stringtranslate.com

Des Moines Buccaneers

The Des Moines Buccaneers are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team has played in the Western Conference since the 2009–10 season.

History

The Buccaneers began USHL play during the 1980–81 season and have played all their home games at Buccaneer Arena located in Urbandale, Iowa, outside of Des Moines. The Buccaneers have won four Anderson Cup championships (1993–94, 1994–95, 1997–98 and 1998–99) and four Clark Cup championships (1992, 1995, 1999 and 2006) in their history.

The Buccaneers also won three Gold Cups (in 1992, 1995, and 1998) for the Junior A National Championship awarded prior USA Hockey's 2001 realignment that shifted the USHL to Tier I status.

The Buccaneers have also had many players continue to play hockey after completing their USHL career in Des Moines. Many players have been given scholarships and move on to play NCAA Division I hockey, while others have gone on to play professional hockey. Most notably, Scott Clemmensen, a native of Des Moines, played for the Buccaneers before going to Boston College to play NCAA Division I hockey and then onto the New Jersey Devils and the Florida Panthers.

Clemmensen later became a co-owner of the Buccaneers as part of Orchard View Sports & Entertainment that purchased the team in 2017.[2] Kyle Okposo, who played on the 2005–06 Clark Cup championship team prior to playing for the University of Minnesota and is now playing for the Buffalo Sabres.

Arena

The Bucaneers played their home games at Buccaneer Arena since their inception. The arena, built in 1962, is nicknamed "The Madhouse on Hickman."[3] In 2020, the arena was damaged during the August 2020 Midwest derecho and the team was forced to start the 2020–21 season at Wells Fargo Arena in downtown Des Moines.[4] In November 2020, the team announced it would be replacing the old arena as part of a new development at Merle Hay Mall. The project will see a 3,500 seat main arena built in what was a Younkers department store, plus other disused sections of the mall turned into three additional community sheets of ice and a 150-room hotel.[5] Buccaneer Arena re-opened in January 2021, where the teams plans to play until the new center is complete.

Season-by-season record

Gold Cup tournament

The Gold Cup was the USA Hockey Junior A National Championship that the USHL participated in at the end of the season against the regular season and playoff champions of the other Junior A leagues. The USHL stopped participation in the tournament after USA Hockey realigned its designations and the USHL became a Tier I league in 2001. The Gold Cup was discontinued after the 2003 tournament when the remaining Tier II Junior A leagues merged.[11] Des Moines participated in five Gold Cup tournaments and won three Junior A National Championships.

Roster

As of September 21, 2022.[18]

Coaches

References

  1. ^ "Hockey Operations".
  2. ^ "USHL Approves Sale of Des Moines Buccaneers". United States Hockey League. October 28, 2017.
  3. ^ "Bucs, Bucs, Bucs! | CITYVIEW". Archived from the original on 2018-02-28.
  4. ^ "Des Moines Buccaneers to open season at Wells Fargo Arena". KCCI. October 13, 2020.
  5. ^ "Des Moines Buccaneers hockey team moving to new 3,500-seat arena at Merle Hay Mall". The Des Moines Register. November 19, 2020.
  6. ^ "Bobcats vs. Bucs". The Des Moines Register. March 14, 1981.
  7. ^ "Brawl ends hockey playoff game early, Buccaneers fall, 7–2". The Des Moines Register. March 19, 1981.
  8. ^ "March 22, 1981 paper". Retrieved October 31, 2017.
  9. ^ "Improved Bucs face 'ex-friends' in title playoff". Des Moines Tribune. March 24, 1982. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  10. ^ "It's do or die tonight for the Buccaneers". Des Moines Tribune. April 2, 1982. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  11. ^ "TRADITION". Des Moines Buccaneers. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  12. ^ "1991–92 Bucs' archives". Des Moines Buccaneers. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  13. ^ "1993–94 Bucs' archives". Des Moines Buccaneers. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  14. ^ "1994–95 Bucs' archives". Des Moines Buccaneers. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  15. ^ "1997–98 Bucs' archives". Des Moines Buccaneers. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  16. ^ "1998–99 Bucs' archives". Des Moines Buccaneers. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  17. ^ "1998–99 Bucs' archives". Des Moines Buccaneers. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  18. ^ "Des Moines Buccaneers Roster". USHL. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  19. ^ "Wiley Quitting as Coach of Bucs". The Des Moines Register. February 27, 1990.
  20. ^ "Guentzel hired". The Des Moines Register. September 1, 2009.
  21. ^ "Bucs Announce Reorganization". OurSportsCentral.com. April 16, 2018.
  22. ^ "Des Moines Buccaneers Announce the Hiring of Former NCAA Coach & NHL Scout Gene Reilly as Their Head Coach". OurSportsCentral.com. June 13, 2018.
  23. ^ "Des Moines Buccaneers Announce Peter Mannino as Head Coach". USHL. June 4, 2019. Archived from the original on June 19, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  24. ^ "Matt Curley Named Head Coach of the Des Moines Buccaneers". OurSports Central. June 16, 2021.

External links