The Omaha Lancers used a pair of scoring runs to defeat the Waterloo Black Hawks 7-3 at Liberty First Credit Union Arena Friday.
Omaha recorded the first three goals of the contest. After Waterloo pulled to within one, the Lancers reeled off four-in-a-row, leading by as many as five. The result ended an eight-game Omaha winless streak while the Hawks absorbed their fourth straight loss.
The Lancers jumped to their initial 3-0 lead by the late first period, starting with a goal by Brady Arneson at 2:10. The veteran forward found a rebound near the top of the crease and flipped in the chance. Just a moment after a power play ended, Kole Hyles made it 2-0 at 11:32, blasting in a one-timer from the left circle. Then at 14:44, Tanner Morgan added one more, capitalizing on a two-on-one look after a pass by Lefty Markonidis.
Waterloo drew to within a goal for a portion of the second period. Travis Lefere recorded the first Hawks tally at 6:13. His dump-in hit a defender and landed in the slot. Lefere found the puck there and snapped a try to the top corner over Nils Maurins' glove.
The Hawks scored again in transition at 12:09. Ty Mason put an initial attempt toward the net, and Owen DeGraff punched in the rebound as he was being knocked over the top of Maurins.
However, with 52 seconds left in the period, Morgan took a puck away deep in the Hawks' zone, circling behind the net to set up Drake Gram for an Omaha insurance score as the defenseman moved up the slot. That one proved to be the game-winner.
Omaha added two more in the first two minutes of the second. Adam Israilov chopped in a chance 24 seconds out of intermission. Then Yegor Kim scored from the right point during a power play at 1:45.
Kim added the Lancers' final goal at 7:30, squeezing in a shot from a sharp angle.
Late in the game, the Hawks were skating with the net empty amid a sequence of penalties. It led to Salvatore Viviano's redirection under the crossbar on a pass from Jakeb Lynch with 29.1 seconds to go. The power play goal came while the teams skated six-against-four.
The Hawks roll back to Young Arena for their last matchup on Commercial Street before Christmas Saturday night. The 6:35 p.m. tilt with the Sioux City Musketeers will be Waterloo's first SpongeBob SquarePants Night, with special jerseys which will be auctioned after the game. Santa Claus will also be on hand for this exciting ho-ho-home game. Order tickets online anytime from tickets.waterlooblackhawks.com or from the Domino's Black Hawks Box Office at (319) 291-7680.
Waterloo 0 2 1 - 3
Omaha 3 1 3 - 7
1st Period-1, Omaha, Arneson 6 (Reynolds), 2:10. 2, Omaha, Hyles 7 (Israilov, Lantz), 11:32. 3, Omaha, Morgan 4 (Markonidis), 14:44. Penalties-Waterfield Wat (slashing, roughing), 9:28; Vig Oma (roughing), 9:28; Reynolds Oma (holding), 19:51.
2nd Period-4, Waterloo, Lefere 3 (Schneider), 6:13. 5, Waterloo, DeGraff 4 (Mason, Viviano), 12:09. 6, Omaha, Gram 1 (Morgan), 19:08. Penalties-No Penalties
3rd Period-7, Omaha, Israilov 4 (Vig), 0:24. 8, Omaha, Kim 4 (Yurkiw), 1:45 (PP). 9, Omaha, Kim 5 (Stanius, Lantz), 7:30. 10, Waterloo, Viviano 3 (Lynch, Mason), 19:31 (PP). Penalties-Brady Wat (roughing), 0:59; DeGraff Wat (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 4:20; Morgan Oma (high sticking), 16:42; Viviano Wat (hooking), 17:12; Kim Oma (hooking), 18:02.
Shots on Goal-Waterloo 12-5-14-31. Omaha 17-15-14-46.
Power Play Opportunities-Waterloo 1 / 3; Omaha 1 / 4.
Goalies-Waterloo, Lachat 4-9-0-1 (40 shots-33 saves); Chambre 1-3-0-0 (6 shots-6 saves). Omaha, Roberts Maurins 2-9-0-1 (31 shots-28 saves).
A-2,196
