Black Hawks Flatten Fargo

Brock Boeser scored twice and the Waterloo Black Hawks protected home ice Sunday, December 28, 2014 in a 5-1 victory against the Fargo Force at Young Arena.

For the second time in as many days, Boeser started the Black Hawks’ offensive effort during a power play. At 8:32, the Hawks’ top scorer notched the only goal of the opening period, tapping a puck rolling just outside the crease following the deflection of Tyler Sheehy’s shot.

Waterloo’s strong effort continued in the second period, as the home team built the lead while limiting the Force to only four shots on goal. Boeser – who had notched a pair of goals Saturday in a 5-4 win versus the Des Moines Buccaneers – struck for his second power play goal on Sunday at 6:28, as fast passing put the puck on his stick in the left circle. He snapped a shot past the glove of Mathias Israelsson to double the Hawks’ margin. Rem Pitlick then cashed in on the rebound of a Niko Hildenbrand opportunity just over four minutes later for the first even-strength goal of the affair.

The Force showed the beginnings of a rally in the third, starting with a power play goal by T.J. Roo at 5:32. In subsequent shifts, Fargo applied pressure in the Waterloo zone, but the Hawks broke the comeback effort at 11:29. That’s when Pitlick and John Wiitala played the puck back-and-forth while on a two-on-one rush; Wiitala finished a shot into an open side with no chance for Israelsson to make the save. Max Coatta flipped in one final goal with 3:54 remaining, converting the rebound of an Ethan Spaxman chance.

Trevor Gorsuch turned away 22 of 23 shots faced in the Waterloo net, coming within one save of a shutout against Fargo for the second time since joining the Hawks at the beginning of December. The home team outshot the visitors 40-23.

Waterloo’s busy post-Christmas week continues on New Year’s Eve when the Hawks host the Lincoln Stars. For those interested in making Party Town the place where their New Year’s Eve party begins, good seats for the 7:05 contest are still available from Waterlooblackhawks.com or by calling the Domino’s Black Hawks Box Office at (319) 291-7680.

For Sunday's box score, please click here.