hawk tawk mag-e-zine issue #01

summer 2015 issue #01WWW.WATERLOOBLACKHAWKS.COM

STARTING WITH SOME

The preseason may noT counT Toward The sTandings, buT iT’s where The junior hockey journey begins.... read on page 04

CAPTAIN'S CORNERBY ALEC MCCREA

TAWK TO USWE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK

THE GAME I'LL NEvER FORGETBY JOE GREENE

MAG-E-ZINEHAWK TAWK

STRENGTHS

COVER PHOTO CREDIT: STEPHANIE LYNN PHOTOGRAPHY

ScHEdulEComment: I hope home games will be spread more evenly over the entire season in 2015/16. – John Doe

Each summer, the USHL scheduling process involves six to eight weeks of

cooperative effort among all of the league’s teams. It requires give-and-take

between each of the 17 clubs as well as the league office. With 16 Saturday

home games, we are very excited about a 2015/16 slate which includes home

games broken down as follows: September/October-3, November-5, December-3,

January-6, February-6, March-4, April-3. We are also very pleased to be hosting

home games once again on Thanksgiving and New Years Eve, which have become

traditional for Cedar Valley hockey fans. New Years Eve is an especially sought

after night among USHL organizations, so we are fortunate to have it on our home

schedule once again. Another feature of the schedule worth pointing out is the

game on Saturday, December 12th against Fargo. As an experiment, we will be

playing this game in the afternoon at 3:05 p.m. giving more distant fans and those

with young children plenty of time to get home. Afternoon games on the weekend

are popular in the NHL, and we hope this one will be, too.

ASSIGNEd RAIlING SEATS

Comment: I would like there to be assigned space on the concourse railing with seats and a place for a beverage. – Jane Doe

We are happy to be moving in this direction. Ahead

of the coming season, Young Arena will be adding

counter space on the railings, perfect for the

beverage of your choice, and maybe even a walking

taco. This winter, those areas will still be available to

anyone on a first-come, first-served basis. We expect

to have a pricing structure and a reservation process

in place so that they can be claimed by season ticket

holders next spring ahead of the 2016/17 season.

In each edItIon of hawk tawk Mag-e-zIne, we hope to share your thoughts, questIons, and concerns about black hawks hockey rIght here. sInce thIs Is the fIrst edItIon, thIs tIMe we take up a couple of the coMMents sent back wIth our season tIcket holder survey earlIer thIs suMMer.

TAWK TO uS

send us your questIons

Send your “Tawk to Us” messages to [email protected]. We reserve the right to shorten comments/questions in order to fit the space available, in addition to publishing first and last names.

[ 2 ] Hawk Tawk Mag-E-zinE>> issue 01 >> summer 2015

TO uS

"I Can’T THanK THe FanS enoUgH For eVerYTHIng THeY HaVe done For Me."

P laying for the

Waterloo Black

Hawks and

being a part of

the Waterloo community is

something special. The Black

Hawks have the most caring,

passionate fan base in the USHL,

and they make a big contribution

to the team.

I am blessed to be a part of the

Waterloo family and will never

forget what the hard-working

community taught me about

bringing my best everyday in

order to find success.

After my time in Waterloo, I

am left with memories for a

lifetime, because of the fans

who surrounded me and the

stories they shared. I can’t

stress enough how big of a part

the fans played in my experience

of junior hockey, and they are a

key part of the team’s success

every season. The expectations

that they set for the team from

season to season are high, and

their support is unparalleled.

To play in front of such a

community was the best time

of my life, and I can’t thank

the fans enough for everything

they have done for me. There’s

a reason their number [#7] is

retired in Young Arena; they

truly are our seventh player

on the ice.

CAPTAIN'S CORNER

"I CAN’T STRESS ENOuGH HOW BIG Of A

PART THE fANS PLAYED IN MY ExPERIENCE Of

juNIOR HOCKEY, AND THEY ARE A KEY PART

Of THE TEAM’S SuCCESS EVERY

SEASON."

BY Alec MccreA

The Black Hawks’ 2014/15 captain, defenseman Alec McCrea played three seasons

in Waterloo, and before that, spent a year with the Janesville Jets of the North

American Hockey League. In the USHL, he was on the ice for 168 regular season

games, with a career plus/minus of +18. McCrea was a member of the 2013/14

Anderson Cup team, helped the Hawks reach the 2014 Clark Cup Finals and was

part of Waterloo’s delegation to Russia for the 2012 Junior Club World Cup. This fall,

he will be a freshman at Cornell University.

PHOTO CREDIT: STEPHANIE LYNN PHOTOGRAPHY

10 // FREE TICKETSComplimentary tickets to any Black Hawks home preseason games.

09 // DISCOUNTSDiscounts on Black Hawks gear from Party Town Outfitters.

