Black Hawks Force 7 Goals In and Blank Fargo

Cameron Johnson made 18 saves to blank his former team Friday, allowing the Waterloo Black Hawks to cruise to a 7-0 road victory against the Fargo Force at Scheels Arena.

The Black Hawks jumped ahead just 64 seconds into the contest as Peter Krieger fed a pass to the goalmouth from the left wing corner. With Patrick Russell at the top of the crease, Mathias Israelsson could not freeze the puck before Russell jabbed it between the posts. Israelsson had difficulty again with a puck that came his way at 16:35. After it slipped under his glove, Blake Winiecki rang a shot off the post, and the carom came to Tim Lappin, who flipped it into an open net.

In the second, Waterloo repeatedly lit the lamp on special teams. Alec McCrea went to the net to score on the shorthanded rebound of Lappin’s shot at 1:37. Then the Hawks netted two power play goals in the span of 21 seconds.

At 8:42, Winiecki beat Israelsson for just inches outside the crease at the goaltender’s left during a two-man advantage. Hayden Shaw cashed in at 9:03 from the high slot, just inside the blue line. Andrew Zerban had Fargo’s best chance of the game two minutes later, but Johnson denied his penalty shot attempt with a right pad save.

Waterloo finished strong with 18 third period shots and two goals. Tyler Sheehy struck at 1:52, knocking in the rebound of McCrea’s shot from the right points. Then John Wiitala rolled a chance over the line at 13:39, giving Lappin his third point of the game with an assist on the goal. The Hawks finished the night with 45 shots on frame.

The Black Hawks face their closest pursuers Saturday when they visit the Omaha Lancers. Waterloo’s next home game is Tuesday versus the Lincoln Stars.