Hockey Sense Roundup: Waterloo's Thanksgiving tradition hits milestone; Latest on Omaha & more

Plus: Team USA WJC updates; College Hockey Power Rankings; Prospect notes

A packed Young Arena enjoys Thanksgiving hockey. (Photo: Hockey Sense)

Welcome to the Hockey Sense Roundup, a comprehensive weekly newsletter that covers the game at all levels. In this week’s edition, you’ll hear about a unique holiday tradition in America’s heartland, the latest on the Omaha Lancers saga, a quick look at some potential new U.S. World Junior candidates bursting onto the radar, the men’s college hockey power rankings, my reports from the road and many news and notes from prospects drafted or draft-eligible

Waterloo’s Thanksgiving Tradition Returns

The Waterloo Black Hawks have played an underrated role in the history of Midwestern hockey. A team in various iterations for 60 years in Waterloo, Iowa (pop. 68,000), the Black Hawks have created a number of traditions that have stood the test of time. After all of 2020 and a good chunk of 2021 has brought uncertainty and put many traditions on hold, this Thanksgiving brought back one of the classics.

For the 50th time in team history, the Black Hawks hosted a home game on Thanksgiving night, a tradition that dates back to 1964. Each of the last 21 games has featured I-380 rivals Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, in what has become a great showcase for the rivalry and the USHL as a whole.

It was a near capacity crowd in Waterloo, with patrons gathering at the arena after their family feasts. While football may be the daytime TV tradition, many in Waterloo have chosen hockey to go along with their pumpkin pie dessert.

The buzz was evident even on the drive in to Young Arena, with bundled-up fans scurrying from wherever they could find a parking spot, piling through the doors in droves, plush toys in hand as the Thanksgiving game has also become a Teddy Bear Toss night.

The atmosphere inside, with Young Arena’s low metal ceiling and the seemingly constant clanging of cowbells, was what junior hockey is supposed to sound like. The tensions of a two-decade old rivalry spilled from the ice to the stands as fans passionately cheered the home side and jeered the visitors, as well as the officials. I hadn’t been in a junior building with that kind of buzz in a long time. It was awesome.

When Owen Baker scored on a bank shot off the goaltender to draw the score even, the fur flew as the 17-year-old draft-eligible triggered the Teddy Bear Toss. It was pure bedlam for more than five minutes as stuffed toys of varying sizes cascaded to the ice.

Chris Peters @chrismpeters

It’s officially Teddy Toss Szn

The RoughRiders, one of the great comeback stories of the 2021-22 season, earned a 3-2 win in overtime, getting one over on their longtime rivals and sending the crowd home a little disappointed.

The result didn’t really matter though, at least not to me. I couldn’t help but focus on the nearly 3,000 people that chose to spend their holiday evening in a junior hockey building, taking part in a tradition unique to a franchise that really has meant a lot to the area and has played a huge role in the growth of the sport in a state certainly not known for it.

This was a tradition that started sort of by accident. Back when the USHL was a minor professional league, the Black Hawks were not originally scheduled to play on Thanksgiving in 1964. A winter storm in the forecast forced a schedule change just days before the game, so the team reduced ticket prices and drew a crowd of similar size to the one that saw the game this Thanksgiving. Waterloo beat the St. Paul Steers that night, 5-2, setting the stage for a Black Hawks championship later that season.

There are a few gaps here and there between 1964 and last Thursday, but for 50 Thanksgivings, hockey has been the main event in Waterloo. Among the stars of the Thanksgiving game is Jack Barzee, who will receive the Lester Patrick Award next month for his contributions to hockey in the U.S. The former USHL player, coach and NHL scout scored nine points on Thanksgiving night in his career, tied with 1960 Olympic gold medalist Paul Johnson, who is one of the all-time greats of the Black Hawks.

In the years since, future NHLers like Joe Pavelski, who scored goals in two straight Thanksgiving games, and Waterloo native Cal Petersen, who won both of his starts on Thanksgiving, have been among the participants in the game for the Black Hawks.

Maybe I’m just a sentimental sap, but the game reminded me of all that is good about junior hockey and the communities these teams inhabit.

In a time where it’s getting harder and harder to get people to go to things, whether it’s the very valid and understandable pandemic-related fears or the fact that spending habits have significantly trended away from attending live events, especially at the minor pro and amateur levels, it almost felt like being in a time warp. Everything seemed normal, or as normal as it can be at this point. To see a community gathering the way Waterloo did for that game, was really special. I was glad to know something like that still exists and people still very much care to gather, to celebrate and to cheer as a community. It was a special night and something I’ve been wanting to cross off my hockey bucket list for a long time.

To learn more about the historic Thanksgiving tradition in Waterloo, my friend and longtime Black Hawks broadcaster Tim Harwood has put together a fantastic book, which is also available as an audiobook called 50 Thanksgivings: Waterloo’s Hockey Holiday, which is available on Amazon. Tim has been a great chronicler of the Black Hawks history, which is indeed storied and one of the most unique anywhere in hockey.

Side note: I also did some prospect work while I was there, with some reports you can read below.

Omaha Lancers Latest

All has gone quiet in the last several days on the controversy surrounding the Omaha Lancers. The team has resumed playing and had two games over the weekend. The Lancers actually won both games including a dramatic comeback Sunday where they erased a 4-1 third-period deficit to beat the Sioux City Musketeers in overtime. Considering how the players have been through the ringer over the last few weeks, it’s a remarkable accomplishment for them.

