Des Moines Buccaneers

The Des Moines Buccaneers are a 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. Kyle Okposo, who played on the 2005–06 Clark Cup championship team prior to playing for the University of Minnesota and played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, and Florida Panthers.

In August 2024, it was announced that the team had moved to MidAmerican Energy Co. RecPlex due to a mechanical issue with preparing the ice surface at Buccaneer Arena.

Arena The Bucaneers played their home games at Buccaneer Arena since their inception. The arena, built in 1962, is nicknamed "The Madhouse on Hickman." 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.

Due to a mechanical issue with preparing the ice surface at Buccaneer Arena, the Des Moines Buccaneers currently play their home games at the MidAmerican Energy Co. RecPlex in West Des Moines.

Season-by-season record Season Finish Playoffs 1980–81 48 23 25 0 —— 46 240 299 2nd, South 2–3 in Clark Cup round-robin(W, 10–6 vs. Green Bay; L, 5–11 vs. Dubuque; L, 2–7 vs. St. Paul; W, 5–4 vs. Waterloo; L, 3–7 vs. Austin) 1981–82 48 18 29 1 —— 37 265 314 6th 3–2 in Clark Cup round-robin(L, 4–6 vs. Bloomington; W, 5–2 vs. Sioux City; W, 11–5 vs. Dubuque; L, 6–7 vs. Austin; W, 9–1 vs. St. Paul)Lost Clark Cup final, 2–3 vs. Sioux City Musketeers 1982–83 48 25 22 1 —— 51 298 309 3rd Won quarterfinal, 3–1 vs. Bloomington Jr. StarsLost semifinal, 1–3 vs. Sioux City Musketeers 1983–84 48 23 21 1 3 — 50 270 259 4th Won quarterfinal, 2–0 vs. North Iowa HuskiesLost semifinal, 0–3 vs. St. Paul Vulcans 1984–85 48 7 37 1 3 — 18 183 255 10th did not qualify 1985–86 48 11 36 0 1 — 23 194 331 9th did not qualify 1986–87 48 23 20 2 3 — 51 277 241 6th Lost quarterfinal, 0–3 vs. Madison Capitols 1987–88 48 23 19 3 3 — 52 266 270 4th Lost quarterfinal, 0–3 vs. Madison Capitols 1988–89 48 18 27 1 2 — 39 250 276 6th Lost quarterfinal, 0–3 vs. Madison Capitols 1989–90 48 17 29 2 0 — 36 216 297 8th Lost quarterfinal, 0–3 vs. Omaha Lancers 1990–91 48 28 13 2 5 — 63 247 187 T-2nd, USHL Lost quarterfinal, 2–3 vs. Dubuque Fighting Saints 1991–92 48 35 10 2 1 — 73 291 157 2nd, USHL Won quarterfinal, 3–0 vs. Sioux City MusketeersWon semifinal, 3–2 vs. St. Paul VulcansWon Clark Cup final, 3–1 vs. Dubuque Fighting Saints 1992–93 48 33 11 4 0 — 70 231 171 2nd, USHL Won quarterfinal, 3–0 vs. Waterloo Black HawksLost semifinal, 0–3 vs. Dubuque Fighting Saints 1993–94 48 36 12 0 0 — 72 231 150 1st, USHL Won quarterfinal, 4–0 vs. Rochester MustangsWon semifinal, 3–0 vs. St. Paul VulcansLost Clark Cup final, 2–3 vs. Omaha Lancers 1994–95 48 38 5 5 0 — 81 290 144 1st, USHL Won quarterfinal, 4–0 vs. North Iowa HuskiesWon semifinal, 3–0 vs. Dubuque Fighting SaintsWon Clark Cup final, 3–2 vs. Omaha Lancers 1995–96 46 21 21 2 2 — 46 177 174 7th, USHL Won quarterfinal, 4–2 vs. Omaha LancersLost semifinal, 1–4 vs. Rochester Mustangs 1996–97 54 37 13 — 4 — 78 245 168 3rd, South Lost quarterfinal, 1–4 vs. North Iowa Huskies 1997–98 56 40 14 — 2 — 82 226 148 1st, South Won quarterfinal, 4–0 vs. Green Bay GamblersWon semifinal, 4–0 vs. Lincoln StarsLost Clark Cup final, 0–4 vs. Omaha Lancers 1998–99 56 48 7 — 1 — 97 304 133 1st, Central Won quarterfinal, 3–0 vs. Twin City VulcansWon semifinal 3–2 vs. Lincoln StarsWon Clark Cup final, 4–2 vs. Omaha Lancers 1999–2000 58 35 20 —— 3 73 220 196 4th, West Won quarterfinal, 3–1 vs. Omaha LancersLost semifinal, 2–3 vs. Green Bay Gamblers 2000–01 56 32 21 — 3 — 67 195 190 4th, West Lost quarterfinal, 0–3 vs. Omaha Lancers 2001–02 61 32 24 — 5 — 69 222 202 3rd, East Lost quarterfinal, 0–3 vs. Green Bay Gamblers 2002–03 60 27 27 — 2 4 60 200 223 3rd, East Lost quarterfinal, 1–3 vs. Waterloo Black Hawks 2003–04 60 29 26 — 1 4 63 202 200 4th, West Lost quarterfinal, 0–3 vs. Tri-City Storm 2004–05 60 17 37 — 2 4 40 174 244 6th, East did not qualify 2005–06 60 33 21 — 3 3 72 208 173 T-1st, East Won quarterfinal, 3–0 vs. Omaha LancersWon semifinal, 3–0 vs. Cedar Rapids RoughRidersWon Clark Cup final, 3–2 vs. Sioux Falls Stampede 2006–07 60 29 21 — 1 9 68 215 206 6th, West Won first round, 3–2 vs. Omaha Lancers2–0 in round-robin(W, 3–0 vs. Tri-City; W, 3–2 vs. Sioux Falls)Lost semifinal game, 0–1 OT vs. Waterloo Black Hawks 2007–08 60 14 40 — 2 4 34 134 213 6th, West did not qualify 2008–09 60 12 43 — 2 3 29 167 283 6th, East did not qualify 2009–10 60 20 34 — 4 2 40 143 220 6th, West did not qualify 2010–11 60 29 25 — 2 4 64 174 177 7th, West did not qualify 2011–12 60 20 33 — 1 6 47 168 215 7th, West did not qualify 2012–13 64 25 35 — 1 3 54 189 245 7th, West did not qualify 2013–14 60 20 32 — 2 6 48 154 208 6th, West did not qualify 2014–15 60 21 26 — 6 7 55 164 204 7th, West did not qualify 2015–16 60 25 30 — 5 0 55 165 205 7th, West did not qualify 2016–17 60 36 20 — 1 3 76 177 154 4th, West Lost quarterfinal, 0–3 vs. Sioux City Musketeers 2017–18 60 20 33 — 4 3 47 145 199 8th, West did not qualify 2018–19 62 35 22 — 1 4 75 202 177 4th, West Won first round, 2–0 vs. Fargo ForceLost conference semifinal, 0–3 vs. Tri-City Storm 2019–20 47 21 23 — 1 2 45 147 174 7th, West season cancelled 2020–21 51 26 21 — 4 0 56 158 152 5th, West did not qualify 2021–22 62 18 39 — 3 2 41 166 238 8th, West did not qualify 2022–23 62 25 28 — 5 4 59 167 194 6th, West Lost first round, 0–2 vs. Lincoln Stars 2023–24 60 24 29 — 5 2 55 176 198 7th, West did not qualify 2024–25 62 25 32 — 5 0 55 181 223 7th, West did not qualify 2025–26 62 27 27 — 4 4 62 188 190 4th, West Lost first round, 1–2 vs. Lincoln Stars

