For over a year, Warriors defenceman Joe Underwood (Canton/) could not, for the life of him, find the back of the net. Now, it seems like the back of the net is finding him.

Underwood scored both Warriors goals in regulation and Justin Larson (Buckhorn/) added the only tally in the shootout to pace Waterloo to a 3-2 shootout victory over the Ottawa Gee-Gees on Friday night at the Columbia Icefield Arena in Waterloo.

The win pushed the Warriors to 6-3-0 overall, and improved their record in games decided in extra time to  4-0-0. For the Gee-Gees, they're no strangers to losing in this fashion – their record now stands at 4-1-4, and this was their fourth consecutive loss in overtime or a shootout. Friday night's defeat was also Ottawa's first on the road this season.

Playing in his first game since October 20, Warriors goaltender Justin Leclerc (Saskatoon/) shook off what looked to be a rough start, making 30 saves in regulation and overtime before adding 3 more in the shootout for the win. In between Ottawa's pipes, Russell Abbott was solid and at times spectacular, turning away 26 shots in the loss.

From the drop of the puck, it was apparent that Ottawa came ready to play. Their heavy forecheck pressure appeared to catch the Warriors defencemen off guard, and Ottawa was able to create offensive zone turnovers early. But despite the early pressure, the Warriors were awarded the first power play of the game when Andy Smith (Rosetown/) was hooked while on a partial break – the kind of call most coaches would describe as a “good” penalty.

And good it was – after the puck hopped past a pinching Steve Whitely (Petrolia/) on the man-advantage, defenceman Austin Krahenbil jumped up, created a short-handed 2-on-1, and kept all the way, burying a wrister 5-hole on Leclerc to give the Gee-Gees a 1-0 lead.

As the clock ticked towards the end of the first period, and with the Warriors desperately trying to formulate offense at any turn, they needed a bounce to go their way. Cue Underwood, who pinched in on a cycle and just threw the puck towards the net from a bad angle along the half-boards.  It pinballed in off a Gee-Gee shin pad for Underwood's third of the year, evening the score at 1 after 20 minutes.

The second period started with much more flow as both teams traded moderate chances. But the game's momentum was soon interrupted by a parade to the penalty box, and the most frequent guilty parties were dressed in black and gold. But just as Waterloo's stalwart penalty kill got the Warriors back to even strength unscathed, Ottawa's Paul Forster found an open area in the slot and slammed home the go-ahead goal in the final minute of the period.

The Warriors found penalty trouble midway through the third period again, but it was Waterloo's turn to strike short-handed. Abbott mishandled a dump-in behind his own net, allowing Brett Mackie (Whitby/) to steal the puck and wait for help to generate a short-handed opportunity. Help came in the form of Underwood, who jumped in from the line, took the Mackie feed, and zipped a wrist shot past Abbott to tie the game at 2 midway through the third.

After that, the third period and overtime were relatively uneventful, setting up the shootout. Choppy ice conditions looked to play a factor in Ottawa's first two attempts, as Forster and Mathieu Oullette both lost control of the puck in the crease. Larson then stepped up and didn't give the ice a chance to play a factor, slamming a low hard shot past Abbott to put the Warriors on the doorstep of victory. Securing the extra point, Leclerc kicked away Guillaume Donovan's final attempt, giving the Warriors a 3-2 decision.

The Warriors will now wrap up their OUA East division crossover schedule when they take on the Carleton Ravens Saturday night. Puck drop at the CIF Arena is slated for 7:30pm.

Notes: The Warriors went 0-for-5 on the man advantage, while Ottawa went 0-for-9…Warriors forward Josh Schappert (Winnipeg/) returned to the lineup after missing two games with an injury…Waterloo is now 4-0 in games following a loss.