Black Hawks Put Down Gamblers

A three goal second period boosted the Waterloo Black Hawks back to .500 for the season and to a 4-1 win against the Green Bay Gamblers at the Resch Center on Tuesday, March 17, 2015.

Under normal circumstances, the post might be a goalie’s best friend, but in the first period Tuesday, the pipe was partial to John Wiitala. During a power play at 5:20, Blake Hillman’s shot caromed off the post right to Wiitala waiting in the right wing circle, and Wiitala slipped in his 12th goal of the season, past netminder Adam Huska.

The Gamblers tied the score during a delayed penalty situation at 4:25 of the second when Mark Michaelis snapped a quick chance inside the post at the right of Cale Morris. However, the teams were on even terms for less than two minutes; Bryan Lemos capitalized when the puck deflected to him in the slot at 6:14.

Then at 12:00, Lemos sent a pass to Max Coatta in transition; Coatta’s resulting goal chased Huska to the bench. Waterloo added one more marker against his replacement, Jason Pawloski, with 10.1 seconds remaining before intermission, when Nick Swaney redirected a Hillman shot into the net.

Morris was at his busiest in the third, making ten saves during a scoreless period. He finished the night with 21 stops.

Waterloo is now 23-23-6 for the year.

NEXT UP: The Waterloo will play a pair of games against the United States Hockey League’s top team, the Youngstown Phantoms. The Friday and Saturday contests are part of the Hawks annual UAW Weekend, with $8 tickets for all UAW Local 838 members and their families. For more details, call the Domino’s Black Hawks Box Office at (319) 291-7680.