Black Hawks Shoot For Three Wins This Weekend

The Waterloo Black Hawks look to play three games over a four-day span including the proud Cedar Valley Sports tradition on Thanksgiving night, the Teddy Bear Toss Night.

Three’s a Crowd:
The Waterloo Black Hawks play three games this week, beginning Wednesday on the road against the Madison Capitols. The four-day span also includes games against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders Thursday and Saturday. Each effort, and another against the Dubuque Fighting Saints on December 5th, will be against an opponent from the USHL Eastern Conference. Waterloo is currently 1-1-2 versus Eastern Conference teams. Thursday’s matchup with the RoughRiders will be the first game during the 2015/16 Dupaco Cowbell Cup Series. The three team competition also includes the Fighting Saints; all three clubs will be involved in a dozen head-to-head games counting toward the Dupaco Cowbell Cup standings.

Hat in Hand:
Liam Pecararo recorded the first Waterloo Black Hawks hat trick of the season Saturday versus the Omaha Lancers during a 4-3 loss. Brock Boeser had recorded the most recent previous three-goal game in a 4-1 win against the Sioux City Musketeers on April 4th. Pecararo had one prior hat trick for the Hawks, coming in an 8-3 victory over the Sioux Falls Stampede on January 10, 2014. He now has six multigoal games in regular season USHL competition. Pecararo is anticipated to play his 100th USHL regular season game Saturday in Cedar Rapids, as long as he is also in the Hawks’ lineup on Wednesday and Thursday.

Thanksgiving Tradition:
Thursday’s game versus the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders will be the 16th consecutive Thanksgiving matchup between the two teams. Waterloo will be playing on the holiday for 19 years-in-a-row. Last November, a 4-1 Cedar Rapids win ended a six-year Hawks Thanksgiving winning streak. Waterloo’s first Thanksgiving game was played in 1964, a 5-1 win against the St. Paul Steers at McElroy Auditorium.

Shutout Start:
Goaltender Drew Hotte was in net for the first Waterloo Black Hawks shutout of the season last Friday. Hotte earned the 6-0 outcome against the Des Moines Buccaneers with 30 saves to his credit. He became the 27th junior era goalie in Black Hawks history to achieve a regular season shutout. Last season, Waterloo netminders blanked opponents five times: Cale Morris had four and Trevor Gorsuch notched one. Like Hotte, Morris’ first shutout was against the Des Moines Buccaneers: 4-0 on January 24th.

Weekly Recap:
Yuri Terao had two goals and Drew Hotte made 30 stops Friday as Waterloo capped a four-game homestand by defeating the Des Moines Buccaneers, 6-0. In Omaha Saturday, Liam Pecararo scored three times on three Ronnie Hein assists, but the Lancers prevailed, 4-3.