WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — November 14, 2026 — The Dubuque Fighting Saints opened their Dupaco Cowbell Cup home-and-home series with a 3-1 win over the Des Moines Buccaneers on Friday, November 13, 2026, at the MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex in West Des Moines, riding a third-period stand from goaltender Luke Carrithers and a first career goal from defenseman Joey Kotzian.

Caden Dabrowski opened the scoring late in the first period with his eighth goal of the season, putting Dubuque ahead 1-0. It was only the sixth time this season the Saints scored first in a game, and they have won four of those six.

Des Moines tied the game before the second period ended, but Kotzian answered with 1:05 left in the period, firing a wrist shot for his first goal in the United States Hockey League to put Dubuque back in front 2-1. The goal held up as the game-winner. David Thomasson added an empty-net goal late in the third period to close out the 3-1 final, with Carrithers picking up an assist on the empty-net tally.

Carrithers made 24 saves on 25 shots, including all 12 saves in the third period. He held Des Moines off the board on a major power play late in the game, with help from blocked shots by Hudson Lohse and Sullivan Martin — Martin’s block came in front of a nearly empty net — and the Saints killed off both Des Moines power plays on the night. The win was Carrithers’ fifth in a row in starts dating back to October 18, 2026, against the U.S. National Team Development Program’s Under-17 squad.

Dubuque also shut down the Buccaneers’ top scorers. Riley Zupfer, who entered the weekend second in the USHL with 22 points, and Joey Argentina, who had 18 points, were both held off the scoresheet. Together, the two account for 31 percent of Des Moines’ total points this season.

Des Moines goaltender Jon Kavcic made 24 saves on 26 Dubuque shots in the loss. Kavcic entered Saturday, November 14, 2026, with a .921 save percentage in his rookie season.

The win moved Dubuque to 9-7-1-0 with 19 points, tied with Des Moines at 9-7-0-1 and 19 points in the standings. The series wraps up Saturday, November 14, 2026, at 7:05 p.m. at ImOn Arena in Dubuque, where the Saints host the Buccaneers for Food Drive Night, sponsored by Progressive Processing, LLC. The game can be watched on FloHockey and heard on Eagle 102.3.