Jack Milewski
Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations, Dubuque Fighting Saints
Phone: 563-587-2216 | jmilewski@dubuquefightingsaints.com
December 5, 2020: The Fighting Saints put together their most complete performance of the season, securing their first win of the season, 5-3 over Waterloo. Robert Cronin led the offense with two goals and Daniyal Dzhaniyev and PJ Fletcher both recorded multi-point games in the victory. Aidan McCarthy was strong in net with a 27 save performance for the Saints who will head into a three-game weekend against Muskegon with a big victory under their belts.
- Dubuque started the game as well as they could have, potting three goals in the first 10 minutes of the game. Ian Pierce got things started for Dubuque with his first USHL goal. Dubuque scored less than a minute thirty later with PJ Fletcher picking up his first Dubuque goal. Robert Cronin scored his first of the season 30 seconds after Fletcher to open the flood gates.
- Waterloo was able to stem the tide with a goal of their own as Owen Ozar ripped a shot high-glove past McCarthy. The Saints and Hawks traded chances the rest of the period, but no other goals came from a wild first period which produced 27 total shots.
- The second period was the complete opposite of the first as the Saints and Black Hawks skated to a 0-0 frame. Both teams clogged up the neutral zone and made it very difficult for the opposition to gain any steam heading into the attacking end.
- Ozar started things off in the third for Waterloo with his second of the game on the power play. The goal cut the Hawks deficit to just one.
- Shortly after, with the help of some puck luck, Robert Cronin as secured his second of the game to reinstall the Saints two-goal advantage. Cronin retrieved his own pass off the shin of Jake Goldowski and put it into a wide-open cage.
- Max Montes offered the Saints a bigger lead with a beautiful goal for his second of the season. The Saints forward grabbed a loose puck shorthanded and deposited a slick backhand along the ice between the legs of the Waterloo goaltender.
- Waterloo scored late in the period but by then it was too little too late for the Black Hawks who lost both after not playing since November 14th.
- Dzhaniyev’s multi-point game kept him one point ahead of a point per game pace for Dubuque. He now has seven points in three game for the Saints.
- Dubuque will host three games next weekend, all against the Muskegon Lumberjacks on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
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