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. Des Moines participated in five Gold Cup tournaments and won three Junior A National Championships.

Year Round-Robin Record Semifinal Game Championship Game 1992 W, 8–4 vs. Detroit Jr. Red Wings (NAHL)W, 7–4 vs. Detroit Compuware Ambassadors (NAHL)W, 5–3 vs. Indianapolis Jr. Ice (NAHL) 3–0–0 Not held W, 9–1 vs. Detroit Compuware Ambassadors (NAHL)Won Gold Cup 1994 W, 9–5 vs. Kalamazoo Jr. Wings (NAHL)OTL, 5–6 (3OT) vs. Detroit Compuware (NAHL)L, 3–4 vs. Niagara Scenic (NAHL) 1–1–1 did not advance 1995 W, 6–1 vs. Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL)W, 6–2 vs. Detroit Freeze (NAHL)W, 5–1 vs. Compuware Ambassadors (NAHL) 3–0–0 W, 3–2 (2OT) vs. Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL) W, 5–4 (OT) vs. Omaha Lancers (USHL)Won Gold Cup 1998 W, 6–3 vs. Billings Bulls (AFHL)W, 7–1 vs. Bozeman Icedogs (AFHL)W, 3–2 (OT) vs. Detroit Compuware (NAHL) 3–0–0 W, 4–2 vs. Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL) W, 2–1 vs. Omaha Lancers (USHL)Won Gold Cup 1999 W, 7–1 vs. St. Louis Sting (NAHL)W, 8–1 vs. Billings Bulls (AWHL)W, 3–0 vs. Compuware Ambassadors (NAHL) 3–0–0 W, 8–1 vs. Lincoln Stars (USHL) L, 1–3 vs. Compuware Ambassadors (NAHL)

Coaches Ivan Prediger (1980–1984) – Resigned during the 1984–85 season. Jeff Ulrich was then named interim head coach. Jim Wiley (1984–1990) – Replaced interim head coach Jeff Ulrich during the 1984–85 season. Bob Ferguson (1990–1995, 2001–2004) Scott Owens (1995–1999) Tom Carroll (1999–2001) Regg Simon (2004–2008, 2010–2012) – Resigned during the 2007–08 season after 45 games. Replaced by interim Todd Knott. Rehired in 2010 to replace Guentzel, but was then fired towards the end of the 2011–12 season and replaced by interim Graham Johnson. J. P. Parisé (2008–2009) – Replaced interim head coach Knott but kept him on as an assistant. Became general manager of the Buccaneers in 2009 and vacated the coaching position. Mike Guentzel (2009–2010) – Dave Allison was originally hired for the 2009–10 season but then left the team prior to coaching a game due to immigration and work-visa concerns. Jon Rogger (2012–2014) – Replaced interim head coach Graham Johnson. Dave Allison (2014–2018) Gene Reilly (2018–2019) Peter Mannino (2019–2021) Matt Curley (2021–2025) Derek Damon (2025-present)

References

Des Moines Buccaneers

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