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Lancers trip up Black Hawks 2-0
MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Staff Photographer
Waterloo's Craig Smith (left) and Omaha's Chris Hepp struggle for the puck behind Omaha's net in the first period Friday night.
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Cup on ice: Black Hawks can't clinch Clark Cup at home, face Game 5 tonight
By JIM NELSON, Courier Sports Writer
WATERLOO — There was nothing bad with how the Waterloo Black Hawks played Friday.
The stark reality was the Omaha Lancers played better.
Barry Almeida scored twice and Drew Palmisano turned away 35 shots as the Lancers forced a fifth and final game in the Clark Cup National Championships with a 2-0 victory over the Black Hawks, in front of a boisterous sellout crowd of 3,500 at Young Arena.
The series now turns to Council Bluffs and the Mid-America Center for the deciding fifth game tonight.
“I can’t say we played poor. I can’t say we played good. And, I can’t say they really dominated us,” Black Hawks head coach P.K. O’Handley said.
The game boiled down to Omaha capitalizing on a pair of Waterloo turnovers, and then watched as Palmisano and its defense holding the Black Hawks to an 0-for-11 effort on the power play.
“The penalty kill was good. Drew was good. They misfired on a couple. It is crazy like that this time of the year,” Omaha coach Mike Hastings said. “But in all honesty, I think a series like this deserves a Game 5.”
The shutout was Palmisano’s second of the series and league-record fourth of the playoffs.
“I honestly think we didn’t do enough around the net, and I think the guy who is getting shortchanged on this whole deal, at least by us, is Palmisano who has been darn good,” O’Handley said.
O’Handley was surprised by his power-play unit’s output because he thought it generated numerous opportunities.
“I thought we would get one by him,” O’Handley said. “It was not that we didn’t get looks, but good looks are just that. We didn’t do a very good job of finishing the deal.
“They were really stingy on the power-play. I thought they did a great job of taking away the middle and taking away shots we normally make.”
Just like it did in the previous three games, Omaha scored first. It took advantage of an odd-man rush. Dakota Eveland found Almedia on a nice cross with 6 minutes, 9 seconds remaining in the first period.
For Almedia, the Lancers leading scorer during the regular season with 60 points, it was his first point of the championship series.
Almedia made it 2-0 just 1:46 into the second, chipping a loose puck Black Hawks goalie Matt DiGirolamo couldn’t handle.
The Lancers came into the game with a simple plan, and it wasn’t about Xs and Os.
“Waterloo is an incredible team, and it is an incredible place to play in with the amount of people they pack in here and how loud it gets,” defensemen Chris Hepp said. “It is an intimidating environment and we just wanted to come in here and get this one done ... prolong our season as long as we could ... live that one more day.”
Wanting to close out the series at home in front of loud and energized sellout crowd, the Black Hawks threw everything they had at the Lancers in the third period.
Waterloo outshot Omaha, 12-3, over the final 20 minutes and had four tries with a manadvantag, but couldn’t slip anything past Palmisano.
“I thought in the third period we were pretty good,” O’Handley said. “We generated offense. That was certainly a positive.”
Although Waterloo didn’t want to have to make another 4-hour road trip, it isn’t conceding anything to Omaha.
“Both teams have had great seasons,” DiGirolamo said. “Each team deserves it and the better team is going to win.
“It’s going to take a lot of heart and courage.”
Waterloo also understands it can’t stay disappointed for long.
“We wanted to give our fans something special, but we just have to forget it and remember it is a one game final (today),” forward Billy Maday said.
O’Handley left this message with his team.
“We knew it was going to be a long series,” he said. “I think it is disappointing the way we lost. But you know what, we have a Game 5 and you can’t dwell on the negative. You have to go with the positive and that is you have a Game 5.”
Faceoff will be at 7:05 p.m. today.
Contact Jim Nelson at (319) 291-1521 or jim.nelson@wcfcourier.com
Omaha 1 1 0 - 2
Waterloo 0 0 0 - 0
FIRST PERIOD - 1. Omaha, Barry Almedia (Dakota Eveland), 13:51. Penalties - Keegan Meuer, Wat (holding), 2:20; Team, Oma (too many men), 7:16; Nick Larson, Wat (slashing), 7:39; Wes O’Neill, Oma (slashing), 8:22; Joe Sova, Oma (hooking), 8:27; Meuer, Wat (interference), 10:45; Travis Novak, Oma (delay of game), 14:44; Larson, Wat (delay of game), 14:44.
SECOND PERIOD - 2. Omaha, Almedia (Matt White, O’Neill), 1:46. Penalties - Michael Montrose, Wat (fighting), 2:20; Joey Diamond, Oma (fighting), 2:20; Wiercioch, Oma (holding), 3:11; O’Neill, Oma (slashing), 6:45; Conboy, Oma (tripping), 9:33; Siim Liivik, Wat (hooking), 13:13; John Lee, Wat (hooking), 14:42; Conboy, Oma (roughing), 15:51; Liivik, Wat (roughing), 17:15; Novak, Oma (roughing), 17:15; O’Neill, Oma (holding), 18:09.
THIRD PERIOD - No scoring. Penalties - Chris Hepp, Oma (checking from behind), 11:23; Wiercioch, Oma (holding), 14:27.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Omaha 8 9 3 - 20
Waterloo 13 10 12 - 35
Goalies - Omaha, Drew Palmisano (35 saves). Waterloo, Matt DiGirolamo (18 saves). Referee -- Gene Binda. Linesmen - Jud Ritter, Christopher Allman. Att. - 3,500.
