Waterloo Black Hawks Weekly Preview
December 16, 2015 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Waterloo Black Hawks News Release
Almost Two Years
This weekend's Black Hawks visit to Youngstown, Ohio, will mark the first time Waterloo has taken the ice at the Covelli Center since January 17, 2014. On that memorable night, P.K. O'Handley tied Mike Hastings as the career leader in USHL regular season coaching victories as the Hawks prevailed 4-3, thanks to a three point effort from Peter Krieger. The Youngstown Phantoms have been sharp at home so far during 2015/16, with a 7-4-1 mark in the building. Both teams will be missing notable players participating at the World Junior A Challenge this weekend: the Hawks will be without forward Liam Pecararo, while Youngstown goalie Ryan Bednard and Chase Pearson will be absent for both contests.
Overnight Audience
When the puck drops between the Waterloo Black Hawks and Youngstown Phantoms at 6:05 p.m. Friday, there will be a notable contingent of live viewers watching online at 8:05 a.m. Saturday. That is because the game is anticipated to draw interest from hockey fans in Japan as Waterloo's Yuri Terao skates against Youngstown's Yushiroh Hirano. The two Japanese natives each rank second in scoring for their respective clubs. Terao has 19 points, while Hirano owns 24. The two 20-year-olds are each in their first USHL season.
New Leader
Nick Swaney overtook Yuri Terao as the Black Hawks' top scorer Saturday during a 3-2 overtime win against the Fargo Force. Swaney had a goal and two assists. For the year, he now has 14 goals and seven assists for 21 points. Swaney is tied for third in USHL goals and ranks 12th in points. All but three of Swaney's points have been earned in even-strength situations.
Defensemen In Overtime
The Black Hawks have won twice in overtime this season. Defensemen have scored the winners each time: Michael Davies contributed the deciding score versus Fargo Saturday after Sam Rossini ended an October 29th contest against the Tri-City Storm in similar fashion. Since the beginning of 2008/09, the Hawks have scored 16 goals in regular season overtime play, eight of them by defensemen. Prior to this year, Hayden Shaw was the most recent Hawks blue-liner to score an OTG, October 18, 2013 versus the Green Bay Gamblers.
Weekly Recap
Nick Swaney scored twice and Kevin Charyszyn provided the game-winner during the closing seconds in a 4-3 win against the Fargo Force on Friday. Saturday, Michael Davies touched off a Black Hawks celebration in the rematch as the Hawks prevailed, 3-2 in overtime. Goaltender Drew Hotte was in net for both wins, stopping a total of 59 out of 64 Fargo shots on goal.
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