2003 JV State tournament

DM Register interview with Drew Berk

February 12, 2004
James Brock started the scoring against Ames Thursday night at the Metro Sports Ice Arena 17 seconds into the game.   The Capitals led the Varsity and JV games to their entirety.  The Capitals had trouble finding the net early; going to the locker room up 3-2 after the 2nd period.  The Caps found the back of the net in the third as they racked up five unanswered goals.

The JV group spread out the scoring between Wigger (2) Duffy, Herink, Traeger, Piper, Cross, Johnson, & Falvey.

After battling for wins at home, the Varsity Capitals will fight for the top spot in the regular season standings Friday.  The Capitals are on the road to Lincoln for their final game of the regular season.  Varsity scoring against Waterloo: Lorence (2) , Ridgway, Brock, Krueger with assists to Naert, Ferguson, Elliott (2), and Brock.

Junior Varsity scoring: Traeger, Herink, Henss (3), Duffy, Wigger, Cross, and Anderegg.  Assists: Wigger, Henss, Duffy, Cross (2), Wigger, Davis, Traeger, Marean, Helm (2), Ridgway, Bunting.

Capitals 3
Mason City 0

Make it a three win sweep.  The Capitals shut out the Mohawks in their final meeting of the season. 
Marc Lorence scored the winning goal in the second period in a tightly played contest. James Brock stole the puck and put the biscuit past Mason City goaltender Tyler Brown with less then a minute in the game, and Tim Ramsey finished the scoring with 22 seconds remaining in the game.

Ames Cross scored two goals in the third period of the Junior Varsity game to narrow the gap of a disappointing 5-3 loss to the Mohawks.  Kevin Herink scored early in the game, but the Mohawks got the better of the Caps in the first period.  The Capitals outshot the Mohawks 37-19.

Weekend Summary
Varsity 1-1
JV 1-0-1

In three games this season against the rival Des Moines Oak Leafs, the JV record is a mysterious 0-0-3 against the #1 rated IHSHL JV Team.  Two goals wasn't quite enough to overcome the varsity Oak Leafs, and the 2003-2004 record between the two Des Moines high school teams is edged by the Leafs 2-1.

Former Capital Goalie Gets NHL Start

Former Capital and Des Moines Buccaneer goalie Scott Clemmensen made his NHL start playing for the New Jersey Devils Tuesday January 20th against the Pittsburg Penguins.  Scott turned down 25 shots to boast an NHL shutout and pull the Devils over the Penguins 3-0.

Varsity 3-0 After Trifecta Weekend
Urbandale Iowa, Sunday 1/5/2004

The Capitals started out Friday night routing the Warriors 8-4, and the weekend of ice time ended Sunday with a 2-1 squeaker over the KC Blades.  Saturday, Brett Ferguson pounced the puck past Mohawks goalie Brett Frein with 0.01 seconds remaining in the third period to send the game into OT.  After successfully killing a Mason City power-play opportunity, Derek Elliott scored a short-handed goal to pull off a dramatic win for the Capitals Varsity squad.

The board members whose term ended in the 2002-2003 season were honored at the December 23, 2003 Capitals vs. Oak Leafs game. More >>

Capitals On Roll
1/3/2004

Derek Elliott made an impact and helped the Capitals overcome the Waterloo Warriors 8-4 Friday at the Metro Ice Sports Arena.  Goals by Lorence & Krueger in the first and second periods kept the Caps up by a goal.  Brock, Holmes, and Ferguson rounded out the scoring in the third period. 

The Warriors scored late in the JV contest with a power play goal to to cut the final score to a 2-1 Capitals victory.  Josh Henss scored early in the first, and Mark Duffy tallied early in the second period with the winning goal.

Capitals Answer Oak Leafs 6-3
Reprinted from the Des Moines Register 12/24/2003

Make that six in a row.

The Des Moines Capitals continued their winning ways Tuesday, extending their streak of Iowa High School Hockey League victories to six.

The 6-3 victory at the ice arena in Urbandale was a payback for a three-goal loss to the rival Des Moines Oak Leafs in November.

"We were ready for it," Capitals forward Brett Ferguson said. "Especially after last time."

The Capitals won on an unassisted goal from Ferguson in the second period. The home-team Capitals also jumped ahead of the Oak Leafs in the league standings.

