In the game of hockey, the best form of revenge is the type that appears on the scoreboard.

Warriors forward Andy Smith (Rosetown/) had the last laugh when he buried a golden opportunity in overtime, as Waterloo edged the Brock Badgers 3-2 in an animosity-fuelled matchup Saturday night at the Columbia Icefield Arena in Waterloo.

Justin Larson (Buckhorn/) and Brett Mackie (Whitby/) also scored for the Warriors, who move to 8-4-1 on the season. Johnson Andrews and Daniel Tanel scored for the Badgers, who fall to 5-6-3. The game featured 20 penalty minutes for infractions after the whistle, as the two similarly physical teams both seemed to get under the other's skin effectively.

It looked for a while that Badgers goaltender Adrian Volpe would steal two points for his club, and he was the biggest reason they were even able to earn one. Volpe made 39 saves, many of the highlight variety, in the Brock loss. Earning the win between the Warriors pipes was Justin Leclerc (Saskatoon/), who turned aside 30 shots for the victory.

The scoreless first period was relatively uneventful, as both teams needed some time to get reacquainted with each other after last year's first round playoff matchup. Waterloo had the best chance of the period when Kirt Hill (Winnipeg/) broke in on a shorthanded breakaway from center ice, only to get stymied on the backhand by a sprawling Volpe. This came moments after Brock's Thomas Stajan missed a yawning cage while his club was shorthanded, as he stole the puck from Leclerc and slapped a backhander just wide.

The Badgers appeared to make the most drastic adjustments in the first intermission, as they hemmed the Warriors into their zone for much of the first few minutes of the middle frame. Brock was rewarded with a goal off a defensive zone turnover, when C.J. Dickson stole the puck at the Waterloo blue line and drew Leclerc to him before sliding it over to Andrews, who slammed it home.

While Andrews' goal was the lone marker of the second period, the game's intensity level certainly ratcheted up in the middle twenty minutes. Twelve penalty minutes were assessed in a seven-minute span, including Brock captain Dan Dooley's penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct – the first of three penalties earned by a player's mouth on the night.

Just as it looked like Volpe was getting in the heads of the Warriors, they turned to their hottest player to open the scoring for them in the first minute of the third period. Mackie busted in on the left wing before finding Larson just a half-step behind the rush, and Larson buried a one-timer five-hole to knot the game at 1.  

Just under six minutes later, with Larson serving his own unsportsmanlike penalty, Tanel crept in from the point and slammed a wrister past Leclerc to restore the Brock lead. After the goal, Tanel had to be steered away from the Warriors bench by the officials, and, as he continued yelling and waving at the Warriors during his goal celebration, he was assessed a ten-minute misconduct for his antics.

With arguably their top defenseman unavailable for much of the balance of regulation, the Warriors took advantage just past the mid-way point of the game when Larson dropped to Joe Underwood (Canton/), who fired a high shot that Volpe stopped, but couldn't control. Mackie was the man on the spot, as he'd headed to the net and was rewarded with the rebound equalizer.

As the see-saw affair rolled into overtime, the Warriors were carrying the bulk of the play. Brock was not without its chances, but the Warriors ended it off a faceoff when Micky Sartoretto (Sault Ste. Marie/) won a draw cleanly to Smith, who found himself on the doorstep with no defenders nearby. Smith fired home the winner as he was dumped in front of the net, giving Waterloo their fifth win in seven extra-time games this season.

The Warriors will now prepare for the final weekend of games before the exam and holiday break, as they'll complete the home-and-home with Brock on Friday, November 30 before returning home to face the UOIT Ridgebacks on Saturday, December 1.

Notes: Waterloo was 0-for-6 on the power play, while Brock went 1-for-4…During his current 5-game point streak, Larson has been in on 10 of the Warriors' last 16 goals…Waterloo's versatile Greg Steffes (Amherstburg/), usually on the blue line, took a regular shift on the fourth forward line Friday night.