USHL Hockey

Waterloo Black Hawks at Omaha Lancers

Records: Waterloo (5-9-0, 10 points, 6th in USHL East). Omaha (15-2-0, 30 points, First USHL West).

When: Today, 7:05 p.m.

Where: Mid-America Center

Radio: KCNZ (1650 AM) or KDNZ (1250 AM)

Game notes: Waterloo looks to reverse its road woes against arguably the best team in the USHL. The Black Hawks have not won on the road since opening the 2009-10 season with a victory at Green Bay. That's seven straight losses. In three of its last four road games, Waterloo has allowed seven goals. The Black Hawks' road losing streak is the longest in the USHL. Conversely, Waterloo owns the longest home win streak at four. Thursday, the Black Hawks host rival Cedar Rapids. Waterloo has seen Omaha twice this season, losing, 7-4, to the Lancers Oct. 23 in Waterloo and 7-4 again on Nov. 6 in Council Bluffs. ... Head coach P.K. O'Handley continues to tinker with his roster. Last Friday, he traded forward Justin DeMartino and defenseman Matt Kinman to Springfield of the North American League for goalie C.J. Groh, who made his Black Hawks debut in a 7-3 loss to Chicago that same night. Groh, a native of Cincinnati, was in his second season with Springfield. He was 6-6-4 with a 2.66 goals against average and a .918 save percentage for the Junior Blues this season. ... Additionally, forward Colton Warner was traded to Alaska of the NAHL, while Jamie Hill was activated off the affiliate list. Defensemen Zach Palmquist and Tyler Osborne are currently serving a three-game suspension for breaking team rules. The two are eligible to return to the ice Thursday. Consequently, Waterloo traveled to Chicago last week with only four available defensemen. To remedy the situation, O'Handley played Cody Von Rueden off the team's affliate list, and forward Derek Arnold played defense Saturday in a 3-0 shutout victory over Des Moines. Von Rueden and Arnold will both again play Wednesday and Thursday on defense.

Black Hawks coach P.K. O'Handley:

On road woes, "We have to find a way to play three periods of hockey on the road. It seems seven is the magic number on the road. And, the way we give up the seven is just nauseating. I don't know if we can dwell on it and we're not trying to do it, but it is on the forefront of our players minds. It has to improve and it needs to start tomorrow."

On roster moves,"This is the most I've ever done in a season. With C.J. Groh, we are in a situation with a nagging injury to Steve Racine that we don't know where that is headed. It is kind of an insurance policy and temporairly, we can keep three. But that is not going to be the long term."

Next up: Cedar Rapids, Thursday, Young Arena, 7:05 p.m.

- Compiled by Courier Sports Writer Jim Nelson