The two teams came in tied with 20 points and in fourth place in the 11-team league.

"We came out strong and wanted revenge," Capitals defenseman Roch Naert said. "We want to build toward the end of the year."

The Capitals, who averaged 7.6 goals a game in their previous five games, continued to put up big numbers.

Valley junior Ferguson, Urbandale senior Naert and Dowling senior James Brock each finished with two points, with each tallying one goal and one assist.

The Capitals (11-4-0) outshot the Oak Leafs, 33-18, including 17-3 in a three-goal second period, to break it open.

The Capitals led, 5-1, entering the final period.

"The second period was huge," Naert said. "We came together in the second."

The Capitals took the lead less than one minute in, but the Oak Leafs tied it less than three minutes later.

The Capitals then scored five unanswered goals, including two on the power play, before the Oak Leafs (10-6-0) answered with scores by Derek Hansen and Nathan Drew in the final two minutes.

"We took care of our chances," Ferguson said.

Oak Leafs goaltender Tim Thomas made 27 saves. The Capitals Steven Erbstein made 15 saves.

"Erbstein had a heck of a game," Naert said.

Now the two Des Moines teams take a break.

The Oak Leafs, who played their first game in the Des Moines area this month, don't play again until Jan. 9 in Lincoln.

The Capitals are off until Jan. 2 against Waterloo.

The two Des Moines high school hockey teams compete against one another once more during the 2003-04 regular season. They meet Jan. 29 in an Oak Leafs' home game at the ice arena in Urbandale.

"It'll be a rubber match," Ferguson said. "Intense."

The Capitals lead the overall series, 11-4. >>
 

Varsity Rolls and JV Rocks Ames Little Cyclones
Ames, Iowa November 15, 2004

Varsity continued their winning streak in Ames Saturday night against the Little Cyclones.  At 8 minutes and 9 seconds into the second period, James Brock one-timed a cross-ice pass from Roch Naert to break the scoring silence.  Brock tallied 2, Ferguson, Gordo, and Elliott rounded out the 5-1 win.

The JV team rallied behind Pat Falvey's hat trick + 1 to storm the Little Cyclones 13-1.  Cross, Helm, and Henss buried 2 each, and Freshman Jonathan Bunting and Zach Davis rounded out the scoring frenzy.

Varsity Handles Omaha 5-2
Omaha, Nebraska November 8, 2003

Avenging a season-opening loss, Jared Mulled rifled a hat trick against the Lancers Saturday night in Omaha.  Brett Ferguson stacked the first tally, and the Capitals never looked back.

The Junior Varsity team could not hold off the defensively-tight Lancers in their second meeting of the year.  The Lancers shut out the Caps 3-0.

OT Win Puts Capitals On Plus Weekend
Urbandale, Iowa November 2, 2004

After a 4-2 win Saturday night, the Varsity team celebrated a 2-1 win over Lincoln 6:00 minutes into OT on Sunday.  Jamie Gordon-Kamm sniped the Capital's 55th shot on goal past Lincoln's Chris Taylor for the win.

Suffering from a 66 shot-on-goal drought, Charlie Wigger lit the JV lamp for the first time this season.  The JV team went on to win 7-0 after suffering a 2-0 loss to Lincoln Saturday night. 

Omaha Holds Off Capitals
Omaha, Nebraska October 31, 2003
What started as a 10-1 flurry of Capitals shots ended with a 3-2 Capitals loss.  Two consecutive power play Omaha goals by Tim Smith put Omaha on top with 9 seconds remaining in the game.  Pat Falvey shot Des Moines on top in the first period with his first Varsity and the Capitals first goal of the season.

The Junior Varsity team matched up well against their Omaha rivals. Strong defensive play by the Jr. Lancers shut down the Caps' 19 shots on goal, and Omaha held to a 2-0 win.

Pre-season Action
September 22, 2004
Ross Kirby battles for position against a KC Stars player in pre-season Midget AA action.

October 18, 2004
After a slow start, the JV squad rolled back to tie the KC Stars Midget Minor team 3-3 in their first of 2 games.  Keeping the momentum from the first game, the Capitals beat the '88 Stars 2-1 in an evenly shot 2nd game.