The team played with Gary Graham behind the bench as head coach. The former Fort Wayne Komets coach was hired by the Lancers before the league stepped in to put the team president on administrative leave. That’s not terribly surprising as the person the league appointed to take over team operations, Josh Mervis, had known Graham from coaching Mervis’s son with the Indy Jr. Fuel this year. Omaha also hired Josh Dubinsky, who was fired as head coach of the NAHL’s Kenai River Brown Bears last week in what was his first season as the team’s head coach. The Lancers are still one coach short of Tier 1 standards as each team is supposed to have three full-time staff members.

I was told last week that the investigation was expected to be done by the end of that week. I have not heard an update since, though things were expected to slow down a little over the holiday weekend. The expectation, however, according to some sources familiar with the investigation there is belief that team president Dave DeLuca will not return, though that is unconfirmed at this time. What additional steps, if any, will be taken remain unclear at this point.

As more information becomes available through sources or the league, I’ll be sure to provide an update. If you need to catch up on this story, you can read my previous reporting at DailyFaceoff.com here and here to get the basics.

Men’s College Hockey Power Rankings

Not every team across the country was in action this week, but it was a very important non-conference weekend for several teams, including the illustrious North Dakota-Minnesota rivalry resuming with a split, Western Michigan’s continued statement-making weekends and more. Let’s have a look at where things stand.

1. Michigan (12-4-0)

The Wolverines do have a few questionable losses on their docket, including a recent sweep at the hands of Notre Dame, but I still think they’ve got the best overall team in the country. Owen Power (BUF) and Kent Johnson (CBJ) are tied for second in the country with 23 points each, Matty Beniers (SEA) and Brendan Brisson (VGK) continue to score goals at a high rate and they’ve got the overall firepower to out-skill the opposition. We’ll have to wait and see if that works come the postseason, but I’ve still got Michigan in the driver’s seat.

2. Minnesota Duluth

The Bulldogs swept Alaska Fairbanks last weekend, needing overtime in the second contest, but continued their winning ways. This group always seems to find a way. They’re not flashy, they don’t score a ton, and there’s not really a go-to player on the team. They seem to do everything by committee and it’s worked out well for them so far.

3. Minnesota State

The Mavericks had another one of those weekends where you scratch your head a little bit as they split with Lake Superior State. The Mavs couldn’t buy a goal in Friday’s contest, but then held the Lakers to five shots over 60 minutes of hockey Saturday. Five total shots on goal. They won that one 3-0 and Dryden McKay had the easiest shutout of his record-setting career. This team defends better than any in the country and that’s going to continue to make a difference for them.

4. Western Michigan

The Broncos have withstood one of the nation’s toughest schedules to date and are well above .500. They just outscored St. Lawrence 13-3 and boast the nation’s leading scorer in Drew Worrad, who has 25 points. Ethen Frank’s 15 goals also top the NCAA stats board while Brandon Bussi has been more than adequate between the pipes. There’s not a lot of star talent on this roster, but Western seems to keep finding ways to win games and be difficult to play against.

5. Quinnipiac

The Bobcats were idle over the weekend, but still boast one of the nation’s best records at 10-1-3. They were unbeaten in a light November schedule, but now will head into the teeth of their ECAC slate with only three non-conference games remaining on the schedule. The Bobcats still have a lot to prove, but they’ve withstood some tough competition and had success already.

6. St. Cloud State

The idle Huskies had an extra week to stew over their three-game losing streak, most recently being swept by Western Michigan. It won’t get any easier for them as they move into the meat of their NCHC schedule, starting with North Dakota. I’m not too worried about SCSU, though. They’ve got such a great group of veterans that know how to weather a storm. I’d expect a different team than the one we saw the last three games coming out of this extended break.

7. Notre Dame

Sweeping Michigan is a great way to get your team noticed. The Irish have been playing solid team defense and are getting good goaltending, but they’ve flown under the radar to 10-3-0. They’ve won six straight and earned a week off when Boston College had to postpone their game due to COVID protocols. Aside from one non-con series, it will be Big Ten the rest of the way for the Irish. Junior Max Ellis and sophomore Ryder Rolston (CHI) are leading the offensive charge while Cornell transfer Matthew Galajda has been an absolute rock in net with a .943 save percentage.

8. North Dakota

Splits against Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota in back-to-back series is something to feel decently about if you’re UND. The Fighting Hawks have managed to get through one of the tougher stretches of their schedule even. They only have four games next month, all on the road, so UND will have to make the most of their pre-break hockey to stay in the mix.

9. Cornell

The Big Red are 8-1-0 and riding high off of a rousing defeat of Boston University where Cornell scored six goals. That extended their winning streak to six games, while Max Andreev and Andrew Steinburg (COL) have paced the team offensively with 13 points each. Cornell’s schedule hasn’t been super challenging to this point, but it will get tougher as they go along. I didn’t know what to expect out of this group this year, but Mike Schaefer’s got his team rolling after a year away.

10. Nebraska Omaha

Omaha was idle last weekend, coming off of a road sweep at Alaska Fairbanks, which is harder than you’d think. However, the Mavs’ schedule is going to get pointed to when people look at their 11-3-0 record. That said, they’ve got goaltending, they’ve got some higher-end collegiate scorers and as they move into more of their conference schedule, we’re going to learn a lot about them very quickly.

Team USA World Junior roster check-in, Jacob Perreault in mix?