Black Hawks go 6-4 over winter break

The Waterloo Black Hawks have played 10 games since the Dec. 9 issue of the Northern Iowan, and the team has done reasonably well, winning six of those 10. This has helped keep Waterloo in the playoff race in the United States Hockey League Western Conference. The Black Hawks currently sit in third place (36 points) behind Omaha and Lincoln (42 and 40 points, respectively).

The Black Hawks started off the string of games in Lincoln on Dec. 10, losing to the Stars 4-3. On Dec. 11, the Stars topped the Black Hawks in Waterloo, 2-1. The following weekend, the team traveled to Des Moines for a 2-0 victory, but the Dubuque Fighting Saints beat the Black Hawks in Dubuque by a final of 5-1.

The Black Hawks started their post-Christmas string of games with a 4-2 road victory in Sioux City. On New Year's Eve, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders came within two goals of besting the Black Hawks, but Waterloo was able to hold on for a 5-3 home win. The Black Hawks faced the Indiana Ice and Dubuque Fighting Saints in their first two games of 2012, on Jan. 6 and 7 respectively. Both games were at home for Waterloo, and they split the weekend, losing to Indiana 3-2 but defeating Dubuque 4-2.

This past weekend, the Black Hawks needed a bit of winter magic to go on the road and defeat the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. The RoughRiders jumped out to a 3-1 advantage at the end of the first period, but by the end of the second period Waterloo had bounced back to tie the game at four goals each. Thomas Forgione, Nick Saracino, Dan Gareau, Ian Brady and Dennis Kravchenko scored for Cedar Rapids, while Mike Huntebrinker (two goals), Ryan Papa, Taylor Cammarata, Vince Hinostroza and A.J. Michaelson led the Black Hawks to a 6-5 victory.

On Saturday, the Black Hawks breezed past the Sioux City Musketeers, 6-3. The team was led by Taylor Cammarata, who recorded his first USHL hat-trick (three goals in a single contest), which was also the first time a Black Hawk has accomplished the feat this season. Huntebrinker and Papa (two goals) also added scores for Waterloo, while Sioux City's goals came from Alexander Kuqali, David Goodwin and Pontus Johansson.

The Black Hawks go on the road for four out of their next five games. This weekend, the team travels to Tri-City, and then travels to Youngstown on Jan. 26. The team faces Cedar Rapids on Jan. 28 before returning home for a 3:05 p.m. game versus the Des Moines Buccaneers on Jan. 29.