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USHL Des Moines Buccaneers

Fans Rise to Occassion; Raise over $11k for John Stoddard Cancer Center

January 6, 2014 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Des Moines Buccaneers News Release


Urbandale (IA) With over 30 years of built up goodwill, the Central Iowa community has shown its humbling loyalty to the Des Moines Buccaneers in many ways throughout the seasons. One of them is through joining forces with the Buccaneers' in various community-outreach programs and it was proven again last Saturday night when fans contributed in significant ways to the John Stoddard Cancer Center.

Fans combined to bid a total of $11,025 during the sixth annual John Stoddard Cancer Center jersey auction following the Buccaneers 9-5 win over the Fargo Force on Saturday night. During the game the Buccaneers wore specially designed red jerseys and after the game, fans were invited to stick around and take part in a live auction. Each winning bidder was able to make their donation directly to John Stoddard staff who were present and also get a photo taken with the player whose jersey they had won.

100% of the proceeds are staying local and will go towards John Stoddard's new Adolescent and Youth Services program which is one of only a few of its kind in the Midwest.

"The jersey auctions are always a great amount of fun with the backdrop of the money going to a great place" said Buccaneers' Director of Communications Scott Montesano. "It's interesting to see how high some of the bids go."

The honor of highest drawing jersey this year goes to captain Danny Elser's, who had his jersey auction off at $1,050.

"Every year it's either a goalie jersey or the captain's jersey because of the stitched 'C' that draw the most interest" added Montesano.

The Des Moines Buccaneers are proud to continue their partnership with UnityPoint Health Systems which goes back almost 20 years. In addition to the recent tradition of the John Stoddard Cancer Center jersey auction, the Buccaneers have also held their annual Teddy Bear Toss in conjunction with Blank's Children's Hospital and every year players routinely visit UnityPoint System doctors for injuries.

Buccaneers Take 2/3 of Weekend

It wasn't perfect, but it was close, as the Buccaneers won on Friday at Omaha and Saturday at home over Fargo, but lost at home Sunday against Muskegon.

"I thought we played very good as a team in Omaha on Friday and at home Saturday against Fargo. We stuck to our systems and played 60 minutes" said head coach Jon Rogger. "On Sunday, I thought we came out flat and took selfish penalties which resulted in costing us the game"

The Buccaneers aren't satisfied at all.

"Our goal for the weekend was to get six points and we came out with four. Overall, we are a little disappointed with how the weekend turned out" added Rogger.

There were a number of positives for the Buccaneers, including defenseman Cory Schueneman who was a +10 rating in the three games. The win in Omaha is one of the highlights of the season and the offensive onslaught on Saturday was fun to see. On the other hand, the Buccaneers had issues with their penalty kill which ultimately doomed the team in their loss on Sunday.

"Right now we are going to have to go over video and see why our penalty kill struggled the way it did on Sunday. I feel that we have the right guys killing penalties but making careless mistakes" commented Rogger. "Special teams are going to be the main focus at practice this week."

The results this weekend give Des Moines a 6-2-2 record over their last 10 games, a stretch of .700% hockey that validates the Buccaneers improved play on the ice since late November.

Offense Explodes

The Buccaneers 9-5 win over the Fargo Force on Saturday was both a season-high in total goals and season-high for goals in a period when they tallied six in the second. The margin of victory also matches a season-high.

Individually, Jack Jenkins and Cory Schueneman had three assists. Ryan Galt and Tanner Karty had two goals. Mike Marnell had two assists. Marcel Godbout and Brendan Shane added a goal and an assist.

Overall, 16 skaters registered at least a point in the victory.

Burns Makes them Count

Forward R.J. Burns made sure his first two goals meant a great deal as he scored the game winning goals both Friday and Saturday night. His third period goal on Friday at Omaha was the difference in a 3-2 win over the first place Lancers. Then on Saturday, he was a part of the second period explosion and it was his goal that was winner in a 9-5 win over Fargo.

Burns, a Pearl River, NY native, joined the Buccaneers in November after spending last season as a freshman on the Army hockey team.

Long Time Coming

The Buccaneers 3-2 win at Omaha on Friday is the team's first victory on the road since Oct. 26th at Ann Arbor over the NTDP U-17. Actually, the Buccaneers are now on a two-game point streak on the road having earned a standings point with their shootout loss at Chicago Dec. 28th.

The Des Moines Buccaneers are in their 34th consecutive season in the United States Hockey League. 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 2013-2014 season are available by calling (515) 278-2827.

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United States Hockey League Stories from January 6, 2014


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