The Waterloo Black Hawks led from the first minute onward, topping the Tri-City Storm 4-1 on Saturday night at Young Arena.

Entering the evening, Waterloo held third place in the USHL Western Conference, ahead of Tri-City by two points.  The win doubled the margin.  In addition, a Sioux City Musketeers loss in Muskegon allowed Waterloo to move within three points of Sioux City for second place.
 
Saturday's result was also Head Coach Matt Smaby's 100th regular season victory.  He becomes just the second Waterloo coach to cross the 100-win threshold during the organization's junior era.

The Black Hawks took the lead on the game's first shot on goal.  At the 19-second mark, Gavin Lindberg fended off a check as he came up ice, pulling the trigger on a backhander which beat Thatcher Bernstein inside the post at his right.  John Mustard set up that goal, then scored one of his own at 8:52.  Coming out of the left corner, he moved across the high slot, wristing a chance past Bernstein while the goaltender was screened.

Tri-City got a goal back after a successful penalty kill at 11:15.  Trevor Connelly found Shawn McEwan coming out of the penalty box, and McEwan flipped in a breakaway backhander.

Waterloo reassumed a two-goal lead at 15:02.  Griffin Erdman raced up left wing, feeding a pass into the slot; Gavyn Thoreson finished the chance with a low one-touch shot that found the back of the net.

The second period was scoreless, ending with the Hawks turned away during 27 seconds of five-on-three power play time.  Still on the two-man advantage to start the third, it took just five seconds for Waterloo to notch one more goal.  The Hawks controlled the draw, triggering a quick back-and-forth sequence between Erdman and Thoreson.  The puck ended up on Thoreson's stick before he flipped it over Cameron Korpi's right shoulder.

Korpi had entered the contest at the start of the second period.

Tri-City outshot the Hawks in the third, but only after Waterloo amassed a big shots advantage in the first to periods.  The count finished 34-24.  Calvin Vachon earned his 20th win of the season with 23 saves.

Waterloo and Tri-City meet for an instant rematch Sunday afternoon at 3:05 p.m.  After the game, fans can skate with the Hawks during a free on-ice and autograph session.  Seats are available from tickets.waterlooblackhawks.com or by calling the Domino's Black Hawks Box Office at (319) 291-7680.

Tri-City 1 0 0 - 1
Waterloo 3 0 1 - 4

1st Period-1, Waterloo, Lindberg 16 (Mustard, Fascia), 0:19. 2, Waterloo, Mustard 24 (Lindberg), 8:52. 3, Tri-City, McEwen 2 (Connelly), 11:15. 4, Waterloo, Thoreson 18 (Erdman), 15:02. Penalties-McEwen Tc (checking from behind), 9:05; McEwen Tc (slashing), 18:21.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Deering Wat (roughing), 2:40; Smith Tc (cross checking), 18:43; Kinsman Tc (boarding), 19:33.

3rd Period-5, Waterloo, Thoreson 19 (Erdman, Lindberg), 0:05 (PP). Penalties-Lindberg Wat (tripping), 10:57; Bade Tc (interference), 15:38; Compton Wat (cross checking), 15:38; Connelly Tc (game ejection-second misconduct, 10-minute misconduct), 19:44; Deering Wat (cross checking, 10-minute misconduct), 19:44.

Shots on Goal-Tri-City 5-7-12-24. Waterloo 14-10-10-34.
Power Play Opportunities-Tri-City 0 / 3; Waterloo 1 / 4.
Goalies-Tri-City, Bernstein 6-7-1-1 (14 shots-11 saves); Korpi 24-12-1-4 (20 shots-19 saves). Waterloo, Vachon 20-9-0-0 (24 shots-23 saves).
A-2,742