Black Hawks Thump CR, 6-2

Scoring six goals for the fifth time in 2013/14, the Waterloo Black Hawks rallied for a 6-2 win on the road against the RoughRiders Saturday at Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

Two of the first four Cedar Rapids shots found the net, sending the RoughRiders to the lead in the first period.  Dylan Steman recorded the opening marker by deflecting Mark Auk’s shot 3:36 into the game.  Not quite seven minutes later, Mitch Maloney banged in a rebound chance to double the margin.  Waterloo got onto the scoreboard at 15:20 when Patrick Russell’s shot from the top of the right wing circle eluded Chris Birdsall and made the water bottle skip on top of the RoughRider net.

The rally Russell started carried into the second, and Russell remained heavily involved.  At 2:49, he cut around a defender and slipped a low chance past the Cedar Rapids netminder.  John Wiitala’s goal to the top corner at 9:03 gave Waterloo the lead and sent Birdsall to the bench.
The Hawks were a team intent on building, rather than protecting, their edge in the third.  En route to scoring three goals, Waterloo limited the RoughRiders to just two shots on net.  Near the end of a power play at 6:30, Zach Sanford redirected a Mark Friedman shot under the crossbar. Less than two minutes later, Peter Krieger scored when his shot from the left wing circle popped out of backup goaltender Danny Tirone’s glove.  At 14:34, Krieger scored from the opposite circle on a rush, prompting the return of Birdsall to the crease for the final five-and-a-half minutes.

Cal Petersen made 14 saves for his 15th win of the season, one shy of the league lead.
The Hawks take the ice for the third time in five days on Tuesday night against the Lincoln Stars.  Good seats for the 7:05 New Year’s Eve matchup at Young Arena are still available.  Order online from waterlooblackhawks.com or call the Domino’s Black Hawks Box Office at (319) 291-7680.

For Saturday's box score, click on the link below: http://ushl2011.stats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=2234416