phantoms were unable to grab any immediate momentum from their fourth goal, and while the Bucs appeared to have the overall edge in offensive play during the period, they were unable to find an equalizing goal. The period ended with the Phantoms leading 4-3 on the scoreboard, and posting a 16-9 advantage in shots.
The third period had the same start as the first two. Kasdorf was chased from the goal at the 2:40 mark when Alex Gacek beat him unassisted on a shot from the right circle. Christian Frey came in for the Bucs but quickly found himself in the same situation, being beaten by a blue-line shot from the right by Youngstown's Jordan Young a mere 46 seconds later. Youngstown was called for two minor penalties at 4:53 and 6:12, and the Bucs were able to convert on the ensuing 5 on 3 man advantage with a goal by Anthony Greco at 6:41. But the Bucs never seemed to get any sort of sustained attack together after that goal, and the Phantoms took advantage of the Bucs apparent lack of offense and coordination with their final goal at 15:34 by Eric Sweetman. The final score was 7-4, with the Phantoms edging the Bucs in shots 39-37.
The Bucs are now off until December 28 when they travel to Kearney, NE for a matchup against the Tri-City Storm. The Bucs find themselves below .500 at 10-11-1 for the season. They hold a 3-1 season advantage over the 9-16-0 Storm.
Visit the Des Moines Buccaneers website for team information and to purchase your tickets for the next home game!
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