Game 1: Clark Cup Finals

I am going to try to live blog as much as I can during this series, so hopefully all goes well.


Goalie match-up:
Waterloo: Matt DiGirolamo
Omaha: Drew Palmisano

Scratches:
Waterloo: Michael Montrose, Brett Beebe, Mike Fink, Joey Dillon.
Omaha: Jake Sloat, Keir Ross, Seth Soley.

Referee:
Mike McCreary

Linesmen:
Chris Woodworth
Judson Ritter


Period 1:
*Omaha goal (3:54), scored by Andrew Conboy with assists from Chris Connolly and Matt White. 1-0 Omaha. EDIT: Tim Harwood said Almeida took the original shot and thought he should have gotten an assist, not Connolly.
*Lancers appear to score, but whistle was blown before the puck went in. Tough break for Omaha.
*Penalty (7:07) on Nick Larson. Omaha goes on the Power Play.
*Penalty (11:40) on Matt Thurber. Waterloo goes on the Power Play.

End of 1, Omaha leads 1-0 over Waterloo.

SOG: 5 for Waterloo, 12 for Omaha.

Recap: It sounded like Omaha came out and was ready for this game. Maybe the layoff hurt Waterloo, but DiGirolamo has made a lot of key saves. Waterloo should look to build on the momentum of their goalie. Palmisano wasn't really tested much and it sounds like a really clean game so far.


Period 2:
*Penalty (4:24) on Patrick Wiercioch. Waterloo goes on the Power Play.
*Waterloo goal (8:40) scored by Eddie Olczyk, assisted by Brett Olson. Game tied at 1-1.
*Waterloo goal (9:06) scored by Paul Weisgarber, assisted by Billy Maday. Waterloo leads 2-1.
*Glove save by DiGirolamo, and a small scrum develops.
*Coincidental penalties called (10:59), John Lee for Waterloo and Matt White for Omaha.
*Omaha goal (12:19) scored by Dakota Eveland, assisted by Joe Diamond and Will O'Neill. Game tied at 2-2.
*Penalty (16:44) on Patrick Wiercioch, Waterloo goes on the Power Play.
*Penalty (19:18) on Joe Sova. Waterloo goes on the Power Play.

End of 2, Waterloo and Omaha are tied at 2.

SOG: 13 for Waterloo; game total of 18. 6 for Omaha; game total of 19.

Recap: Waterloo came out and played much, much better hockey overall. They switched up the forward lines and that helped generate a pair of goals. Omaha needs to play more disciplined, as Waterloo is extremely disciplined and won't take many dumb penalties.

Period 3:
*Waterloo Power Play goal (0:48) scored by Chad Billins, assisted by Billy Maday and Brett Olson. Waterloo goes up 3-2.
*Omaha goal (5:06) scored by Joe Diamond, assisted by Dakota Eveland and Jake Hauswirth. Game tied at 3-3.
*Penalty (7:58) on John Lee. Omaha on the Power Play.
*Penalty (13:40) on Siim Liivik. Omaha on the Power Play.
*Penalty (19:52) on Siim Livvik. Omaha on the Power Play.

End of 3, Waterloo and Omaha are tied at 3.

SOG: 6 for Waterloo; game total of 24. 6 for Omaha; game total of 25.

Recap: Sounded like both teams played defensively, not wanting to make a mistake. Very few offensive chances for either team. Siim Liivik took a couple dumb penalties in the period, which could come back to bite the Hawks.

OT 1:
*Lots of action. Omaha nearly poked it in at the conclusion of their Power Play, but DiGirolamo was up to the task. Siim Liivik came out of the box and had a breakaway, but was stopped by Palmisano.
*Penalty (3:37) on Will O'Neill. Waterloo on the Power Play.
*Lots of icing calls, neither team wants the other in their zone for long. Sounds like a really intense game.
*Penalty (10:55) on Patrick Wiercioch. Waterloo on the Power Play.
*Waterloo Power Play goal (11:02) scored by Brett Olson, assisted by Blake Kessel. Waterloo wins 4-3 in OT.

End of Game: Waterloo 4, Omaha 3 OT

SOG: 7 for Waterloo; game total of 31. 5 for Omaha; game total of 30.

Recap: Sounded like a tight battle all game long, and Patrick Wiercioch's undisciplined play in this game ended up costing the Lancers. Waterloo takes the 1-0 series lead in this best of 5 series.


My Three Stars:
1. Brett Olson (WAT) - GWG, 2 assists.
2. Joe Diamond (OMA) - 2 goals.
3. Dakota Eveland (OMA) - goal, assist.