Box Score Less than 24 hours after an emotionally-charged overtime win, and down three goals to the York Lions after their first 20 road minutes of the season, it would have been easy for the Waterloo Warriors men's hockey team to chalk up a loss after the first period on Saturday night.

But the Warriors are familiar with the old adage that nothing worth working for is easy.

The Warriors used three third-period goals to claw all the way back, and rookie sensation Colin Behenna (Waterloo/) scored the winner with 51 seconds left in regulation to give the Warriors a 4-3 win Saturday night at Calnan Ice Sports arena in North York.

The goal was Behenna's third game winning goal in three Warrior wins this season, and it came just less than four minutes after captain Kirt Hill (Winnipeg/) jammed in the equalizer. Josh Woolley (Cambridge/) was the catalyst for the comeback, when he notched an unassisted second-effort tally in the second period. Kain Allicock (Markham/) also scored his first goal as a Warrior on an early third period man advantage.

The win moves the Warriors to 3-1-0 on the season, while the loss drops York to 2-2-0 on the season. Andrew Perugini made 22 saves for the Lions in the loss, while Keaton Hartigan (Kitchener/) was perfect in relief of starter Justin Leclerc (Saskatoon/), making 18 saves for the win.

The Lions opened the scoring in the first four minutes when Bryan Weinberg beat Leclerc to give the hosts the early lead. Continuing to carry the play after the opening tally, York extended their lead with a pair of quick goals when Chad Hohmann and Brett Miller found the back of the net just 39 seconds apart late in the frame to give the Lions a 3-0 advantage.

Sensing the need for a shakeup, Warriors head coach Brian Bourque sent Hartigan in to tend goal when the second period began. Whether it was the goaltending change or something else, the Warriors seemed to find their legs in the middle frame, and the ice that was so tilted in favour of the Lions began to level out. Feeding off the never-wavering positivity of the Warriors bench, Wolley fought to the front of the net, got his own rebound and shoveled home a backhander to put the Warriors on the board. It was the only goal of the second period, as the Lions carried a 3-1 lead into the final 20 minutes.

The third period continued to see the Warriors build on the momentum of Woolley's goal, as the Lions started chasing the puck instead of possessing it. At the six-minute mark, with York's Mackenzie Micks serving a high-sticking call, Allicock drew the Warriors to within one on the power play.

While the Warriors continued to look dangerous throughout the third, the clock crept down under five minutes before Hill broke in on the left side and shoved a second try past Perugini's outstretched right leg to knot the score at 3. That set the stage for more late-game heroics from Behenna, who scored his second game-winner in as many nights. Andy Smith (Rosetown/), who also drew a helper on Friday's overtime winner, was credited with the only assist.

With a short week upcoming, the Warriors will now shift their focus to Thursday night when they travel down highway 7 to take on the Guelph Gryphons at 7:30pm. The Warriors will then return home to face the Windsor Lancers on Saturday, October 27 at 7:30pm.

Notes: The Warriors went 1-for-3 on the man advantage, while the Lions went 0-3…Waterloo has now killed off their last 11 penalties…Smith, Behenna, Hill and defenceman Steve Whitely (Petrolia/) all pushed their point streaks to four games to start the season.