USHL Waterloo Black Hawks

Alumni Aspire to Frozen Four

Published on March 22, 2023 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Waterloo Black Hawks News Release


Waterloo, Iowa - Former Waterloo Black Hawks Connor Caponi and Owen Ozar seek to defend their 2022 NCAA Hockey Championship as this year's tournament begins Thursday and eventually culminates with the 2023 title game in Tampa on April 8th.

If Caponi, Ozar, and the Denver Pioneers can once again etch their school's name on last line on the bracket, they will join eight other Hawks alumni who have won multiple NCAA titles during their college careers. Caponi has played in 37 games so far during his junior season, notching two goals and four assists. Ozar's sophomore campaign has included four points (all assists) in 27 games. Denver is the top seed in the Manchester, New Hampshire, Regional and the #4 seed overall in the 16-team field.

Nine other rosters include names likely to be familiar to Black Hawks fans.

Harvard features the most former Waterloo skaters: forwards Alex Gaffney, Ryan Drkulec, and Casey Severo. Gaffney ranks ninth in scoring for the Crimson; two of his seven goals are game-winners, and in total, the sophomore has notched 16 points. Severo's +8 plus/minus differential ranks second among Harvard freshmen. Drkulec was limited to 13 games but still contributed four goals and an assist.

Ohio State opposes Harvard in the first round, and the Buckeye bring a lineup which includes former Hawks teammates Patrick Guzzo and James Marooney. Guzzo has played in all 38 Ohio State games, with eight goals and seven assists. Marooney has five assists in 25 appearances during his senior campaign.

Two other programs enter the field with a pair of Black Hawks participating. Max Sasson generated more than a point-per-game (42 points in 37 contests) so far for Western Michigan, while Wyatt Schingoethe was limited to nine games. Meanwhile, defensemen Cooper Wylie and Mason Reiners have each seen significant ice time - 28 and 26 games respectively - during their freshman seasons.

At least one former Black Hawk has been part of the championship-winning program during the past six seasons that the NCAA Tournament has been contested.

A team-by-team list of the Waterloo players in this year's field appears below:

College Team Player(s) Class Pos. Year(s) in Waterloo

Canisius Danny DiGrande Senior Forward 2017/18

Colgate Nic Belpedio Sophomore Defense 2019/20, 2020/21

Cornell Ondrej Psenicka Sophomore Forward 2019/20

Denver Connor Caponi Junior Forward 201/19, 2019/20

Owen Ozar Sophomore Forward 2020/21

Harvard Ryan Drkulec Junior Forward 2018/19, 2019/20

Alex Gaffney Sophomore Forward 2020/21

Casey Severo Freshman Forward 2020/21

Minnesota Charlie Strobel Freshman Forward 2020/21

Ohio State Patrick Guzzo Junior Forward 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20

James Marooney Senior Defense 2017/18, 2018/19

Penn State Xander Lamppa Junior Forward 2018/19, 2019/20

St. Cloud State Mason Reinder Freshman Defense 2018/19, 19/20, 20/21, 21/22

Cooper Wylie Freshman Defense 2020/21, 2021/22

Western Michigan Max Sasson Sophomore Forward 2020/21

Wyatt Schingoethe Sophomore Forward 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21

In addition to the listed players, University of Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko played for the Black Hawks during the 1979/80 USHL season.

Check out the Waterloo Black Hawks Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from March 22, 2023


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