It was 2 hours before game time and the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs was already rocking with noise.

That noise, however, wasn't from early arriving fans. It was the Waterloo Black Hawks.

Before every game, whether it's on the road or at home, it is not unusual to see the Black Hawks playing loosely what rivals a Hacky Sack game with a soccer ball.

Monday was no different for the Black Hawks, and on this occasion the squad was making a lot of noise. It was a sign of a confident, loose and relaxed team.

Riding a 14-game winning streak and fewer than 24 hours after a victory in Game 1 of the United States Hockey League's Clark Cup Tier I National Championship finals, the Black Hawks had a reason to be relaxed.

A couple of hours later it became abundantly clear the team had become too relaxed and watched the Omaha Lancers tie the series with a decisive 2-0 victory.

Now, with just hours prior until tonight's Game 3 at Young Arena, Waterloo understands it needs to be better against a Lancer squad that showed it was far and away the best team in the USHL during the regular season.

"We definitely were relaxed and maybe a bit too much," Black Hawks head coach P.K. O'Handley said. "There is a fine line there, and some guys crossed that line.

"The good news is it is only one game. Omaha played with a great edge on Monday, and in order for us to be successful, we have to match that edge or exceed it Wednesday."

Following Monday's loss, its first in the playoffs, Waterloo's players clearly realized they had made a mistake in preparation and probably weren't paying the Lancers enough respect.

Defenseman John Lee said it best.

"This was a real reality check," he said. "I think a lot of guys thought we were just going to walk through this series like the past couple, and obviously that is not the case."

O'Handley did see positives in Game 2.

"I thought our tempo was better than it was in Game 1," O'Handley said. "We got up and down the ice better."

But in order to succeed tonight, Waterloo knows exactly what it needs to do to retake control this best-of-5 series. First and foremost on the agenda is applying more pressure on Omaha goalie Drew Palmisano.

"When you throw only 20, 25 shots on a goalie a game … he's probably not going to have to make many difficult saves," Lee said.

Palmisano recorded his third shutout of the playoffs Monday, turning away 28 Black Hawks shots. The shutout tied a USHL playoff record for the most in one postseason set previously by Des Moines' Bob Revermann in 1998.

Palmisano wasn't tested often in Game 2, either in even-strength situations or when Waterloo was on the power play.

The Black Hawks were 0-for-6 with a man advantage in Game 2 after scoring on the power play at least once in each of the previous seven games and 11 times overall.

"We didn't get to the net nearly enough," O'Handley said. "We need to make it much harder on him if we want a better chance to win in Game 3. We have to attack the net.

"We also to stood around too much on the power play. We've got to move our feet, get the defense moving side to side."

The Black Hawks expect to get a boost tonight from a home crowd that is expected to be a sellout of 3,500.

A victory would mean Waterloo would have a chance to close out the series and win its second Clark Cup title in franchise history in Game 4 on Friday. Tonight's game time is 7:05.

Contact Jim Nelson at (319) 291-1521 or jim.nelson@wcfcourier