08 // FOOD PERKSA Young Arena concession discount punchcard with every ticket.

07 // EVENTSInvitations to special season ticket holder events.

06 // FIRST TO ENTEREarly entry into the arena on game night.

05 // RAINCHECKSBring friends for FREE by redeeming unused tickets on more than a dozen raincheck nights.

04 // GIFTSSpecial season ticket holder gifts.

03 // EXCLUSIVE NEWSEight online issues of the exclusive new “Hawk Tawk” fan magazine.

02 // SAVE TIME & moneyNo waiting at the box office, no phone calls at the last minute, no online order fees.

01 // PERFECT VIEWYour favorite seat is your seat for every game.

www.WATERLOOBLACKHAWKS.comor call 319.232.3444PHOTO CREDIT: STEPHANIE LYN PHOTOGRAPHY

Besides savings, consider the convenience, uniquely flexible payment terms, and special benefits, and you’ll agree that season tickets are the best deal at Young Arena.

TOP 10 ADDITIONAL BENEFITS of being a waterloo black hawks season ticket holder

LEARN MORE AT

GET YOUR BLACK HAWKS TICKETS STARTING AT UNDER $11.00 PER GAME

BE A 2015-2016 SEASON TICKET HOLDER

Section

Season Tickets Adult

Season Tickets Student/Senior/Military

Game Day Walk-Up

2014-2015

Blue $10.77 $9.77 $13.39

White $13.17 $12.17 $15.39

Red/Gold $14.07 $13.07 $17.39

Blue Zone - $323 | White Zone - $395 | Red Zone - $422 | Gold Zone - $422 STUDENT, SENIOR OR MILITARY: $30.00 OFF REGULAR PRICE

bEGINNINGSWHERE THE JUNIOR HOCKEY JOURNEY BEGINS

Starting with Some StrengthS Preseason hockey…... it’s when the players take the ice for the first time, but the beginning of the

regular season still seems so far away.

The preseason may not

count toward the standings,

but it’s where the junior

hockey journey begins. The nervous

energy of an exhibition game is

almost more like the playoffs than the

regular season; each shift can be the

difference between making the team

and packing up to go someplace else.

In the USHL, nothing is guaranteed,

even to veterans. But many of the

players who will come to Waterloo in

early September trying to make the

team have already proved themselves

in the league.

Starting in goal, Cale Morris leads

a group of at least 13 players who

have already taken the ice during a

Young Arena regular season game.

Arriving in Waterloo last season, it

didn’t take the 19-year-old long to

become a fan favorite. Morris won 19

of 28 appearances and was just two

shutouts short of the team record in

only a half season. The Notre Dame

Fighting Irish have a place waiting for

him, but not until 2016/17 after he has

the chance to spent a full season with

the Hawks.

Ronnie Hein was another rapidly

esteemed midseason addition. After

becoming a fulltime Black Hawk in

January, Hein scored goals in four of

his first five appearances in Party

Town. He finished the year with

21 points in 31 USHL games. Hein

notched the game-winner twice during

Waterloo’s season-ending five-game

winning streak.

Then there’s Liam Pecararo. Back after

one season at the University of Maine,

the Hawks’ third-leading scorer in

2013/14 was somehow overshadowed

on the stat sheet by Peter Krieger and

Brandon Montour during the run to the

Anderson Cup. Lest it be forgotten,

Pecararo registered 88 points in 103

USHL regular season and playoff games

during his year-and-a-half in the Cedar

Valley.

Where defense is concerned, it looks

like a full cupboard. Phil Beaulieu

carries the flag for a large group

of veterans, which includes three

other regular Black Hawks from last

season. In addition, Waterloo has

added Michael Davies, formerly of the

Dubuque Fighting Saints, to the blue

line.

Preseason hockey? Let’s get started!

SEPTEMBER 2 Phil Beaulieu’s 20th Birthday

SEPTEMBER 15 Blake Christensen’s 20th Birthday

SEPTEMBER 19 18th Anniversary (1997) of the earliest Black Hawks’ regular season game ever played, a 2-1 loss to the Des Moines Buccaneers.

SEPTEMBER 21 2nd Anniversary (2013) of a 3-2 win over the Chicago Steel, the first of 44 record-setting victories in Waterloo’s recent Anderson Cup season.

