Waterloo

Young Arena in Waterloo is the home ice of the Waterloo Blackhawks of the USHL, the first team Linda and I saw play the Des Moines Buccaneers. Situated on the banks of the Cedar River, this facility is a comfortable newer arena that is well utilized in the community. When we stopped by earlier in the afternoon to pick up tickets, the UNI Panthers hockey team was taking the ice. Looking at the schedule online, the facility is scheduled for use daily. The upper walkway is even open as a walking track for the community.

This evening, the Blackhawks were hosting the Chicago Steel, the team they'd defeated the night before in Chicago. The fans are passionate and bring along their Blackhawk cowbells... hundreds of cowbells. The din these things can raise in unison is impressive. Like Des Moines, the fans are involved, enthusiastic, hockey smart, and support their home team. Most of the seats were filled and the rail around the top of the seats was occupied most of the way around. The hockey was well played and few obvious mistakes were seen.

There was one opportunity for the home team fans to get a chuckle at the expense of one of the visiting players. After the Steel scored a goal, one of the players on the ice skated by his teammates on the bench high-fiving each one as he passed. As he turned to skate out to his goalie, he fell flat on his face. I didn't see any reason for it other than that he was on skates on the ice. The home fans had a big laugh; the player, smiling an embarassed smile, bounced back up and got back in line with his teammates as they passed their goalie.

One of the major reasons Linda wanted to visit the arena had to do with Tommy Hawk, the Blackhawk mascot. During one of the intermissions, Tommy puts on a dance on ice; tonight, it was a Saturday Night Fever routine, in a leisure suit costume. The crowd participated by mimicing Tommy's moves as he'd approach the glass. All in all, it was a very entertaining little show.

Tommy spends most of the intermissions on the ice and works every aisle during the games. The kids look to high- and low-five him. He poses for a LOT of pictures with fans and provides a good deal of entertainment value throughout. One of the cute antics I saw in the stands was as he posed for a picture with a girl probably about eight years old. He started with his arm around her shoulders, then tipped his head over a bit to for a cute picture. Just before the camera popped, he turned just a bit and caught the girls head in his open beak. Mom had a very good laugh.

A surprising moment followed Tommy's dance routine. The first official came blasting out of the doors at center ice ... on his belly! He must have slid fully half way across the ice before he popped up onto his skates. Even after Tommy's show, that was pretty impressive. As he looked back at his officiating teammates, his smile was pretty broad. It was nice to see an official having a bit of fun.

In the end, the game was low scoring but full of good action by both teams on both ends the ice. The Blackhawks won 2-1 in regulation.