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R uss Bentley considers the Waterloo Black Hawks as much a part of his family's Thanksgiving tradition as turkey & dressing and the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys hosting NFL games. A Black Hawks season ticket holder since the late 1980s, Bentley and his family schedule their Thanksgiving feast early in the day and catch a little football on TV before heading to Young Arena for a deafening evening with more than 3,100 cowbell-wielding fans for the unique tradition of watching a United States Hockey League game to wrap up the holiday. The Black Hawks played their first Thanksgiving game in 1964, almost out of necessity, and have played the holiday game annually since 1972, with the exception of five years. Waterloo's biggest USHL rival, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, have been the opponent since 2000. "Almost everyone in my family either played or coached hockey at some level, my daughter was a figure skater and my wife cheered for the high school team when she was in high school, so we've always been rink people and it's kind of natural for us to go to the Black Hawks game on Thanksgiving Night," said Bentley, whose party for the Thanksgiving game includes as many as a dozen family members. "My kids don't live in Waterloo anymore, but they come back for it, and our in-laws occa- sionally come from Milwaukee and Dubuque, so it's another part of our Thanksgiving tradition that we always look forward to. "I've been a hockey fan for a long enough time that I consider the Photos By Stephanie Lyn Photography; Waterloo Black Hawks 48 // NOV/DEC 2026 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Tradition Tradition Waterloo Black Hawks Annually Host A Thanksgiving USHL Game AMERICAN JUNIOR HOCKEY SPOTLIGHT BY JIM LEITNER FINDS A HOME ON THE ICE