After a 40-minute stalemate the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders won Sunday's third period to edge the visiting Waterloo Black Hawks 3-2 at ImOn Ice Arena.
Nick Romeo scored twice on assists by Owen Boucher for the RoughRiders. Meanwhile, Waterloo special teams was almost enough to make something positive out of the short trip on the final night of November; the Hawks went two-for-three on the power play and four-for-four while penalty killing.
Cedar Rapids celebrated their Teddy Bear Toss 6:36 into the game with the only goal of the first period. Boucher skated across the slot, then cut to the side of the net, shoveling a puck into the crease. Romeo arrived in time to chop it between the posts for the opening goal.
A special teams-filled second period included just one goal, and that went to the Hawks at 4:29. During a power play, Tyler Deakos rifled a shot from the right circle into the opposite top corner. The call on the ice was 'no goal,' but a review confirmed that the puck did go in. The Hawks spent more than eight minutes of the second period shorthanded – including a five-minute major to Deakos – but the 1-1 score held through intermission.
Romeo broke the tie by tapping in Boucher's feed to cap a two-on-one rush 2:35 into the third. The RoughRiders then took the only multigoal lead of the night at the 13-minute mark; a takeaway in the Black Hawks zone provided Hawke Huff the chance to set up a goal credited to Henry Lechner from the side of the net.
The Hawks converted their final power play with 3:03 left. With three RoughRiders chasing behind the net, Rio Treharne came out with the puck, centering for Toby Carlson, who turned a quick, low shot past Ryan Cameron.
Much of the remaining time was spent with a sixth Waterloo attacker on the ice, but the Hawks could not retie the game.
Waterloo opens December on the road against the Omaha Lancers Friday night. That last home game before Christmas is Saturday, December 6th against the Sioux City Musketeers, featuring the Hawks' first-ever SpongeBob SquarePants jerseys. Tickets for the 6:35 p.m. game are available from the Domino's Black Hawks Box Office or online at tickets.waterlooblackhawks.com.
Waterloo 0 1 1 - 2
Cedar Rapids 1 0 2 - 3
1st Period-1, Cedar Rapids, Romeo 7 (Boucher, Piercy), 6:36. Penalties-Treharne Wat (hooking), 16:09; Meyer Wat (holding), 19:28.
2nd Period-2, Waterloo, Deakos 3 (Whiterabbit, Merrick), 4:29 (PP). Penalties-Davis Cr (cross checking), 1:21; Boucher Cr (kneeing), 3:51; Meyer Wat (cross checking), 8:27; Deakos Wat (major-head contact, game misconduct-head contact), 13:25.
3rd Period-3, Cedar Rapids, Romeo 8 (Boucher, Piercy), 2:35. 4, Cedar Rapids, Lechner 6 (Graf, Huff), 13:00. 5, Waterloo, Carlson 3 (O'Donohue, Treharne), 16:57 (PP). Penalties-Davis Cr (checking from behind), 15:33.
Shots on Goal-Waterloo 8-7-7-22. Cedar Rapids 10-12-7-29.
Power Play Opportunities-Waterloo 2 / 3; Cedar Rapids 0 / 4.
Goalies-Waterloo, Chambre 1-3-0-0 (29 shots-26 saves). Cedar Rapids, Cameron 11-4-0-1 (22 shots-20 saves).
A-2,751
