Waterloo came up short on Friday night against the Chicago Steel and scored a victory over the Omaha Lancers on Saturday night...

SATURDAY NIGHT VS OMAHA
Waterloo led from the first minute and topped Omaha 4-1 on Saturday at Young Arena, but any suggestion that it was an easy win would be mis-leading. The Black Hawks spent more than half of the game hanging on to a 2-1 lead. Waterloo denied six Lancer power plays in that time, after Omaha had scored their only goal on the advantage.

The early lead was established at the 49-second mark, when Vladislav Firstov punched in the opening score. Waterloo added to their total with a three-on-two rush six minutes later. Patrick Guzzo’s initial attempt from just inside the blue line was blocked but bounced to Wyatt Schingoethe in the left circle. Schingoethe eyed the net and took a step toward the goal, but slipped a pass back to Guzzo, who flipped the puck into an open side.

With 4:43 left in the third, Hank Sorensen was able to extend the lead back to two with a back-hander that slid past the netminder’s left skate and inside the post. Griffin Ness added an empty net goal at 16:29, sealing the effort. Evan Fear made 26 saves for the victory. Waterloo out-shot Omaha 40-27.

FRIDAY NIGHT VS CHICAGO
A late-second period scoring spurt gave the Chicago Steel a lead they wouldn’t relinquish during a 3-1 win against the Waterloo Black Hawks Friday at Young Arena.

The game was scoreless until the final four minutes of the second period, but when the first puck went in, the second was quick to follow. Chicago’s Josiah Slavin danced around a check through the right circle, getting to the top of the crease to slip a low shot past Jared Moe at 16:36. Twenty-four seconds later, Gunnarwolfe Fontaine made almost the same move to score on a similar shot, doubling the count before intermission.

After both teams had been unable to convert any of seven combined power plays during the first 40 minutes, the Steel had a breakthrough in the third. Following a near turnover in the Chicago zone, the Steel hustled the puck up the rink, with a drop pass coming to Owen Power. The defenseman fired his shot between the pipes from the left circle at 4:09. Waterloo’s only goal came almost four minutes later. Xander Lamppa tried a wraparound at the post left of Steel goalie Reilly Herbst. The puck slid across the crease to the opposite post where Ryan Drkulec stuffed it in. Both teams finished with 33 shots on net; Herbst claimed the victory with 32 saves.

PLAYOFF PICTURE
The Black Hawks are now tied for 2nd place the Sioux Falls Stampede in the Western Conference. Both teams have 2 games left on the schedule. Waterloo will host Dubuque on Friday night, then travel to Dubuque on Saturday night. Sioux Falls plays host to Sioux City and Des Moines on Friday and Saturday night, respectively. A first round bye and home ice advantage are on the line this weekend.

UPCOMING THIS WEEKEND
The Black Hawks wrap up their regular season home schedule against the Dubuque Fighting Saints Friday at 7:05 p.m. For tickets, call the box office at (319) 232-3444 or purchase tickets here.

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