Game Summary

Kirt Hill (Winnipeg/) and Chris Ray (Kelowna/) each tallied three points as the Waterloo men's hockey team won their third straight game, edging the UOIT Ridgebacks 3-2 Thursday night in Oshawa. 

Hill scored two goals including the short-handed game winning marker late in the third period and added an assist to give him 25 points (13g, 12a) on the season which leads the country.  Linemate Ray added a goal and two assists for 22 points (7g, 15a) which ties him as the second top scorer in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS).

Second year goalie Justin Leclerc (Saskatoon/) did the rest, stopping 24 of 26 shots faced to improve his record to 3-2-0 and give the black and gold a 9-4-1 season record.  With the loss UOIT remain in the basement of the OUA west with a 3-11-0 record.

Jeremy Whelan (Pickering, Ont.) of the Ridgebacks opened the scoring at the 14:32 mark of the first period on the power play and found themselves up 1-0 heading into the second frame.

Waterloo came out firing in the second period and were rewarded only 25 seconds in as Ray notched his seventh on the season as Hill played set-up man on the goal.  Only four minutes later Hill fired one past Ridgebacks keeper Jason Guy (Whitby, Ont.) for his first of two on the night and 12^th of the season.  The power play marker was Hill's fifth of the season.

Waterloo were hoping to escape the period up 2-1 but the feisty Ridgebacks slipped one past Leclerc with only 55 seconds remaining in the second period as Kevin George (Uxbridge, Ont.) found the net for the fourth time this season.

Both teams would turn their attention to defense in the third, hoping the other would make the first mistake.  Hill would find that error late in the third period with the Ridgebacks on the power play, scoring his second short-handed marker of the season to seal the 3-2 victory for the Warriors.  Defenseman Ryan Molle (Calgary/) made his return after missing six games from injury picking up an assist on the Hill goal, while Ray was awarded the other helper.

Waterloo return home to face the Guelph Gryphons for their third meeting in as many weeks on Saturday at the Columbia Icefield Arena.  Puck drop is set for 7:30pm.