By Trevor Grimm

April 27, 2022 - a date fans of the Waterloo Black Hawks and Lincoln Stars will never forget - for opposite reasons.

So it only makes sense at this time of year - one day off to be exact, Apr. 26, 2025 - the same thing nearly happened.

Forgive the 2,797 fans at the Ice Box in Lincoln if they felt like they saw this movie before - but the home fans probably preferred Saturday’s ending.

Trailing 4-1 with just over two minutes to play, Waterloo scored two goals with the extra attacker, and a wild flurry in the game’s final seconds fell just short. With the win, Lincoln evens the best-of-five Western Conference Final at one game a piece.

Three years ago, Waterloo trailed by a 4-2 score with three minutes to go and rallied to win 5-4 in overtime at the Ice Box in a decisive game three in a best-of-three to win the series.

And it’s not like the Black Hawks are new to this year either. In a late season game in Sioux Falls, Waterloo overcame a 4-0 second period deficit to win 5-4 in overtime.

No player on either team tonight played in the 2022 game, and the result was different. But it speaks to how exciting playoff matchups between these two teams have been - four years in a row.

Lincoln wasted no time getting started Saturday. Just two minutes into the first, Matt Maltais struck to open the scoring, while Lefty Markonidis tallied at 3:27 to send the crowd into a frenzy.

Maltais and Markonidis are both heart and soul players, gritty and skilled, the types of players you expect to come up big in the playoffs. Both teams are filled with like-minded players, which is what makes this series compelling.

Ethan Weber scored midway through the period to give the Stars a 3-0 lead after the first period, and Stars fans could take a collective deep breath.

The Black Hawks did not pull to within one again until there was 19 seconds to go in the third, which would seem to indicate the score was closer than the game felt. But just like the night before, the game felt closer than the score most of the way though.

Saturday, the Stars outshot the Black Hawks 33-31, with the difference being the quick start. One night earlier, Waterloo won on the strength of three goals in the first four minutes of the second period, winning 6-4 despite being outshot 33-23.

This series has been wildly entertaining and unpredictable - everything playoff hockey should be. There have been just nine combined power plays in two games, as the referees have largely kept the whistle in their pockets and let the players decide the game.

In other words, it’s everything the playoffs should be.

The series now shifts to Young Arena in Waterloo, where the Black Hawks have yet to lose in the playoffs, for games three and four Wednesday and Thursday. To bring the series back to Lincoln for a decisive game five Friday, Lincoln will have to find a way to do what Tri-City and Sioux Falls could not - win at Young Arena.

Then again, if the Stars figure out how to do that twice, they will open the Clark Cup Final at home instead of hosting a game five.

The only certainties in life are death, taxes, and wild playoff series between Lincoln and Waterloo.

Is it Wednesday yet?