WATERLOO - The kind of chaos that only hockey can love hit Young Arena midway through the second period Saturday night.

Then, for roughly 10 minutes, only the concession lines moved.

On the ice, the officials sorted through the aftermath of a multi-player, 15-penalty fight that saw, among others, both goaltenders dismissed. Eventually, play resumed, and P.K. O'Handley detected an energy surge.

"Yeah, I did," said the Waterloo Black Hawks' head coach. "From our fans. I told our guys, 'Jeez, the fans are more excited than you guys are to play the hockey game tonight.' That's a little disappointing."

In other words, the Black Hawks couldn't get off the ground while losing a 2-1 decision to Ohio before 2,852 of those energized fans.

"We struggled all night just to find any consistency in our game," said O'Handley.

"It's difficult to put into words the disappointment in the effort - not so much the effort, but the consistency of the attack. It wasn't very good."

Facing a group of Junior Blue Jackets that owned the second-worst record in the United States Hockey League, Waterloo owned a 26-16 edge in shots on goal. The Black Hawks enjoyed a half-dozen power-play chances.

But all of that produced very little. Waterloo went 0-for-6 with the extra man, and Brett Olson fired home the Black Hawks' only goal on a rebound from the left face-off circle at the 16-minute, 26-second mark of the middle period.

Nor could O'Handley's team find an answer when Ohio retook the lead early in the final stanza. Junior Blue Jacket forward Andy Taranto received credit for the score at 3:13 when a deflected shot zig-zagged past Waterloo goalie Matt DiGirolamo.

DiGirolamo entered Saturday's game in relief of starter Joe Howe. Howe and Ohio netminder Pasquale Terrazzano departed at the 12:55 mark of the second period when each received fighting game misconducts following a scrap at center ice.

A total of two Black Hawks and a pair of Jackets went to the locker room early. Overall, the two teams racked up 85 minutes in penalties at the end of the fight.

At that point, Ohio owned a 1-0 lead. Jake Coyle scored at the 9:13 mark of the second period just after serving the second of consecutive minors. Olson's score equalized matters until Taranto tallied in the final 20 minutes.

Thus, the Junior Blue Jackets won consecutive games for the first time since Oct. 5 and Oct. 6 against Green Bay - the opening nights of USHL action in 2007-08. Waterloo, meanwhile, failed to recover from Friday's defeat at Cedar Rapids. The Black Hawks have lost three of their last four outings on the heels of a four-game winning streak.

"We've fought it all weekend," said O'Handley of the Hawks' lack of energy. "We have to correct that, without question. It's a little disappointing and concerning to me and our coaching staff that we have guys that go through the motions. That's not good."

Contact Jim Sullivan at (319) 291-1434 or jim.sullivan@wcfcourier.com

Ohio 0 1 1 - 2

Waterloo 0 1 0 - 1

FIRST PERIOD - No scoring. Penalties - Brett Beebe, Wat. (hooking) 8:44; Luke Witkowski, Oh. (interference) 18:02

SECOND PERIOD - 1. Ohio, Jake Coyle (Dan Hobbs), 9:12. 2. Waterloo, Brett Olson (Blake Kessel, Billy Maday), 16:42. Penalties - Coyle, Oh. (elbowing) 2:05; Coyle, Oh. (elbowing) 7:01; Daniel Barczuk, Oh. (holding) 9:37; Joe Howe, Wat. (crossing red line, fighting major, fighting game misconduct) 12:55; Keegan Meuer, Wat. (fighting major, fighting game misconduct) 12:55; Mike Marcou, Wat. (delay of game) 12:55; Scott Pavelski, Wat. (kneeing) 12:55; Witkowski, Oh. (fighting major, fighting game misconduct) 12:55; Justin Cseter, Oh. (grabbing face mask major, facemask game misconduct) 12:55; Andy Taranto, Oh. (delay of game) 12:55; Pasquale Terrazzano, Oh. (crossing red line, fighting major, fighting game misconduct) 12:55; John Lee, Wat. (hooking) 15:03; Greg Pateryn, Oh. (checking from behind) 16:03; Beebe, Wat. (interference) 19:14.

THIRD PERIOD - 3. Ohio, Taranto (Patrick Goebel, Tim Hall), 3:13. Penalties - Paul Weisgarber, Wat. (tripping) 3:32.

SHOTS ON GOAL

Ohio 6 5 5 - 16

Waterloo 5 14 7 - 26

Goaltenders - Ohio, Terrazzano (18 shots, 18 saves), Corson Cramer (8 shots, 7 saves); Waterloo, Joe Howe (10 shots, 9 saves), Matthew DiGirolamo (6 shots, 5 saves)

Officials - Referee, Tim Mayer, Linesmen, Paul Koskovich and Brian Oliver. Att. - 2,852