A rivalry is born!

Hockey is not dead in Iowa.

Dubuque has a brand new USHL hockey team. This past Friday night, the Dubuque Fighting Saints faced off against Des Moines Buccaneers at Bucs Arena for their first-ever meeting.

Omaha has typically been the biggest nemesis of the Des Moines Bucs, but last Friday's game proved that their is a new player in the league. Dubuque got on the board first, but the Bucs answered a short while late with a goal of their own. The scoring remained fairly balanced through the first two periods of play, but the fiestiness on the ice started to pick up in the second period. The hits were getting harder and more frequent, and the tempers started to flare.

But it was the third period where the real action started. After a couple of fights and a couple of ejections, the Bucs found themselves on the short end of a 7-4 score. With a little over five and a half minutes left in the game, trailing by three goals, and wielding and short-handed offense that hadn't shown much fire since early in the second period, Coach Simon and the Bucs decided it was time to welcome the Dubuque Fighting Saints to the USHL, and also help them earn their given nickname. As soon as the puck dropped, so did the gloves.......ALL of them. Every player on the ice was instantly engaged in fighting, primarily instigated by the Bucs. The officials were helpless to stop any of it. Just seconds after the fighting started, the Dubuque goalie skated across the ice and meet the Des Moines goalie and the two of them went at it as well. It was a glorious sight!

After several minutes of picking up hockey equipment, sorting out penalties, and 7 ejections, hockey resumed and the Fighting Saints held on for the 7-4 win. But the Bucs made a statement, and made Dubuque's victory a painful one, sending them back to Dubuque with, yes, a win, but also maybe a little something to think about when they meet again. In the process, the Buccaneers created a new rival in the Dubuque Fighting Saints, and perhaps sold a few extra tickets for the rematch at Bucs Arena in December.

Video of the fights.

Regg Simon back with the Des Moines Buccaneers

The Des Moines Buccaneers announced today that Regg Simon is returning to Des Moines to be the head coach and general manager of the Buccaneers.

For the past two seasons, Simon has been an assistant coach at the University of Alaska-Anchorage. He previously coached in the Buccaneers organization from 2003 to 2008. As the head coach, he led the Buccaneers to a Clark Cup championship in the 2005-2006 season, developing players like Kyle Okposo and Trevor Lewis, who were both taken in the first round of the 2006 NHL draft. Simon also won "General Manager of the Year" in the same season.

Bucs owner Gil Peled said, “This is a great day for the Buccaneers organization and a great day for our fans.”

Iowa Barnstormers GM John Pettit, who also happens to be the special assistant to the Des Moines Buccaneers, was intrumental in helping coordinate bringing Coach Simon back to Des Moines. During the time that Simon previously coached the Bucs, Pettit was with the Iowa Stars AHL hockey team organization, also in Des Moines, and never lost touch with the coach after he left. “When Mike(Guentzel)informed us that he was taking the UNO job, I knew there was one call we had to make before we looked anywhere else, and that was to Regg”, said Pettit.

Simon says, “I’ve had success in Des Moines as a player, and as a coach, and I’m excited about the opportunity to bring the Buccaneers organization back to a level that the fans expect and deserve.”

Welcome back to Des Moines, Coach Simon! It's going to be a great season!