Buccaneers Prepare for Fall Classic
September 17, 2012 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Des Moines Buccaneers News Release
Urbandale (IA) With a week of practice and two preseason games under their belt the Des Moines Buccaneers continue to work towards the 2012-2013 regular season opener at the end of the month. Head coach and general manager Jon Rogger has a few more days to decide upon his roster of 23 players, which means cutting six players who are currently in camp, and will get an excellent opportunity to make criticial decisions during the United States Hockey League's annual Fall Classic event this week.
Des Moines will play three games in three days in Sioux City, IA during the league's yearly event that serves as both a preseason showcase and league-wide family reunion. The objective in the games varies by team but the common thread amongst everyone is for coaches to determine their rosters and for players to take advantage of the visibility of playing before hundreds of collegiate and professional scouts in attendance.
Winning doesn't necessarily mean anything but can be a prediction of things to come as last year Green Bay went 3-0 at the Fall Classic which set the tone for their Anderson and Clark Cup season.
The Buccaneers will head to the Fall Classic on Wednesday coming off consecutive losses to the Omaha Lancers, losing 4-2 on the road on Sept. 14 and falling 3-2 at home on Sept. 15. Having only skated in official practices since the beginning of last week, the Bucs looked every bit the part of a team with players foreign to one another as they fell behind 4-0 after one period.
However, the team stabilized after that and actually outscored Omaha 4-3 over the final five periods of game action.
Goaltenders Nick Ellis and Billy Christopoulos looked sharp in net with Ellis stopping 39 shots on Friday and Christopoulos making 35 saves on Saturday. Four different players scored for the Bucs including Tanner Karty, Christian Lampasso, Michael Marnell and Luke Voltin and five other players had assists.
None of the Bucs had more than one point during the weekend.
Buccaneers Fall Classic Schedule
Sept. 19 Cedar Rapids (Sioux City) 1pm
Sept. 20 Youngstown (Sioux City) 2pm
Sept. 21 Indiana (Sioux City) 10am
Exclusive Roster Release Party
Season ticket holders will have an exclusive opportunity to meet the 2012-2013 Des Moines Buccaneers on Monday September 24th at the arena. Head coach Jon Rogger will make the announcement of the official roster while season ticket holders will be able to learn about the players as well as pick up their tickets for the season.
Details will be announced this week.
The party will only be open to season ticket holders with the roster scheduled to be released to the general public the afternoon of September 25th.
Dance Party
The Des Moines Buccaneers are planning to roll out a brand new dance team in 2012-2013. Interested candidates are asked to contact the Buccaneers at emily@bucshockey.com. Tryouts will be held Sept. 22-23 and those participating must be at least 18 years of age.
Hall of Fame Committee Continues Preparations
The revived Des Moines Buccaneers' franchise Hall of Fame will begin taking significant steps forward later this month when the committee begins to nominate and select those individuals who will make up the first class of inductees since 2002.
The Committee will next meet Tuesday September 18 at Buccaneer Arena at 7pm with the objective of narrowing down the nomination list.
The Buccaneers announced in late June plans to bring back the Hall of Fame which had fallen into dormancy over the last decade. Plans include a special Hall of Fame weekend in March and the placing of a permanent display inside of the arena before the end of 2012-2013.
Pocket Schedule Deliveries
Fans will begin seeing the 2012-2013 Buccaneers' pocket schedules in various Central Iowa locations beginning this week.
The Des Moines Buccaneers are preparing for their 33rd consecutive season in the United States Hockey League beginning in the Fall of 2012. Since 1980, the Buccaneers have produced hundreds of NCAA Division I players and dozens of professional alumni. Season Ticket Packages and Corporate Partnership information for the 2012-2013 season is available by calling (515) 278-2827.
United States Hockey League Stories from September 17, 2012
- Individual Game Tickets on Sale Now - Indiana Ice
- Buccaneers Prepare for Fall Classic - Des Moines Buccaneers
- USHL Partners with Sauce Hockey - USHL
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