WATERLOO, IA. – The Lancers returned to Waterloo for the first time since October 14^th, 2023. That first battle at Young Arena resulted in a down-to-the-wire, 4-3 win for the Black Hawks. And with Waterloo still fighting for the first-round bye in the 2024 Clark Cup Playoffs, the Lancers once again had a difficult test ahead of them coming into tonight.
 
The Lancers did not have a desired start to the matchup as they trailed 4-0 through the opening 20 minutes.
 
Four different Black Hawks would score in the first frame as Reid Morich, Gavin Lindberg, John Mustard and Griffin Erdman would all find the back of the net. On top of the four different goal scorers, Morich, Mustard, Grady Deering and Will Felicio would have multi-point periods.
 
Mikhail Yegorov started this matchup but was pulled 8:54 into the period after Waterloo scored three times on seven shots. He would be replaced by Kam Hendrickson, who turned aside nine out of ten shots he saw in just over 11 minutes of play.
 
The Black Hawks struck again just 17 seconds into the second period as Dylan Compton ripped a shot from the blue line that was tipped in by Gavyn Thoreson making it a 5-0 lead for Waterloo. Giving Thoreson his 20^th goal of the year.
 
Waterloo was unable to score for the remaining 19:43 of the period, but out shot Omaha 14-2 in the second period for a total of 31-9 through 40 minutes.
 
The Lancers were able to get on the board in the opening minutes of the final period, as Gabe Kenne would send a low shot in on Waterloo Goaltender, Calvin Vachon, triggering a huge rebound to the back door. David Posma was already crashing the net from the opposite point, scoring his first goal of his USHL career and making it a 5-1 game.
 
Omaha was unable to pick up any momentum off the Posma goal as Waterloo would tally two more before the final buzzer. Mustard scoring his 28^th of the season and second of the night, followed by Teddy Townsend finishing things off at the 15:07 mark for his 13^th. Making it a 7-1 win for the Black Hawks.
 
Hendrickson would have a solid outing through 51 minutes of play, stopping 35 of 39 total shots. Good for a 0.897 save percentage. 

The Lancers will continue their road trip tomorrow as they take on the Lincoln Stars at the Ice Box. Puck drop is set for 6:05 PM CT. That game can be streamed on FloSports and Mixlr.