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50 // NOV/DEC 2026 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM "Honestly, it's such a fun game to play in because there's so many people back for Thanksgiving break, the stands are full and you're playing your biggest rival, so it's one of the best atmospheres you're going to play in at any level," said first-year Black Hawks coach Brett Olson, who played for Waterloo from 2005-08. "It's so different from the other times you play Cedar Rapids because the atmosphere ampli- fies the intensity even more. "That game was always one of the most fun games of the year. A lot of the guys will have their parents and friends in town, and people in the community have family back in town, so the stands are packed. And it's such a long-standing tradition, so there's just so much more pomp and circumstance that goes along with that game." Mark Carlson, who has coached Cedar Rapids ever since its 1999 inaugural season in the USHL, considers it an honor to be a part of the Thanksgiving tradition, so he doesn't mind sacrificing part of his holiday. "I wouldn't know what else to do on Thanksgiving," said Carlson, who also scouted the game while serving as an assistant coach at Northeastern University prior to taking the Cedar Rapids job. "I always feel so grateful to be a part of it, because the crowd has been waiting for it all day long and they're always so jacked up for it. It's been the same two teams for 25 years now, and it's really become quite the sporting event. "What really excites me is the college guys and the pro scouts get that game on their schedules right away, because they know the intensity of those games. There are just a lot of things that make that AMERICAN JUNIOR HOCKEY SPOTLIGHT More than 3,100 raucous fans pack Young Arena for Waterloo's annual Thanksgiving game.