HAWK TAWK
MAG-E-ZINE summer 2015 issue #01
WWW.WATERLOOBLACKHAWKS.COM
STARTING WITH SOME
STRENGTHS The preseason may not count toward the standings, but it’s where the junior hockey journey begins.... read on page 04
CAPTAIN'S CORNER BY ALEC MCCREA
TAWK TO US
WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK
COVER PHOTO CREDIT: STEPHANIE LYNN PHOTOGRAPHY
THE GAME I'LL never forget BY JOE GREENE
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>> summer 2015
TAWK
TO US
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.
SEND US YOUR QUESTIONS Send your “Tawk to Us” messages to info@waterlooblackhawks.com. We reserve the right to shorten comments/questions in order to fit the space available, in addition to publishing first and last names.
schedule
ASSIGNED
Comment:
RAILING SEATS
I hope home games will be spread more evenly over the entire season in 2015/16.
Comment:
– 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.
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.
CAPTAIN'S CORNER
By Alec McCrea
"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."
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 CAN’T THANK THE FANS ENOUGH FOR EVERYTHING THEY HAVE DONE FOR ME."
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.
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
BE A 2015-2016 SEASON TICKET HOLDER GET YOUR BLACK HAWKS TICKETS STARTING AT UNDER $11.00 PER GAME 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. Season Tickets
Season Tickets
Game Day Walk-Up
Section
Adult
Student/Senior/Military
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
TOP 10 ADDITIONAL BENEFITS of being a waterloo black hawks season ticket holder
10 // FREE TICKETS
Complimentary tickets to any Black Hawks home preseason games.
09 // DISCOUNTS
Discounts on Black Hawks gear from Party Town Outfitters.
08 // FOOD PERKS
A Young Arena concession discount punchcard with every ticket.
07 // EVENTS
Invitations to special season ticket holder events.
06 // FIRST TO ENTER
Early entry into the arena on game night.
05 // RAINCHECKS
Bring friends for FREE by redeeming unused tickets on more than a dozen raincheck nights.
04 // GIFTS
Special season ticket holder gifts.
03 // EXCLUSIVE NEWS
Eight online issues of the exclusive new “Hawk Tawk” fan magazine.
02 // SAVE TIME & money
No waiting at the box office, no phone calls at the last minute, no online order fees.
01 // PERFECT VIEW
Your favorite seat is your seat for every game.
LEARN MORE AT
www.WATERLOOBLACKHAWKS.com
PHOTO CREDIT: STEPHANIE LYN PHOTOGRAPHY
or call 319.232.3444
Hawk Tawk Mag-E-zine [ 5 ] >> issue 01
>> summer 2015
beginnings WHERE 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Then there’s Liam Pecararo. Back after
Preseason hockey? Let’s get started!
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
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.
UPCOMING ANNIVERSARIES & NOTABLE DATES 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.
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THE GAME
I WILL NEVER FORGET
by Joe Greene, VP Waterloo Black Hawks
D
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.
DAYTON GEMS FORWARD, ERNIE STEWART, TAKING THE ICE ON PACK THE HOUSE NIGHT, MARCH 26, 2011.
... WE WANTED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR THIS HOCKEY FAMILY ...
{continued on next page}
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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.
check for over $5,000 to help cover medical expenses.
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
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.
"During my eight years working in minor league professional hockey, there is one night that stands out among the rest."
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.
Rest in peace Kyle.
- JG
events & reminders 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.
WWW.WATERLOOBLACKHAWKS.COM