WATERLOO - Two nearly identical hockey squads squared off in Young Arena Saturday night. Thus, shadow-boxing ensued early in the Waterloo Black Hawks' showdown with Sioux City.

But the Black Hawks were dead-set on avoiding a split decision.

As a result, Waterloo worked its foe like a speed-bag in the second period (literally, at one point), and won the bout by the count of 4-1, in front of a crowd of 3,011.

With its third consecutive win, Waterloo (32-15-3 and 67 points) won the season series over Sioux City, three games to one. But, most importantly, the Black Hawks inched closer to idle Eastern Division leader Cedar Rapids (68 points) in the standings.

Net-minder Ryan Rondeau personified the host's feisty second period display barely 6 minutes in, as he squared off with his Sioux City counterpart, at center ice. Rondeau won the rare goalie fight, landing a steady stream of left jabs before withstanding a few right hooks while sending the United States Hockey League's No. 1 save-percentage man, Jerry Kuhn, to the showers.

That fine bit of fisticuffs capped a 2-minute flurry in which Waterloo scored a pair of goals to seize an insurmountable 3-0 lead.

"It's getting down to the home stretch, and the playoffs are very intense," said Rondeau, who ended with 15 saves - and a shiner around his right eye. "Tensions are high - in a close game it gets real heated. So you just have to come out and send a message and play physical."

Waterloo's Kyle Reeds deked Kuhn, then effortlessly flipped a wrist shot to the back of the net at the 11:14 mark, making it 2-0. Then, teammate Brett Olson raced up the left wing and went top-shelf, handing the hosts their three-goal advantage.

The Black Hawks were clearly the aggressors in that 20-minute stretch, sending countless Musketeers crashing into the boards. Waterloo's coach was encouraged by what he witnessed.

"It was a physical game," bench boss P.K. O'Handley acknowledged. "This is an emotional game, and sometimes emotions boil over. (But) our guys did a good job and were fairly disciplined.

"A lot of guys played well. That was good to see," O'Handley added, praising the defensive play of Isak Tranvik, in particular.

Mitch Ryan added an unassisted goal for good measure in the game's waning moments, punctuating a contest wrought with pugilism.

The USHL's fight card has almost cleared, with the regular season drawing to a close.

And Saturday, Waterloo appeared to prove it has the stamina to remain standing, even after a full 15 rounds.

"I thought we defended ourselves," said O'Handley, "and our home ice."

Contact Kelly Beaton at (319) 291-1456 or kelly.beaton@wcfcourier.com

Black Hawk bits …

THE FRIENDLY CONFINES: The Black Hawks are now 21-3-1 at Young Arena this season, with a handful of home games remaining. Their quest to best the finest single-season home record in franchise history (25-3-2, in 2003), continues today against Green Bay at 5:05 p.m.

JOIN THE CLUB: For the first time in four years, Waterloo has a trio of 20-goal scorers on its roster. Kyle Reeds and James Marcou were the most recent players to reach the milestone, as each tallied their 20th scores last weekend, joining teammate Joshua Turnbull (25). Fellow Black Hawk Ryan Cramer (18 goals) isn't far behind.

In 2002-03, current San Jose Shark Joe Pavelski joined Ross Carlson and Andy Nelson as 20-goal scorers in Waterloo.

Sioux City 0 0 1 - 1

Waterloo 0 3 1 - 4

FIRST PERIOD - No scoring. Penalties - Tyler Pederson, Sioux City (tripping), 1:07; Kyle Reeds, Waterloo (interference), 1:54; Paul Weisgarber, Waterloo (inference), 3:18; Danny Wurden, Sioux City (roughing), 10:35; James Marcou, Waterloo (roughing), 10:35; Travis Oleksuk, Sioux City (tripping), 15:29

SECOND PERIOD - 1. Waterloo, James Marcou (Pasko Skarica), :23; 2. Waterloo, Kyle Reeds (Blake Kessel); 3. Waterloo Brett Olson (Matt Arhontas), 12:58. Penalties - John Lee, Waterloo (cross-checking), 1:10; J. Marcou, Waterloo (roughing), 5:00; Pederson, Sioux City (high-sticking), 10:22; Kyle Medvec, Sioux City (roughing), 10:45; Phil DeSimone, Sioux City (elbowing), 13:26; Max Pacioretty, Sioux City (delay of game), 13:26; Jerry Kuhn, Sioux City (fighting, game misconduct), 13:26; Pasko Skarica, Waterloo (delay of game), 13:26; Ryan Rondeau, Waterloo (fighting), 13:26.

THIRD PERIOD - 4. Waterloo, Mitch Ryan (unassisted), 13:19; 5. Sioux City, Kevin Lohry (Andrew Rowe). Penalties - Reeds, Waterloo (hooking), 3:59; Pederson, Sioux City (high-sticking), 11:11; Anthony Maiani, Sioux City (unsportsmanlike conduct, roughing), 11:11; Ryan Cramer, Waterloo (delay of game), 11:11; Kessel, Waterloo (roughing), 11:11; Danny Hallmark, Sioux City (roughing), 15:14; Alex Tuckerman, Sioux City (roughing), 15:14; Jon Madden, Waterloo (roughing), 15:14; Olson, Waterloo (roughing), 15:14; Isak Tranvik, Waterloo (roughing), 16:49; Matt Crandell, Sioux City (interference), 16:59; J. Lee, Waterloo (checking from behind), 19:05.

SHOTS ON GOAL

Sioux City 5 12 8 - 25

Waterloo 11 16 13 - 40

Goalies - Sioux City, Jerry Kuhn (17 saves); Josh Robinson (17 saves). Waterloo, Ryan Rondeau (15 saves); Matthew DiGirolamo (9 saves).

Referee - Adam Fish. Linesmen - Dan Dreger, Peter Tarnaris. Att. - 3,011.