Box Score
For a while, it looked like Justin Larson (Buckhorn/) was going to snap the Waterloo Warriors' golden horseshoe losing streak all by himself. But Matt Abercrombie had other ideas.
Abercrombie scored all four goals for the Brock Badgers, who extended their home winning streak over Waterloo to seven games with a 4-3 victory on Friday night at the Seymour-Hannah Centre in St. Catharine's.
Larson had two goals and added an assist for the Warriors, who are now winless at Brock since October 24, 2008. Waterloo's record falls to 8-5-2 with the loss, while the Badgers climb back to the .500 mark at 6-6-3. Justin Leclerc (Saskatoon/) took the loss in the Warrior net, turning aside 31 shots in defeat. Brock goaltender Duncan McGrath was perfect in relief of starter Adrian Volpe, as he made 24 stops for the victory.
Abercrombie's huge night started early, as he scored twice in 21 seconds early in the first period, putting the Badgers in front 2-0 just over four minutes into the opening frame. The two-goal lead was short-lived, as Larson cut the Warriors deficit in half only 19 seconds later.
In the later stages of the first, the Warriors pulled even on the man advantage with another marker from Larson, assisted by Joe Underwood (Canton/) and Colin Behenna (Waterloo/). The power play goal was Waterloo's first in four games, and it sent the teams to the dressing room in a 2-2 tie at the first intermission.
The Warriors continued their hot play early in the second, as defenseman Steve Whitely (Petrolia/) cashed in on the man advantage just over two minutes into the middle stanza to give Waterloo its first lead of the game. It was Whitely's goal that chased Volpe, and it turned out to be their last of the game. It was also the only goal in the period, despite tremendous pace and lots of scoring opportunities – Waterloo outshot Brock 16-15 in the second, and carried a 3-2 lead into the final 20 minutes.
When the Badgers came out of their dressing room for the third, Abercrombie came out of a phone booth and rescued his club early in the period. The 2010-11 OUA West Rookie of the Year completed the hat trick and evened the score at 3 before the four-minute mark, with Kaine Geldart and Dylan MacEachern drawing helpers. Then, moments before the midway point of the period, Abercrombie potted the eventual game-winning goal to finish off the four-goal night.
The game's final moments were not without drama though, as Warriors captain Kirt Hill (Winnipeg/) had two goals disallowed in the final frame. After scoring just after the net was dislodged earlier in the third, Hill slammed home the game-tying goal a split second after the buzzer sounded at the end of the game.
The Warriors will now return home for their final game of the 2012 calendar year, as they host the UOIT Ridgebacks at the Columbia Icefield Arena on Saturday night at 7:30 pm. The game will also be streamed live on www.ssncanada.ca.
Notes: The Warriors went 2-for-8 on the man advantage, while the Badgers were 0-for-2...Larson now sits 4th in the nation in points with 23, and tied for 5th in goals, with 11…Underwood now has points in five straight games, and six of his last seven.
