USHL Waterloo Black Hawks

Hawks Finish Weekend in Overtime

Published on February 11, 2023 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Waterloo Black Hawks News Release


A Tri-City Storm comeback forced overtime, but the Waterloo Black Hawks snatched away a victory near the end of the extra period, leaving Viaero Center with a 3-2 result.

The Storm were unable to put a couple of promising chances on net during the extra period, but they won a defensive zone faceoff with a little more than a minute remaining. However, Garrett Schifsky wouldn't give up on the play. He tied the puck up behind the Tri-City net, then wrestled it away into the left circle; with defenders scrambling after him, Schifsky connected with Gavin O'Connell at the opposite edge of the crease, and O'Connell finished the game with a tap-in.

Jack Spicer's 35 saves in the Hawks' crease were one shy of matching his season high. The effort yielded the netminder's USHL-leading 19th win. In the process, Waterloo moved to 8-0 in overtimes and shootouts this season.

The Black Hawks had successfully killed off two Tri-City power plays in the first period, then scored two seconds after coming to full strength. Connor Brown set loose Aaron Pionk up right wing, and when he got to the edge of the crease, Pionk went from backhand to forehand to stuff in his 10th goal of the season.

Another special teams sequence ended just before a Black Hawks goal in the second. At 14:22, Caden Brown wired a pass across the slot into the right circle for Griffin Erdman. The first-year forward fired his chance into the net before Cameron Korpi could come across to face the attempt.

Tri-City's third period rally started at the 32-seconds mark during a power play that had carried over from the second. Trevor Connelly snapped in his chance on a setup by Jake Richard. The Storm completed the comeback at 10:35 just moments after a power play ended, as Richard banged in his own rebound.

In the third period, Tri-City outshot the Hawks 18-3. For the game, the chances favored the Storm 37-23.

After a pair of road wins against the Storm this weekend, the Hawks will also be the visitors next weekend for matchups against the Des Moines Buccaneers and Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.

Waterloo 1 1 0 1 - 3

Tri-City 0 0 2 0 - 2

1st Period-1, Waterloo, Pionk 10 (Brown), 13:18. Penalties-Brown Wat (tripping), 2:24; Geary Wat (tripping), 11:16; Blais-Savoie Tc (high sticking), 14:26; Meritahti Tc (roughing), 16:06.

2nd Period-2, Waterloo, Erdman 9 (Brown, Baker), 14:22. Penalties-Meritahti Tc (cross checking), 7:12; Werner Tc (tripping), 12:14; Benoit Wat (interference), 16:07; Richard Tc (diving/embellishment), 16:07; Robertson Wat (interference), 19:48.

3rd Period-3, Tri-City, Connelly 8 (Richard), 0:32 (PP). 4, Tri-City, Richard 19 10:35. Penalties-Badger Wat (hooking), 8:27.

1st OT Period-5, Waterloo, O'Connell 14 (Schifsky), 3:48. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Waterloo 10-7-3-3-23. Tri-City 8-10-18-1-37.

Power Play Opportunities-Waterloo 0 / 4; Tri-City 1 / 4.

Goalies-Waterloo, Spicer 19-6-0-0 (37 shots-35 saves). Tri-City, Korpi 6-2-2-0 (23 shots-20 saves).

A-2,338

Referees-Jared Cummins.

Linesmen-Zach Carson, Tyler Willie.

Check out the Waterloo Black Hawks Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from February 11, 2023


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