Supporting the Bucs

The Bucs came home with a 3-0 lead in their best of seven series with top seed Omaha. The Bucs had gone to Omaha twice and beaten the Lancers on their home ice; now they could wrap it up at home. The stream of fans climbing the hill to 95KGGO Arena bristled with brooms, hoping to sweep the series and put the Bucs into the next round. It was a White Out night so Linda and I had worn white; we were also fortunate enough to get souvenir t-shirts to commemorate the event. We were ready.

The game was hard fought and the Bucs were constantly under pressure when advancing the puck. First goal went to Omaha. As the game unfolded, you could see the tension between players who'd played three games in short order. There were nudges and pokes and occasional verbal exchanges. Familiarity had bred contempt and it showed! One of the Omaha players was actually ejected in the second period.

As time wound down, the Bucs trailed 2-1 with only a few minutes left. They pulled their excellent goalie to put an added attacker on the ice. Omaha struggled with the pressure but eventually did get a player free with the puck and put the game out of reach in the closing seconds. The Bucs fell 3-1 but still lead the series ... 3-1.

They go back to Omaha to try to close it out there.

Between the periods, players from a VERY young Des Moines hockey league took the ice for a few minutes and played to a 1-1 tie. They were pretty cute ... AND good skaters!