Black Hawks Beat Ice, On Top of USHL

Three of the first eight Waterloo shots on goal went into the net Thursday, giving the Black Hawks the offense they needed for a 5-2 victory at Young Arena against the Indiana Ice.

The result nudges Waterloo to first place in the United States Hockey League, one point ahead of the Omaha Lancers and three points clear of Indiana. The Hawks and Ice each have a dozen games remaining, while the Lancers play ten more.

In the opening 20 minutes, the Hawks turned the tables on the Ice, who had previously scooted to a 3-0 first period lead when the teams met in Indianapolis last Friday. Waterloo seized the edge during the rematch at 4:07 Thursday when Derek Pratt sent a shot to the top corner from the left wing circle.

It was almost exactly ten minutes later that the Hawks doubled the lead; Zach Sanford converted a power play, flipping a rebound to the twine from the top of the crease. Back on the advantage almost immediately following an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to the Ice bench, the Hawks capitalized at 15:55 when Tyler Sheehy scored from a sharp angle while standing on the extended goal line to the right of netminder Jason Pawloski.

During the second, Waterloo and Indiana exchanged goals. All three Hawks forwards touched the puck in quick succession at 9:42; Blake Winiecki’s shot went wide but bounced off the end wall to Tim Lappin. The Hawks’ captain fed a pass to the slot for Tyson McLellan to jab into the net.

Indiana got the goal back with 11.1 seconds remaining before intermission. Tim Shoup’s pass caromed off of Dwyer Tschantz, into the net, and was ruled to be a good goal after a review confirmed that the chance was not directed in by a kicking motion.

Indiana drew back within two goals 8:12 into the third period. Skating into the right circle, Brian Pinho fired a low shot back to his left and inside the post. However, Lappin sealed the contest with 1:27 to play, stealing the puck in the offensive zone, then knocking it into a vacated net.

Cameron Johnson turned away 31 Ice shots for the victory, while Pawloski made 38 saves in defeat. After Indiana outshot Waterloo 12-10 in the first, the Hawks owned a 33-21 margin in chances the rest of the way.

Thursday’s game was just the beginning of a busy weekend for the Black Hawks. The team climbs aboard the bus Friday and travels across the state to visit the Sioux City Musketeers. Then Saturday, the Hawks make their way to Des Moines for the first time this season for a game against the Buccaneers.