Paul Weisgarber’s second goal of the game tied the score at two with just 13 seconds left in regulation and the host Waterloo Black Hawks went on to defeat the RoughRiders 3-2 in a shootout Friday night.
The Riders did earn one point for the shootout loss and in so doing clinched the i wireless Corridor Cup, the trophy awarded to the winner of the Cedar Rapids-Waterloo season series.
Weisgarber swept a Brett Olson centering pass home to even the score in the dying moments of regulation. After overtime failed to settle to issue, Waterloo’s Billy Maday and Craig Smith scored in the shootout while Hawk goaltender Matt DiGirolamo stopped all four Rider penalty shots.
Bryce Aneloski twice gave the Riders’ the lead in regulation. Cedar Rapids was on the power play when Aneloski’s tip-in snapped a 1-1 tie at 5:45 of the third period. Aneloski had opened the scoring when he buried Nick Oddo’s centering pass 17:44 of the first period.
With just 46.5 seconds left in the second period Weisgarber struck for the first time, evening the score at one apiece with a wrist shot from the high slot.
The Riders have now won the Corridor Cup five times in the nine year history of the rivalry. They take the trophy back to Cedar Rapids after the Hawks claimed the hardware last season.