Chase Jette became the third Waterloo Black Hawk with a hat trick this month, but none have been more dramatic than the rookie's three-goal performance in a 4-3 overtime road win Tuesday against the Des Moines Buccaneers.
With 54.8 seconds left in extra time, Hunter Ramos flipped a pass from the left circle toward the edge of the crease. It connected with Jette – one-on-one against goalie Max Weilandt – and the forward lifted his backhand opportunity to the top corner, bringing his teammates to the ice to celebrate the tooth-and-nail victory.
The win was Waterloo's fourth-in-a-row, matching a season high. All four wins were earned on the road against different opponents within the span of eight days. It was also the Hawks' 30th victory of the season, making this the eighth time in the last 10 seasons that Waterloo has reached the milestone.
Des Moines scored first, capitalizing on a two-on-one 3:21 into the game. Jacob Jastrzebski flipped a pass across the slot to Ryan Seelinger who was steaming toward the net. Seelinger deflected the feed up under the crossbar.
Forty-four seconds later, Waterloo answered in transition. Grady Deering clicked with Ramos on a rush, and Ramos fired in a low attempt from the left circle.
The 1-1 score held until 14:50 when the Hawks went to the lead. Easton Hewson banked a pass to Jette, who burst into the zone on left wing. Jette fired his chance off the opposite post and in.
Des Moines tied it on the night's first power play at 6:56 of the second. The Buccaneers used the same special teams unit for the duration of the power play and scored three seconds before Waterloo would have come back to full strength. Richard Baran used a defender as a screen and put his attempt in from the right faceoff dot.
Jette broke the tie 12:47 into the third. Michael Phelan found him with a 70-foot pass between two defenders, springing a breakaway. Jette made it count, hitting the net with a wrister.
The lead only lasted 47 seconds; Theo Kiss capped a three-on-two with an equalizer from the left circle.
Waterloo could not break the tie in regulation, despite going to their lone power play with under three minutes left. With most of the game played at even-strength, the visitors finished with a 29-18 shots advantage.
The Hawks return to home ice to meet the Sioux Falls Stampede on Friday at 7:05. It will be Mental Health Awareness Night, presented by Alive and Running Iowa. The evening has also been dubbed Pickeball Night and will feature Young Arena's first on-ice pickleball game at intermission. Order seats from the Domino's Black Hawks Box Office at (319) 291-7680 or visit tickets.waterlooblackhawks.com.
Waterloo 2 0 1 1 - 4
Des Moines 1 1 1 0 - 3
1st Period-1, Des Moines, Seelinger 13 (Jastrzebski, Blair), 3:21. 2, Waterloo, Ramos 15 (Deering, Daavettila), 4:05. 3, Waterloo, Jette 11 (Hewson), 14:50. Penalties-No Penalties
2nd Period-4, Des Moines, Baran 4 (Jastrzebski, Clarke), 6:56 (PP). Penalties-Peddle Wat (tripping), 5:00; Bogas Wat (high sticking), 17:30; Zielinski Dm (diving/embellishment), 17:30.
3rd Period-5, Waterloo, Jette 12 (Phelan, Hewson), 12:47. 6, Des Moines, Kiss 11 (Clarke), 13:34. Penalties-Delladonna Dm (tripping), 17:08.
1st OT Period-7, Waterloo, Jette 13 (Ramos, Phelan), 4:06. Penalties-No Penalties
Shots on Goal-Waterloo 6-11-9-3-29. Des Moines 5-4-8-1-18.
Power Play Opportunities-Waterloo 0 / 1; Des Moines 1 / 1.
Goalies-Waterloo, Hendrickson 13-9-3-0 (18 shots-15 saves). Des Moines, Weilandt 14-11-3-0 (29 shots-25 saves).
