Friday, February 11 vs. Lakehead
Waterloo 4, Lakehead 3 (OT)

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A rough-and-tumble battle against the Lakehead Thunderwolves saw the Warriors prevail in overtime by a score of 4-3, taking a valuable two points in the playoff race.

The Warriors opened the game with all the momentum, bolstered by the return of their captain Chris Ray (Kelowna, B.C.), assistant captain Kyle Sonnenburg (Waterloo, Ont.) and head coach Brian Bourque from Turkey, where they participated in the World University Games for team Canada. The team generated multiple chances early, but could not solve Lakehead goaltender Alex Dupuis.

Five minutes into the game, a giveaway by Waterloo resulted in Lakehead maintaining possession of the puck deep in the Warriors zone with Victor Anilane firing a shot on Keaton Hartigan (Kitchener, Ont.) who made a big save but let out the rebound to Anilane who made no mistake to put his team up by one.

The Warriors respond with strong puck possession play in the Lakehead end, with the line of Ray, Kyle Schwende (Kitchener, Ont.) and Josh Schappert (Winnipeg, Man.) cycling the puck effectively in the corner before Ray sent a pass straight to Schappert, who was waiting between the circles. Schappert snapped the shot  rpast Dupuis, and the teams headed to the locker room tied at one.

The story of the game was the physicality, with both teams throwing their weight around with reckless abandon. In the second period, Warrior Thomas Cardiff (London, Ont.) threw a thunderous check along the boards that sent the arena into frenzy.

Midway through the second period, on a Lakehead powerplay, Jordan Smith fired a slapshot that eluded the screened Hartigan to put the Thunderwolves up by one. The celebration was short lived, however, as the Warriors respond immediately on the ensuing shift. Jarret Schnurr took the puck behind the Lakehead net and made a great behind-the-back pass out front to the waiting Tyler Moir (Calgary/), who one-timed it to knot the game at two's.

The second period saw the Warriors hemmed in their own zone by the Lakehead offense as the team was outshot 15-6.

Not wanting a repeat of the second period, the Warriors came out in the third with a much more effective breakout scheme. That led to more pressure in the attacking zone which resulted in multiple chances on the doorstep. Dupuis was sharp, however, and made several scrambling stops on the goalmouth to keep the score tied.

With five minutes remaining in the game, the Warriors missed a defensive assignment, allowing Lakehead agitator Jadran Beljo to sneak in close. He took a pass from Andy Hyvarinen who was behind the Warriors' net and one-timed it for the lead.

As the minutes counted down, the Warriors were relentless in their forecheck, forcing several turnovers in the Lakehead end. Ray, taking the puck after a turnover, passed it across the crease to the waiting Cardiff who flipped it over the sprawled Dupuis to send the game to overtime.

In overtime, the Warriors went to the powerplay after Lakehead took a slashing penalty. On the ensuing penalty, Schnurr set Kurt Thorner (St. Thomas, Ont.) up with a cross-crease one-timer past the reach of the defender. Thorner made no mistake and to pot the game winner for the Warriors.

The Warriors meet the Thunderwolves again Saturday night, and a win will secure home-ice advantage going into the playoffs.

Saturday, February 12 vs. Lakehead
Lakehead 4, Waterloo 2

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The Warriors couldn't send their graduating seniors off on a high note, dropping a 4-2 decision to the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Saturday night in the dying seconds of the must-win game.  With the loss the Warriors failed to gain home-ice advantage in the playoffs, finishing in sixth place and will face the Thunderwolves in a three game series starting Wednesday night at the CIF arena.

The Warriors acknowledged Aaron Dileo (Waterloo, Ont.), Cory Fraser (Pictou, N.S.), Kyle Schwende (Kitchener/), Kurt Thorner (St. Thomas/) and Kyle Sonnenberg before the game as they will graduate from Waterloo after this season.

With the winner of the game getting home ice advantage in the playoffs, it was crucial for either teams not to make a mistake early on. Warriors' netminder Keaton Hartigan (Kitchener/) was sharp early, making several good saves to keep the game scoreless.

Seven minutes in, the Warriors turned the puck over behind their own net, and the renewed Lakehead possession resulted in the Warriors taking a penalty. After Lakehead took a penalty of their own, Lakehead took the lead on the ensuing 4-on-4 when captain Jordan Smith took a snapshot that eluded the screened Hartigan from the top of the circle.

The Warriors countered with several dangerous rushes, but could not solve Alex Dupuis.

Lakehead controlled play early in the second period, and the Warriors could not execute their breakout scheme without being forced into a turnover by the stifling Lakehead defense. However, the Warriors would draw even on the powerplay midway in the second after Josh Schappert (Winnipeg/) pounced on the rebound after Andy Smith (Rosetown, Sask.) shot the puck on a three-on-two rush.

Giveaways in the Warriors' zone continued to plague the team, as Hartigan repeatedly had to bail out the rest of the team. Lakehead took the team on the powerplay after a jam play in front of the net resulted in a rebound, and so the Warriors went into the third period of this must-win game down by a goal.

It didn't take long for the Warriors to tie the game up. On the powerplay early in the period, Jarrett Schnurr (Waterloo, Ont.) sent a beautiful cross-crease pass to Kirt Hill (Winnipeg, Man.) for the one-timer goal.

The rest of the period would be a long give-and-take sequence between the two teams, until the dying moments in the game.

With just a minute and a half left in the game, the Warriors once again turned the puck over behind Hartigan and Andy Hyvarinen made no mistake, snapping the puck past Hartigan which would stand up as the winner.  Lakehead added an empty net goal for the 4-2 victory.