USHL Waterloo Black Hawks

Waterloo Black Hawks Weekly Preview

Published on March 21, 2023 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Waterloo Black Hawks News Release


Home for Two

The Black Hawks have played six of their last seven games on the road, but the team is back on home ice Friday and Saturday. The Des Moines Buccaneers visit on Friday at 7:05 p.m., and then the Omaha Lancers arrive Saturday for a 6:05 p.m. content. This will be the final time during the regular season that Waterloo plays two home games in the same weekend. However, the Hawks are inching closer to securing home ice for their first playoff series. Last weekend, Waterloo officially clinched a playoff position. Now the Hawks are seven points away from guaranteeing that they will host their first postseason series.

On the Way to 200

The Black Hawks will likely be the fourth USHL team to score 200 goals this season. Waterloo enters the week at 196, behind only USA Hockey's National Team Development Program (229), the Chicago Steel (224), and the Fargo Force (200). The Hawks have already surged past last season's scoring total of 182 goals in 62 games. Twenty-seven different Waterloo players have scored this season.

On the Plus Side

Forward Miko Matikka has 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in 20 games since being traded from the Madison Capitols. His most recent weekend included two goals and an assist, making him one of four Hawks with a point in all three games during the trip to Fargo. Matikka's second half with the Hawks has led to much different plus/minus figures. In 28 appearances for the Capitols, the Finnish forward was -9. He is +11 as a Black Hawk, tying him for eighth among Waterloo's skaters.

The Last Ten

This Saturday, the Black Hawks move into the final ten games on their regular season schedule. The team seeks a better finish than the past couple of seasons. Last spring, Waterloo was 5-4-1 during the final ten contests. The mark was 5-5-0 during the prior year. Over the past ten campaigns, the Black Hawks' best 10-game finish was in 2017/18 when the team went 8-0-2. Waterloo needed every standings point that spring, edging the National Team Development Program by one point for the Anderson Cup.

Recent Games

The Black Hawks won two of three games on the road against the Fargo Force last Thursday through Saturday. The trip started with a 3-2 shootout win; Gavin Lindberg scored with just over a minute remaining to force overtime, then Miko Matikka and Caden Brown converted shootout attempts. Friday, Waterloo fell behind 4-0 before rallying back to within a goal, but the Hawks ultimately lost 4-3. To cap the trip, Garrett Schifsky and Gavyn Thoreson each scored twice during Saturday's 7-1 victory.

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

Check out the Waterloo Black Hawks Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from March 21, 2023


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