Sometimes, a wild, back-and-forth, last-goal-wins affair is just what you need to stop a streaking opponent in their tracks. The problem for the Waterloo Warriors is that they didn't get the last goal.

Steve Reese had three points in regulation and added the shootout winner as the ninth-ranked Western Mustangs won their ninth straight game, edging out the Warriors 6-5 in a shootout Friday night at Thompson Arena in London.

The Warriors lost three different one-goal leads early, only to return the favour by erasing a 5-3 third-period deficit to force extra time and earn a valuable point in the tight OUA West division standings. Waterloo forward Justin Larson (Buckhorn/) was borderline dominant in a losing cause, notching two goals and an assist for the Warriors. Colin Behenna (Waterloo/) and Steve Whitely (Petrolia/) each had a pair of points for the visitors, while former pro Matt Clarke added a goal and an assist for the victorious Mustangs.

The game will do little for both goaltenders' stat lines, but Waterloo's Keaton Hartigan (Kitchener/) and Western's Josh Unice both turned away a number of point-blank opportunities in the offense-heavy contest. Hartigan made 29 saves in the loss, while Unice made 30 stops in victory.

The first period saw the teams exchange goals twice, as Whitely opened the scoring just 93 seconds into the game before Western's Adam McKee equalized less than 6 minutes later. Then, just past the midway point of the opening frame, Waterloo's Brett Mackie (Whitby/) scored a controversial goal, as the Mustangs argued his bat out of mid-air was from above the crossbar. If the Mustangs were steamed about the call, they didn't let it affect them long, as Clarke's shot from the blue line pinballed in on the power play to even the score at 2.

The Warriors opened the second period in a similar fashion to the first when Larson's end-to-end unassisted effort gave the Warriors their third lead of the game just 45 seconds into the period. After that, however, it was all Mustangs in the middle frame – just 20 seconds after the Larson goal, Reese responded with a blast that appeared to be deflected on its way in to even the score at 3. Midway through the period, Kyle Decoste put an end to the goal exchange program when he gave Western their first lead of the game, blasting a one-timer on the man-advantage past Hartigan.

Leading by a goal entering the third period, it was the home team's turn to score an early goal, as Western captain Jason Furlong potted his first of the season to put his team up 5-3 just 16 seconds in. But with things starting to look bleak for the Warriors, it was Larson that jumpstarted the comeback when he kicked the puck up to his stick and beat Unice five-hole to draw Waterloo within one.

The visitors kept pouring on the pressure as time ticked down, and Warriors coach Brian Bourque made the gutsy decision to pull Hartigan early, as he added the extra attacker coming out of a timeout with 1:44 remaining. The call paid off only eleven seconds later, when Kirt Hill (Winnipeg/) bunted a puck out of mid-air behind Unice to square the score at 5-5.

After a chippy overtime period solved nothing, a shootout was needed to award the extra point. After Larson and McKee were both stopped in round one, Mackie and Western's David Corrente traded goals in round two. But when Behenna's shootout attempt trickled to the goal line and stopped, the door as open for Reese to end the game – which he did, beating Hartigan for the shootout winner.

The Warriors won't have long to lick their wounds, as they will return home to face the Brock Badgers Saturday night at the Columbia Icefield Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7:30, and the game will be broadcast live on the Streaming Sports Network.

Notes: Waterloo went 0-for-2 on the man advantage, while the Mustangs went 2-for-4…After winning their first four extra time games, this is Waterloo's second straight shootout loss…Larson pulled into a tie with Behenna for the team scoring lead, with 18 points apiece.