The stark reality was the Omaha Lancers played better.
Barry Almeida scored twice and Drew Palmisano turned away 35 shots as the Lancers forced a fifth and final game in the Clark Cup National Championships with a 2-0 victory over the Black Hawks, in front of a boisterous sellout crowd of 3,500 at Young Arena.
The series now turns to Council Bluffs and the Mid-America Center for the deciding fifth game tonight.
“I can’t say we played poor. I can’t say we played good. And, I can’t say they really dominated us,” Black Hawks head coach P.K. O’Handley said.
The game boiled down to Omaha capitalizing on a pair of Waterloo turnovers, and then watched as Palmisano and its defense holding the Black Hawks to an 0-for-11 effort on the power play.
“The penalty kill was good. Drew was good. They misfired on a couple. It is crazy like that this time of the year,” Omaha coach Mike Hastings said. “But in all honesty, I think a series like this deserves a Game 5.”
The shutout was Palmisano’s second of the series and league-record fourth of the playoffs.
“I honestly think we didn’t do enough around the net, and I think the guy who is getting shortchanged on this whole deal, at least by us, is Palmisano who has been darn good,” O’Handley said.
O’Handley was surprised by his power-play unit’s output because he thought it generated numerous opportunities.
“I thought we would get one by him,” O’Handley said. “It was not that we didn’t get looks, but good looks are just that. We didn’t do a very good job of finishing the deal.
“They were really stingy on the power-play. I thought they did a great job of taking away the middle and taking away shots we normally make.”
Just like it did in the previous three games, Omaha scored first. It took advantage of an odd-man rush. Dakota Eveland found Almedia on a nice cross with 6 minutes, 9 seconds remaining in the first period.
For Almedia, the Lancers leading scorer during the regular season with 60 points, it was his first point of the championship series.
Almedia made it 2-0 just 1:46 into the second, chipping a loose puck Black Hawks goalie Matt DiGirolamo couldn’t handle.
The Lancers came into the game with a simple plan, and it wasn’t about Xs and Os.
“Waterloo is an incredible team, and it is an incredible place to play in with the amount of people they pack in here and how loud it gets,” defensemen Chris Hepp said. “It is an intimidating environment and we just wanted to come in here and get this one done ... prolong our season as long as we could ... live that one more day.”
Wanting to close out the series at home in front of loud and energized sellout crowd, the Black Hawks threw everything they had at the Lancers in the third period.
Waterloo outshot Omaha, 12-3, over the final 20 minutes and had four tries with a manadvantag, but couldn’t slip anything past Palmisano.
“I thought in the third period we were pretty good,” O’Handley said. “We generated offense. That was certainly a positive.”
Although Waterloo didn’t want to have to make another 4-hour road trip, it isn’t conceding anything to Omaha.
“Both teams have had great seasons,” DiGirolamo said. “Each team deserves it and the better team is going to win.
“It’s going to take a lot of heart and courage.”
Waterloo also understands it can’t stay disappointed for long.
“We wanted to give our fans something special, but we just have to forget it and remember it is a one game final (today),” forward Billy Maday said.
O’Handley left this message with his team.
“We knew it was going to be a long series,” he said. “I think it is disappointing the way we lost. But you know what, we have a Game 5 and you can’t dwell on the negative. You have to go with the positive and that is you have a Game 5.”
Faceoff will be at 7:05 p.m. today.
Contact Jim Nelson at (319) 291-1521 or jim.nelson@wcfcourier.com
Omaha 1 1 0 - 2
Waterloo 0 0 0 - 0
FIRST PERIOD - 1. Omaha, Barry Almedia (Dakota Eveland), 13:51. Penalties - Keegan Meuer, Wat (holding), 2:20; Team, Oma (too many men), 7:16; Nick Larson, Wat (slashing), 7:39; Wes O’Neill, Oma (slashing), 8:22; Joe Sova, Oma (hooking), 8:27; Meuer, Wat (interference), 10:45; Travis Novak, Oma (delay of game), 14:44; Larson, Wat (delay of game), 14:44.
SECOND PERIOD - 2. Omaha, Almedia (Matt White, O’Neill), 1:46. Penalties - Michael Montrose, Wat (fighting), 2:20; Joey Diamond, Oma (fighting), 2:20; Wiercioch, Oma (holding), 3:11; O’Neill, Oma (slashing), 6:45; Conboy, Oma (tripping), 9:33; Siim Liivik, Wat (hooking), 13:13; John Lee, Wat (hooking), 14:42; Conboy, Oma (roughing), 15:51; Liivik, Wat (roughing), 17:15; Novak, Oma (roughing), 17:15; O’Neill, Oma (holding), 18:09.
THIRD PERIOD - No scoring. Penalties - Chris Hepp, Oma (checking from behind), 11:23; Wiercioch, Oma (holding), 14:27.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Omaha 8 9 3 - 20
Waterloo 13 10 12 - 35
Goalies - Omaha, Drew Palmisano (35 saves). Waterloo, Matt DiGirolamo (18 saves). Referee -- Gene Binda. Linesmen - Jud Ritter, Christopher Allman. Att. - 3,500.
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