On Sunday (April 24), the Waterloo Black Hawks won in thrilling fashion eliminating the Lincoln Stars from the 2016 USHL Playoffs.

Ronnie Hein lifted the Black Hawks to the second round of the Clark Cup Playoffs, securing a 4-3 Young Arena victory over the Lincoln Stars after nearly 90 minutes of game action Sunday.


The Hawks took the series three-games-to-one.

At 9:32 of the second overtime, two Stars defenders nearly collided in the neutral zone, and an errant pass caromed backwards across the Lincoln blue line. Hein dashed after the loose puck, finding it between the hash marks and firing it past the glove of Peyton Jones.

As the Hawks mobbed their captain, the Stars consoled Jones, who had heroically kept the game going with a 65-save effort. In the opposite net, Cale Morris turned in a dazzling collection of 49 saves.

There was no advantage after one period as each team tallied a goal.  During a power play at 11:10, Waterloo nudged in front when Ryan Lohin’s shot was stopped, but Yuri Terao was there to lift in the rebound. The lead lasted a little more than four minutes before Ludvig Hoff knocked in a similar second chance at the other end of the rink.

Scoring picked up dramatically during the final eight minutes of the second period. A shorthanded Black Hawks rush led to a delayed penalty on the Stars, but before the whistle sounded, Mikey Anderson fired a shot at the net, then lunged to knock his own rebound across the goal line.

Still on the power play when the puck dropped, Lincoln answered 38 second later as Biagio Lerario snapped a shot into the net from the high slot.  Less than a minute after that, Collin Peters put Lincoln ahead for the only time, sending a wrist shot in transition past Morris’ stick side.

The contest went to the second intermission tied thanks to a sure-handed play by Lohin. The Hawks forward swiped a clearing attempt and moved into the left wing corner. His chance from there was fought off by Jones, but the rebound was left free in the slot. Sam McCormick pounced to pump in the equalizer at 18:36.

The Hawks advance to meet the Tri-City Storm for the second round of Clark Cup Playoffs in a series which begins in Kearney, Nebraska, next weekend.  Specific details about game dates and times will be released in the coming days.

GOALS BY PERIOD
          1  2  3  O1 O2 -  T
Lincoln   1  2  0  0  0  -  3
Waterloo  1  2  0  0  1  -  4 - Final 2/OT

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