Black Hawks Finish Big Against Stampede

Three goals in the first 2:22 of the third period made the difference during a 5-2 Waterloo Black Hawks win Friday (Jan 29, 2016) at Young Arena against the Sioux Falls Stampede.

Leading 2-0 when the period began, Liam Pecararo knocked in a rebound after zipping to the front of the net 61 seconds after the third period started. Then David Cotton lifted his second goal of the night into the net from a sharp angle off of Stefanos Lekkas 1:10 later. It took only 11 seconds more for Ronnie Hein to capitalize when a blocked shot came his way, providing the opportunity to fire a chance of his own from the left circle to the long side top corner.

It had looked as though the first period might end with no score, but with 28.4 seconds remaining, Cotton broke the deadlock in transition. He put a shot on net from below the left dot, it bounced back to him off Lekkas, and from a tight angle, the Waterloo forward slipped the puck across the line.

The Hawks added another goal in the second, and limited the Stampede to just three shots during the period. Waterloo’s tally came on the power play at 16:23, when the rebound of a Ben Newhouse shot from the left point was knocked in by Shane Bowers.

Joe Rutkowski broke up Drew Hotte’s shutout bid with a goal from the left circle at 5:43 of the third. The Stampede added another during a power play on an Alex Stevens chance at 8:00. Hotte made 24 saves during the victory, while Lekkas turned aside 35 pucks in the loss.

Waterloo and Sioux Falls duel again on Saturday. After the game, the Hawks’ 2016 John Deere jerseys will be auctioned, benefiting local chapters of Junior Achievement and Big Brothers Big Sisters. John Deere employees and their families can take advantage of $8 tickets for any available seat in Party Town. Call the Domino’s Black Hawks Box Office at
(319) 291-7680 for more information.