Waterloo Black Hawks Weekly Preview
January 14, 2025 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Waterloo Black Hawks News Release
Doubling Up with Omaha
The Black Hawks face the Omaha Lancers twice this weekend. Friday's game at Young Arena begins at 7:05 p.m. Then, both teams will make their way to eastern Nebraska for a 6:05 p.m. Saturday rematch. The teams had not met this season prior to last Friday's game at Liberty First Credit Union Arena. The Hawks earned a 2-1 shootout victory that night. It was Waterloo's second shootout win this season and the third victory during games reaching overtime. After this weekend, the teams conclude their head-to-head series on April 12th.
A Full Half
Last Friday's game against Omaha concluded the first half of Waterloo's 62-game schedule. The Hawks played Game #32 Saturday in Cedar Rapids, falling in overtime 1-0. There are still seven players on Waterloo's roster who have appeared in every game. The group is composed of four forwards (Grady Deering, Sam Huck, JJ Monteiro, and Brock Schultz) plus three defensemen (Dylan Compton, Landon Nycz, and Brady Peddle). Last winter, Tyler Miller was the only player to skate in all 62 games.
Almost to 1,000
Sometime this weekend, the Black Hawks will record their 1,000th shot on goal of the season. The Hawks are currently at 980. Individually, Grady Deering has the most - 99 - and is tied for the fifth-highest shot count in the USHL. Waterloo has averaged 30.9 shots on goal per game, which ranks fourth. The Hawks have scored on 10.3 percent of those chances.
"Plus" Producers
Entering the weekend, there are three Black Hawks with plus/minus differentials of +10 or better. Defenseman Teddy Mallgrave leads Waterloo at +15. That mark places him in a tie for 11th leaguewide. Matthew Lansing is next at +14, giving him a share of 13th in the USHL. Sam Huck holds a +10 differential, and has been even better than that since the beginning of December. Last season, five Waterloo skaters ended the year at +10 or higher, led by Jakub Altrichter (+25).
Recent Games
The Black Hawks earned three of four possible standings points from two games last weekend, despite a limited amount of scoring. Friday in Omaha, Sam Huck's goal was enough to help Waterloo reach overtime against the Lancers. Teddy Townsend and Nicholas Kosiba converted shootout attempts, giving the Hawks the tie-breaker and a victory, officially recorded as a 2-1 decision. Then visiting the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders Saturday, the game was scoreless at the end of regulation. The RoughRiders broke the tie with 4.9 seconds left in overtime, however Waterloo still claimed a point from the OTL.
For complete box scores from previous Black Hawks games, visit ushl.com.
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