After losing 5-2 last night in Lincoln against the Western Conference leading Stars, the Des Moines Buccaneers were probably hoping that home ice would provide a way to get back on the winning path. Unfortunately, playing their second game in as many nights against the teams that are first and second in the conference gave the Bucs their second loss of the weekend, and third straight loss overall.
Coach Regg Simon started Christian Frey in goal this evening, with Connor Varley and Zack Rall on defense, and Patrick Kirtland, Zach Saar, and Cal Decowski leading the offense. It took the Omaha Lancers just over two minutes to draw first blood when Nolan Zajac fired a hard shot past Frey from between the face-off cirlces. That was the only score of the period. The Lancers outshot the Bucs 11-8, and while the quantity of shots was close, the quality was not. The Lancers were able to force the Bucs to take most of their shots from the perimeter, while conversely, they were able to take their own shots on Frey from nearly anywhere they wanted, including in tight. In fact, it was a only because of a tremendous defensive effort by Duggie Lagrone that the game remaind 1-0 when the buzzer sounded. He was able to make a sprawling save at the left post that blocked a shot while Frey was recovering from a shot to the right.
The second period was mostly a repeat of the first, with Omaha still able to keep the Bucs shooting from the outside. The Lancers capitalized on a 5-on-3 power play with very little difficulty, while their third goal came from winning a face-off in their defensive zone, working the puck up the ice with little pressure from the Bucs, and burying a solid shot past Frey. Tanner Karty had the best chance for putting the Bucs on the scoreboard with a beautiful breakaway, but his shot was low and along the ice, and Alex Lyon was able to easily make a glove-side save. Des Moines out shot Omaha 10-8 in the period, but the scoreboard had the Lancers leading 3-0 at the end of 40 minutes of play.
The third period was almost totally uneventful until Zach Saar laid a heavy hit along the boards to Omaha's Nolan Zajac. The result was Zajac lying on the ice, and some pushing and shoving between the two teams. The fans were energized, but the Bucs still could not find any momentum. With just over a minute to go in the game, Frey was pulled for the extra attacker, but even six Bucs on the ice could find the back of the Lancer net. Omaha scored their final goal just as the buzzer sounded, and they left the 3,500 fans in attendance disappointed but still supportive of the team. Each team managed just six shots on goal in the third period, giving the Lancers a 28-24 advantage at the end of the game.
The Bucs close out the weekend tomorrow evening in Waterloo against the fourth place Blackhawks. With their loss last night and tonight, the Bucs now find themselves in sixth place in the Western Conference, with a record of 13-16-3 and 29 points.
All statistical information is provided by Pointstreak and the USHL.
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