The Waterloo Black Hawks rolled past the Tri-City Storm 7-1 on Sunday at Young Arena, earning their third win in three days.

The victory clinches a Western Conference playoff bid.  Now with three weeks remaining during the regular season, the Hawks are six points ahead of Tri-City for third place in the USHL Western Conference.  They have closed to within one point of Sioux City for second, while also holding two games-in-hand.
 
Sunday's result followed a 3-1 Friday road win against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and a 4-1 Saturday tilt against Tri-City.  Waterloo outscored their opponents 14-3 over the three games after losing the three prior contests by an aggregate score of 13-5.

Two first period Black Hawks goals Sunday provided a solid foundation.  Grady Deering had the first one at 5:16.  Positioned between the left circle and the edge of the crease, Deering tipped Michael Phelan's shot past Cameron Korpi.

Nearly 10 minutes later, Waterloo added to the lead.  Gavin Lindberg zipped into the right corner and as a defender fell down, he was able to turn toward the side of the net.  Lindberg slung a pass across the top of the crease to a waiting John Mustard, who banged it into the open side.

Waterloo kept scoring in the second.  Griffin Erdman had the first goal of the period at 2:25.  He was moving at top speed through the neutral zone and received a cross-ice pass from Gavyn Thoreson in stride; stepping into the left circle, Erdman fired his shot past Korpi to the stick side.

Tri-City drew a goal back shortly after a power play at 6:19.  Cameron Briere shoveled a pass from below the icing line to A.J. Lacroix, who snapped the puck under the crossbar from the top of the left circle.

Deering extended the lead back to three with his second of the day at 9:03.  During a Hawks power play, he had been knocked down near the side of the net, but that left him in prime position to push in the rebound of Will Felicio's shot which was laying in the crease.

Jaedon Kerr made it 5-1 with 59.8 seconds left before intermission.  Manning the right point, Kerr benefitted from Korpi being distracted by a screener near the netmouth.  Kerr's shot rang in off the pipe and landed across the goal line.

Two more goals extended the lead in the third period.  On a power play at 3:50, Jakub Altrichter pushed the puck toward the goalmouth.  Lindberg was waiting near the top of the crease to chop in the chance.

Erdman added the final goal at 17:56, flipping in Kerr's pass to cap a two-on-one.

The Hawks play their final games during March on the road against the Fargo Force next Friday and Saturday.

Tri-City 0 1 0 - 1
Waterloo 2 3 2 - 7

1st Period-1, Waterloo, Deering 14 (Phelan, Kerr), 5:16. 2, Waterloo, Mustard 25 (Lindberg, Reed), 15:11. Penalties-Morich Wat (high sticking), 9:18; McEwen Tc (holding), 11:45; Felicio Wat (holding), 16:46.

2nd Period-3, Waterloo, Erdman 18 (Thoreson, Compton), 2:25. 4, Tri-City, Lacroix 15 (Briere, Nizameyev), 6:19. 5, Waterloo, Deering 15 (Felicio, Altrichter), 9:03 (PP). 6, Waterloo, Kerr 5 (Nycz, Altrichter), 19:00. Penalties-Battaini Wat (tripping), 4:07; Rozzi Tc (roughing), 8:03; Constance Tc (cross checking), 15:28.

3rd Period-7, Waterloo, Lindberg 17 (Altrichter, Mustard), 3:50 (PP). 8, Waterloo, Erdman 19 (Kerr), 17:56. Penalties-Simpson Tc (tripping), 2:45; Crandell Tc (boarding), 9:51; Felicio Wat (cross checking), 9:51; Roukounakis Tc (tripping), 14:12.

Shots on Goal-Tri-City 10-11-6-27. Waterloo 13-8-12-33.
Power Play Opportunities-Tri-City 0 / 4; Waterloo 2 / 6.
Goalies-Tri-City, Korpi 24-13-1-4 (33 shots-26 saves). Waterloo, Spicer 13-11-0-1 (27 shots-26 saves).
A-2,136