Black Hawks take two of three, tighten up USHL West standings

The Waterloo Black Hawks' first game last week was a 4-3 loss to the Youngstown Phantoms on Jan. 26 in Youngstown. Following the loss, several Black Hawks played in the United States Hockey League's first-ever USHL Top Prospects game. The game was designed to showcase the talents of the top 40 players in the league, with 30 of them being eligible for the 2012 National Hockey League Entry Draft for the first time, seven being eligible for the second time and three being eligible in 2013.

The Black Hawks fielded goalie Jay Williams; forwards Vince Hinostroza, A.J. Michaelson and Taylor Cammarata; and defenseman Ian McCoshen for the event. Michaelson scored Team West's first goal and had an assist on the team's second goal. However, Team East defeated Team West 5-3.

Cammarata spoke about what it meant to him to be selected as one of the top 40 players in the USHL.

"When I first heard about it, I thought it was just for the 2012 draft picks," Cammarata said. "But when I heard I was invited, I was really excited for it. It was good experience for me."

Waterloo returned to regular season play Jan. 28 with a 6-5 shootout victory in Cedar Rapids, which was incidentally the same score as Waterloo's last visit to the RoughRiders' home ice. Cedar Rapids got goals from Davey Middleton, Austin Ortega with two, Greg Amlong and Dennis Kravchenko. The RoughRiders' lone shootout conversion came from Ryan McGrath in the second round.

Waterloo's goals came from Jake Horton, Aaron Pearce and a three-goal hat trick from Scott MacDonald. Horton's goal was the first of his USHL career. Taylor Cammarata and Vince Hinostroza converted their first- and fifth-round shootout chances to seal Waterloo's 6-5 victory.

The Black Hawks returned home to face the Des Moines Buccaneers on Jan. 29 and recorded a 7-3 victory. The Buccaneers scored first, but Scott MacDonald answered at the 15:53 mark of the first period to tie the score at 1-1. Tyler Zepeda pushed the Black Hawks ahead at the 18:08 mark, but Justin Hussar tied the game at 2-2 just 10 seconds before the first intermission.

Waterloo's Tony Cameranesi scored at the 2:05 mark of the second period followed by an Ian McCoshen goal at the 10-minute mark. Des Moines' Trent Samuels-Thomas brought the Buccaneers within one at the 15:15 mark, but A.J. Michaelson notched a goal near the end of the period to steal all the momentum from Des Moines. Michaelson and Jake Horton each added another goal to seal the 7-3 victory.

Black Hawks goalie Eamon McAdam commented on the Black Hawks' recent success.

"(We got) two wins in the weekend, two obviously really big ones with lots of offense," said McAdam. "(The momentum is) obviously going to carry over and we're just going to keep rolling with it and hopefully stay strong."

The Omaha Lancers have 48 points to lead the conference standings, while Lincoln sits in second place with 44 points and Waterloo is close behind with 42. The Black Hawks travel to face the Sioux Falls Stampede on Friday and then take on the Lincoln Stars on Saturday.