Cedar Rapids Goalie Ben Blacker made 36 saves Thursday, leading the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders to a 4-1 Thanksgiving win against the Waterloo Black Hawks at Young Arena.

The RoughRiders drew first blood 4:32 into the game; Jiri Fronk was the beneficiary of fine passing and scored on a backander from the slot below the hash marks. Then Hugh McGing forced a turnover and scored unassisted on a wraparound to make it 2-0 at 8:54.

Waterloo cashed in at 13:52 during a power play when Niko Hildenbrand redirected Brandon Montour’s shot. However, Matt O’Donnell reestablished a two-goal lead less than two minutes later, scoring from just above the right faceoff dot.

The second period was scoreless, but the Hawks continued to pour on the shots. After a 14-5 lead in chances during the first, Waterloo followed up with an 18-8 edge in opportunities during the second.

Cedar Rapids clamped down in the third, limiting Waterloo to five shots on frame. The only scoring during the final frame came with 14.8 seconds to go when Andrew Gaus tapped the puck into an empty net.

The Hawks and RoughRiders get together for a return engagement Saturday at Cedar Rapids Ice Arena. The next home game in Waterloo will be on Friday, December 12th versus the Sioux City Musketeers.

For Thursday's box score, please click on the link below: Click Here

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