The Warriors lost their third straight game, their second three game losing streak of the season as they fell to the York Lions 4-0 on a rare Sunday evening game in Toronto.
Waterloo was outshot 36-19 in the game with Justin Leclerc (Saskatoon/) stopping 32 shots in the loss. York netminder Travis Rolheiser (Edmonton, Alta.) was less busy stopping 18 shots in the win.
Goaltending was the story for the first 18 minutes of the game.
Rolheiser made two big saves on an early penalty kill, and Leclerc responded with two big saves of his own – also on the penalty kill – to keep the game scoreless. Leclerc shut the door on both a slick one-timer from Riley Brand (Bradford, Ont.) to Mackenzie Micks (Orillia, Ont.) and a hard wrist shot from Jesse Grespan (Toronto, Ont.) in open space. Both chances came from just outside Leclerc's crease.
With less than two minutes remaining in the period, the Lions finally solved Leclerc courtesy of the power play. Third-year defenceman Matt Thomson (Kitchener, Ont.) wired a shot from the point that Grespan tipped past Leclerc for the game's first goal.
The Lions were unable to increase their one-goal lead before the intermission, despite having a few excellent opportunities on a late power play.
The Warriors found an equalizing goal in the opening minutes of the second period whenBlake Chartier (Winnipeg. Man.) stepped around a Lions defender and beat Rolheiser high glove with a snipe that snuck just under the crossbar.
The Lions, however, regained the lead just moments later on a goal from Rob Labute (Tecumseh, Ont.). Rookie forward Ben Rubin (Montreal, Que.) found Labute with a perfect tape-to-tape pass through Leclerc's crease and Labute converted, beating Leclerc glove side with a little chip shot.
Gill (Brampton, Ont.) put the Lions up 3-1 with an incredible goal in the opening minutes of the third period. Gill toe-dragged around a Warriors defender and fired a wrist shot top shelf past Leclerc. Gill added his second of the game several minutes later to put the game on ice for the Lions.
With the loss, the Warriors fell to 11-8 on the season but remain in fourth place with 22 points, just two points ahead of Guelph, UOIT and Brock who are log jammed in fifth place each with 20 points.
The Warriors will look for their first win of 2011 as they host a pair of games next weekend. The UOIT Ridgebacks come to town on Friday evening while the Laurier Golden Hawks look to beat the Warriors for the first time this season on Saturday evening. Both games are set for 7:30 pm and can be seen live on the Streaming Sports Network (SSN Canada).
