The Waterloo Black Hawks scored five goals in just under four minutes in the mid-stages of the first period, blasting past the Des Moines Buccaneers 9-1 at Young Arena Saturday.

Ryder Ralson scored the first and last goals in the sequence, adding a power play score in the second period to complete his hat trick. Notching an assist, it was a four-point night for the soon-to-be 18-year-old. The Hawks’ big offensive performance came after Waterloo had recorded a total of 13 goals in the first five games.

Ralston’s opener came 9:28 into the action after Griffin Ness dug a puck out of the left corner and centered for Ralston to redirect from just outside the crease. On the next shift, Dane Montgomery swiped the puck beside the net and spun a quick shot between the pipes at 10:17. The Bucs spent their timeout, but just 16 seconds after Montgomery’s goal, Brehdan Engum struck in transition. Xander Lamppa moved across the blue line and was left alone on the right wing boards. He connected with Engum trailing the play, and Engum lifted a wrist shot from the left circle to the top corner.

Photo by MacKenzie Buccholz
Photo by MacKenzie Buchholz
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The barrage continued at 11:42 when Ness capitalized from the left circle on the rebound of Ralston’s shot. Ralston found the net again at 13:27, set up on a rush by Connor Caponi. All of the first period scoring was done five-on-five. In the second, Wyatt Schingoethe scored on a breakaway while the teams were four-on-four. Mason Reiners’ 120-foot pass from the corner right of his own net hit Schingoethe at the Buccaneer blue line, and Schingoethe lifted a back-hander over Christian Stoever at 7:26.

Ralton finished the hat trick at 14:06, batting in the rebound of Luke Bast’s shot during a power play. Alex Laferriere scored Des Moines’ only goal of the night on a rebound 1:01 into the third period. Waterloo added two more during the frame: Ondrej Psenicka from close range at 12:40, and Ryan Drkulec during a power play at 15:11.

Black Hawks goaltender Logan Stein made 28 saves for the win. His 11 first period stops included a brilliant sequence where he denied Joey Strada twice on the same partial breakaway.

Waterloo returns to action against the Green Bay Gamblers Friday night at 7:05. Fans in attendance are invited to take advantage of $2 hot dogs, nachos, and soft drinks. For tickets, call the Black Hawks Box Office at (319) 291-7680 or click here waterlooblackhawks.com/tickets

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