GAMES 8 & 9
CORALVILLE, IA -- The Quad City Ice Eagle Bantam
hockey team snapped back from its only loss of the
year last weekend by posting two hard-fought wins over
Des Moines, in games played Saturday at the new ice
rink in the Coral Ridge Mall. Goaltender Brandon
Kruse had his best day of the season, allowing just
one goal as the Eagles prevailed by scores of 4-0 and 3-1.
The first game was a fiercely-contended defensive
struggle for two periods, with neither team able to
score. Early in the third period, however, the
Eagles were able to strike first when Ryne Takacs
converted a pass from Brian Moriarty and beat the DesMoines goalie
from 15 feet. Just over a minute later, Defenseman
Jason Corcoran skated in from the left point and fired
a low drive that Adam Oppendike redirected into the
net for a 2-0 lead. After that the Buccaneers
unraveled like the proverbial cheap suit. Three
minutes later, David Warta blasted a rocket past the
netminder, assisted by Takacs. Just a minute later,
Grant Rueter ended the scoring when he went top shelf
from 15 feet to the left of the net.
The Eagles protected the shutout for the final half
of the period, with Kruse stopping all 20 Des Moines
shots for his fourth shutout of the season.
After a long afternoon of checking out the Coral
Ridge mall between games, both teams took to the icefor the
second game at 6 p.m. Again defense was the main
theme as both teams again battled through a scoreless
and chippy first period. The Buccaneers took their
only lead of the day midway through the second period
when Right Wing Bill Breedlove beat Kruse from in
close. That lead held up until the final 35 seconds
of the second period, when the Eagles, playing a man
short due to a penalty, tied the game on a great
individual effort by Josh Moon. Moon outraced two
defenders and went in alone to score the tying goal.
The third period was one of the most exciting periods
of the season, with both teams scrambling for the
go-ahead goal. Due to an injury to Trent Lidholm,
Coach Jerry Moon was forced to shake up his lines,with Brian
Moriarty moving to defense. Finally, midway through
the period, Ryne Takacs found linemate Austin Busch
free in the slot, and Austin converted the pass into
the lead goal with a quick shot to the top corner ofthe net.
The Eagles had to kill off a few penalties, and the
game was not in the bag until Busch scored an empty-net
goal from center ice in the last minute of play.
The two wins improved the Eagles' record to 8-1,
while the chippy Des Moines squad went home still
winless in nine games for the season. The Eagles areoff until
Saturday, November 21 when they entertain the
Springfield Kings for two games at the QCSC.
Email: jasoncorcoran@hotmail.com