UPCOMING ANNIvERSARIES & NOTABLE DATES

[ 5 ]Hawk Tawk Mag-E-zinE>> issue 01 >> summer 2015

I WILL NEvER FORGETby Joe Greene, VP Waterloo black HaWks

THE GAME uring my eight years working

in minor league professional

hockey, there is one night that stands out

among the rest. As Team President of the

Dayton Gems of the Central Hockey League

in the spring of 2011, our organization

was approached by a youth hockey coach

regarding one of his players. This player’s

older brother, Kyle, had recently been

diagnosed with a rare Desmoplastic Small

Round Cell Tumor, an extremely rare form

of cancer. At the time, there were only 200

other known cases of this disease. This

cancer attacked Kyle’s lungs and other

major vital organs in his abdomen, which

resulted in several rounds of radiation and

chemotherapy. Once diagnosed, Kyle was

forced to pull out of engineering classes

at Ohio University in order to receive the

treatment needed.

As days and weeks went by, Kyle’s younger

brother Ryan – an avid hockey fan and

goaltender for the local youth team – did

everything he could to raise funds to cover

the increasing medical expenses.

Between our front office staff and

ownership group, we decided that we

wanted to make a difference for this

hockey family. Our organization developed

Dayton’s first-ever “Pack the House Night”

to raise money for Kyle and his fight against

this potentially fatal disease. During our

last home game of the season, we chose

to donate $1,000 for every 1,000 fans in

attendance to assist Kyle.

... WE WANTED

TO MAKE A

DIFFERENCE

FOR THIS

HOCKEY FAMILY ...

D

{continued on next page}

dayton geMs forward, ernIe stewart, takIng the Ice on pack the house nIght, March 26, 2011.


Kyle’s family and the small suburban

community where they lived rallied to

promote the event and even sold tickets

themselves. Local media outlets carried

the story and chose to market the event

to a regional audience. Our head coach,

Brian Gratz, and players rallied fans and

discussed the importance of putting on

a good show for Kyle and his supporters

before the game. It turned out to be one of

our best nights of the season as we won by a

score of 6-2 in front of a packed house.

There were several memorable moments

throughout this process that I still think

about today. I visited Kyle in the hospital

and asked for his personal blessing to

move forward with the event before it was

announced. I remember presenting him

with signed memorabilia in his hospital

room, and the emotion that overcame him

as he realized what the organization was

hoping to do to help his family.

Then on game night, I clearly remember

the emotion that overcame the fans as

Kyle’s brother Ryan led the team onto

the ice carrying our team flag before the

puck dropped. And I remember sharing

a private moment with his mother in the

tunnel just off the ice as we told her that our

organization would be able to write her a

check for over $5,000 to help cover

medical expenses.

Hockey isn’t just about the game on the ice.

It’s about people helping people in times

of need. It was one of the most rewarding

experiences that I’ve had in my career.

Kyle lost his fight on December 8, 2013,

but I’m hopeful that for one night in the

spring of 2011, he was able to forget about

hospitals and medicine and doctors,

and instead think about the tremendous

amount of support that he had behind him.

Rest in peace Kyle. - JG

"durIng My eIght years workIng In MInor league professIonal hockey, there Is one nIght that stands out aMong the rest."


AUGUST 6TH // PRESEASON SCHEDULE ANNOUNCEMENT check out waterlooblackhawks.com for details about scrimmages and exhibition games as excitement builds for the 2015/16 hockey season.

AUGUST 19TH TO 23RD // BLACK HAWKS ORIENTATION CAMP The Hawks take the ice at Young Arena for the first time for five days worth of practices, while also getting acquainted with the cedar Valley.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10TH 5-7PM // HAWKEY HAVOC Season ticket holders, this is your first chance to meet the 2015/16 Black Hawks, as well as the first opportunity to pick up your tickets/ticket credentials. Specific details about the day and time for this annual gathering will be headed toward your inbox within the next few weeks.

MID-SEPTEMBER (DATE TBD) // SINGLE GAME TICKETS ON SALE Want to make sure your friends or family have great seats on opening night, Thanksgiving, or any other big game? Single game tickets for individuals and groups will be on sale soon.

SEPTEMBER 17TH TO 19TH // A HOCKEY SURPRISE We’re not quite ready to spill the beans, but suffice it to say, hockey fans in the cedar Valley will want to mark these three days on their calendar. Hopefully that piques your interest for more information which will be out soon.

SEPTEMBER 26TH // BLACK HAWKS VS. MUSKEGON LUMBERJACKS Party Town rocks for the first of 30 2015/16 Black Hawks home games. The Hawks meet the Muskegon lumberjacks, last season’s clark cup Finalists from the eastern conference. Don’t miss this one!

SEPTEMBER 27TH TO 29TH // BLACK HAWKS FANTASY CAMP FOR KIDS Have you signed up your young hockey player to join the Black Hawks for three memorable days on the ice? Space is still available for kids interested in participating in this unique event. For more details, call the Black Hawks’ front office at (319) 232-3444.

EvENTS & REmINdERS

WWW.WATERLOOBLACKHAWKS.COM

hawk tawk mag-e-zine issue #01

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