Waterloo shut-out Lincoln on the road on Friday night...and had a huge 3rd period to fend off Sioux City on Saturday night...

SATURDAY NIGHT VS SIOUX CITY
Four goals in the third period were the difference as the Black Hawks fought off the Sioux City Musketeers 7-3 at Young Arena Saturday.

For the second consecutive night, the Black Hawks struck for three goals within the first seven minutes of the game. The spurt started when Joe Cassetti squeezed a shot by the goalie. Dane Montgomery capitalized on a turnover less than four minutes later, sending a shot under the crossbar. Then the Black Hawks made it 3-0; with a score by Griffin Ness. A 3-3 deadlock prevailed until 5:14 of the third, when Vladislav Firstov circled back to take a handoff from Hank Sorensen near the Waterloo blue line. Speeding up the ice, Firstov rifled a shot past the relief net-minder's stick and into the net. The Black Hawks were able to pull away from there. Joe Cassetti recorded his second goal of the evening, then Ryan Drkulec built the lead farther. Ohrvall capped the effort, scoring an empty-netter from in front of his own goal with 4:31 left to play.

FRIDAY NIGHT VS LINCOLN
Waterloo raced to an early lead and ultimately an 8-0 win against the Lincoln Stars Friday at the Ice Box. The eight goal effort was the most on one night since February of 2017 when Waterloo had 10 during a win against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.

The Black Hawks were rolling early with two goals in the first 95 seconds.  Wyatt Schingoethe started the onslaught, twenty seconds later, Emil Ohrvall added to it. A Stars' turnover created Ryan Drkulec’s unassisted score. Waterloo expanded the margin late in the opening period, when Matej Blumel blasted in a power play goal.  Then short-handed, less than a minute later, Patrick Guzzo had shorthanded breakaway and score.  Waterloo is the first team to score five goals against an opponent during the first period of any game in the USHL this season.

The goals continued in the second.  On a power play, Hank Sorensen’s shot from the high slot went off the heal of the goalie's glove and into the net.  Waterloo struck again later; Griffin Ness won a faceoff, then went to the net to redirect Kyle Haskins’ shot from the right boards. Connor Caponi added a final goal in the third period, when he tipped Brehdan Engum’s right point shot. Evan Fear stopped all 19 Lincoln shots for the shutout in his first Waterloo win.  The Black Hawks outshot the Stars 49-19.

Sorensen Named USHL Defenseman of the Week
The Black Hawks scored 15 combined goals during games on Friday and Saturday; no Hawk had more points than Hank Sorensen who was named the United States Hockey League Defenseman of the Week on Monday. He had 4 points this weekend...and for the year, Sorensen has seven goals and 26 assists. Both figures are already career bests through just 42 games. In total, he has made 137 regular season appearances for the Black Hawks with 70 points (16 goals, 54 assists). Sorensen is the second Waterloo player to be named USHL Defenseman of the Week in 2018/19, joining James Marooney. In total, this is the fourth time in 2018/19 that a Black Hawk has been named a USHL Player of the Week at any position.

NEXT UP FOR WATERLOO

The Black Hawks are on the road this weekend for two-games against the Fargo Force. Waterloo remains in 2nd place in the Western Conference, with just 2 points separating them from 3rd place Sioux City...and a total of 9 points behind 1st place Tri-City.

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