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USHL Waterloo Black Hawks

Waterloo Black Hawks Weekend Preview

January 21, 2025 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Waterloo Black Hawks News Release


Never Too Late for a First Impression

There are three USHL teams the Black Hawks have yet to face this season, but two of them are on the schedule this weekend. Waterloo travels to a Friday game against the Madison Capitols at 7:05 p.m. The Capitols won two-of-three matchups last season, but the Hawks still have a 12-7-0 mark in the head-to-head series since Madison returned to the league in 2014. The Wisconsin road trip continues Saturday against the Green Bay Gamblers at 6:05 p.m. From 1994/95 to 2012/13, the Hawks and Gamblers met at least four times each year. However, the teams have not played more than twice within a season since 2014/15.

Five for Winning

Five goals has been a magic number for Waterloo. Last weekend, the Hawks reached or exceeded the five-goal threshold during both halves of a home-and-home sweep versus the Omaha Lancers. That gives Waterloo the win on all nine occasions when they have scored at least five goals in a game during 2024/25. Looking back further, the Hawks have won 20 consecutive games under those circumstances since a 6-5 loss to the Dubuque Fighting Saints on November 17, 2023.

Career Milestone

Goaltender Calvin Vachon produced the 30th win of his USHL career during a 29-save performance against Omaha last Friday. He is now the 12th junior-era Waterloo netminder to reach that notable mark, tying with Joe Howe and Eamon McAdam. Another win would push Vachon into an eighth-place tie with Jeff Melnechuk and Joe Grossman. And Vachon is now within four wins of equaling former crease-mate Jack Spicer for seventh.

Tradeoffs

Grady Deering is Waterloo's leading scorer with 24 points in 2024/25. That ties him for 38th overall in the USHL. While the Black Hawks may not have any individuals currently among the league's scoring stars, Waterloo has enjoyed outstanding balance. Last weekend, 16 different Hawks earned at least one point from the team's 11 goals. Thirteen different Waterloo skaters have produced 10 points or more, helping the team to a 3.4 goals-per-game average, which ranks 8th in the league.

Recent Games

The Black Hawks claimed 6-2 and 5-3 results versus the Omaha Lancers last Friday and Saturday. It was the first time Waterloo earned two wins during the same weekend since November 8th and 9th against the Sioux City Musketeers. In the January 17th game with Omaha, Chase Jette and Sam Huck each scored twice, helping the Hawks record six goals in the first 22 minutes of action. Saturday was back-and-forth until Reid Morich broke a 3-3 tie in the mid-stages of the third period. Huck notched a pair for the second consecutive night.

For complete box scores from previous Black Hawks games, visit ushl.com.

Check out the Waterloo Black Hawks Statistics

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