By Dale Miller
dale.miller@theindependent.com

They were soon joined by their teammates.

It had been a while since either Rock or the Storm had tasted victory, so a 2-0 blanking of Waterloo was sweet.

The victory snapped a six-game losing streak for Tri-City, including four straight home losses.

The win was an even longer time coming for Rock, the veteran goaltender from Wheaton, Ill. He hadn't picked up a "W" since Dec. 14 and had gone 0-7-1 in his last 10 appearances.

Rock erased all those winless streaks by turning away 33 shots to post his as well as the team's second shutout of the season.

"(The shutout) was a nice bonus," said Rock, who had last shut out Des Moines on Nov. 3. "They had 33 shots today, but only two or three were quality shots. The boys kept (the puck) outside.

"We stuck to a system. Things we were having problems with like communicating weren't a factor. (In earlier games) no one was talking on the ice."

Tri-City coach Bliss Littler said Rock's performance played a big role in the win.

"We got good goaltending," he said. "Our goalies are trying. They're the first to tell you they'd like better numbers."

As a team, the Storm had struggled mightily on defense during the losing streak, during which it surrendered 33 goals. For one day at least, that changed.

And not falling behind early, which had been the status quo, also gave the team a boost.

"I think (leading) helps our goalies out a lot," Willert said. "They've been battling. Overall you look at goals against average and save percentage, and they're team things. It's not just the goaltenders.

"Rock stood on his head a lot and it helped that we decided to backcheck today."

Tri-City (17-24-2) also won the special teams battle by scoring a pair of power-play goals while holding the Black Hawks (22-15-5) to an 0-for-6 outing.

Willert got the first at 13 minutes, 35 seconds of the first period when he tipped in Mario Lamoureux's shot from the left boards with one second left in the man advantage.

That allowed the Storm to enter the first intermission with the lead for the first time in 22 games.

"I sat on the bench after the first, looked at Huddy (left wing Alex Hudson) and said, 'Hey, we've got a lead. That's something to build on,'" Willert said.

Tri-City did that in the second when Troy Power put away a rebound of a Chris Hickey shot for another power-play tally at 14:46.

Then in the third it appeared that the bad luck that seems to haunt the Storm recently may have returned.

Diederick Hagemeijer stole the puck at center ice and sent a shot off the post. The puck bounced off the back of Waterloo goaltender Matthew DiGirolamo and slowly trickled into the goal at 4:04.

However, referee Tim Mayer signaled no goal, and after a lengthy discussion, the call remained the same to hold the lead at 2-0.

"(Mayer) said the goalie covered it before it went in," Littler said.

Replays which referees can't use in the USHL disagreed. The home crowd also wasn't amused when Mayer whistled the puck dead when it was in the air on a rebound off a Storm shot less than a minute later.

But 27 seconds after Hagemeijer's non-goal, Rock made a big save on a Jordan Samuels-Thomas' one-timer from the slot to prevent a momentum change.

"With the dark, ugly, moldy spot we've been, it'd be 'here we go again' if that had gone in," Littler said.

Instead Rock finished with 10 saves in the third.

Now the Storm hopes to build off the win during a series in Chicago that starts on Friday.

"We need to get on a roll. ...This league is very streaky," Rock said. "Once you get on a streak it's easier to keep winning."

Storm Watch

Mayer and linesman Jon Shaw were the only on-ice officials for the final 8:03 of the game. Linesman Brian Oliver got tangled up with players after a face-off. He was smiling while being helped to the locker room by Storm trainer Mark Doren and Waterloo trainer Todd Klein, but he couldn't put any weight on his right leg. ... Tri-City ended a streak of seven straight games in which it allowed a power-play goal. ...Former Storm players Jack Hillen and Tom Pohl have been named to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's 2007-08 scholar athletes list. Hillen plays for Colorado College while Pohl, a two-time selection, skates for Minnesota.

Waterloo 0 0 00

Tri-City 1 1 02

First period1, Tri-City, Willert 18 (M. Lamoureux, Franks), 13:35. PenaltiesJaskowiak, Tri-City (high sticking), 5:41; Smith, Waterloo (hooking), 11:36; P. Lamoureux, Tri-City (cross checking), 17:14.

Second period2, Tri-City, Power 3 (Hickey, P. Lamoureux), 14:46. PenaltiesWillert, Tri-City (hooking), 0:43; Fink, Waterloo (hooking), 2:26; Heath, Tri-City (holding), 4:00; Kessel, Waterloo (holding), 5:01; M. Lamoureux, Tri-City (tripping), 6:05; Liivik, Waterloo (hooking), 12:56.

Third periodnone. PenaltiesLiivik, Waterloo (elbowing), 5:01; Cichy, Tri-City (hooking), 8:05; P. Lamoureux, Tri-City (delay of game), 13:18; Smith, Waterloo (delay of game), 13:18.

Shots-on-goalWaterloo 13-10-1033, Tri-City 10-8-1028.

Power-play opportunitiesWaterloo 0 for 6, Tri-City 2 for 5.

GoaltendersWaterloo, DiGirolamo 14-10-4 (28 shots-26 saves). Tri-City, Rock 9-15-2 (33-33).

Attendance1,663.

RefereeTim Mayer. LinsemenJon Shaw, Brian Oliver.