Waterloo, IA – The Dubuque Fighting Saints (33-17-4-0, 70 pts) visit the Waterloo Black Hawks (14-36-2-2, 32 pts) for a St. Patrick's Day matchup on Tuesday night.
Here are five things to know ahead of the matchup:
1. Cowbell Cup
The Fighting Saints can clinch a seventh-straight Cowbell Cup title, and 10th overall, with a win in Waterloo or a Cedar Rapids loss on Tuesday.
Dubuque enters play with an 8-1-1 record in Cowbell-Cup play this season and need two points to clinch the title outright over Cedar Rapids.
2. Playoff Position
With two points on Tuesday, the Fighting Saints can also clinch a 15th-straight appearance in the Clark Cup Playoffs and take over second place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Entering play, Dubuque trails Green Bay by a single point in the standings and plays its game-in-hand on Tuesday in Waterloo. The Saints and Gamblers meet for a pair of games this weekend in Dubuque.
3. Busy Bunch
The Fighting Saints are in the midst of a stretch with five games in nine days as they push for playoff positioning late in the regular season.
Dubuque finishes a three-game road trip on Tuesday after a pair of games in Youngstown last weekend. Six of the Saints' final seven games after Tuesday's matchup will come against teams in the top-six of the Anderson Cup race.
4. Rising Ranks
Colin Frank reached the top-10 in points in Saints Tier-I history with his 103rd career point in Youngstown last week and is one goal from becoming the eighth Saint to reach 50-career goals.
Frank is one point behind Zemgus Girgensons for ninth all-time, and just five away from tying Dylan Gambrell for sixth in Saints' Tier-I history.
5. Hawk Hints
The Saints have taken all three previous matchups against Waterloo, including sweeping a home-and-home on Feb. 27-28.
During the series, Dubuque killed all nine Waterloo power plays and added a shorthanded goal from Eetu Orpana on Feb. 27. The Hawks have scored just twice on 12 power-play chances in their last five games.
Tuesday's matchup begins at 6:35 p.m. CDT at Young Arena and is available on Eagle 102.3 and FloHockey.
