If Waterloo Warriors men's hockey coach Brian Bourque could script his team's final game before the exam and holiday break, it would probably look a lot like Saturday night's performance.

The Warriors played one of their most complete games of the season, and Matt Amadio (Sault Ste. Marie/) and Micky Sartoretto (Sault Ste. Marie/) both notched their first career CIS goals as Waterloo defeated the UOIT Ridgebacks 4-1 on Saturday night at the Columbia Icefield Arena in Waterloo.

The win gives the Warriors points in five of their last six games, as they finish up the 2012 calendar year by improving to 9-5-2, and moving into fourth place in the OUA West division. With the loss, the Ridgebacks drop to 6-9-1, as they end the first half clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot in the OUA West.

After two straight games on the bench, veteran goaltender Keaton Hartigan (Kitchener/) got the net back for the Warriors and made 27 saves for the win. Ridgebacks keeper Jesse Raymond turned away 34 shots in the loss.

The Warriors dominated puck possession in the opening moments of the game and throughout the first period, but it was UOIT that drew first blood. On an odd-man rush, Connor Tresham followed up on his broken-up pass and slammed a shot over Hartigan's glove hand to make it 1-0 Ridgebacks.

The Warriors responded in a highlight fashion in the waning minutes of the first when the red-hot Justin Larson (Buckhorn/) gained possession at the blue line, dangled around two Ridgebacks defencemen, and slid the puck over to Amadio who deposited it in the yawning cage. Rookie walk-on Robin Clarke (Cambridge/) also drew an assist on the goal, his first CIS point. The scoreboard was even at 1-1 after one period, but the shot clock was far from it – the Warriors outshot the Ridgebacks 17-5 in the opening twenty minutes.

After some pushback from the energetic Ridgebacks to start the second period, the Warriors regained their legs and control of the game at the mid-way point when defenceman Joe Underwood (Canton/) went end-to-end on the rush and let a wrister go from a sharp angle that handcuffed Raymond and beat him on the blocker side for a 2-1 Warriors lead.

Just over six minutes later, the Warriors would double their advantage when, on a broken play, the puck bounced to Underwood at the high slot. His slapper was stopped, but Brett Mackie (Whitby/) was on the doorstep and netted the rebound to put Waterloo in front 3-1 after two periods.

Sartoretto rounded out the scoring in a relatively uneventful third period when he streaked in on the left side and let go a quick snap shot that hit Raymond's glove and trickled across the line. The fourth Waterloo goal was the last straw for an angry UOIT bench, as Scott Baker and Brendan Wise were effectively tossed from the game when they were assessed 10-miunute misconducts.

The Warriors will now enjoy the month off as the CIS embarks on its annual exam and holiday break. They'll return to action on Thursday, January 3 when they take on their cross-town rivals, the Laurier Golden Hawks.

Notes: Both teams went 0-for-4 on the man-advantage…Larson's first period assist moved him into third in the nation in scoring, with 24 points in 16 games…Underwood and Steve Whitely (Petrolia/) both finished the first half in the top 10 in Canada in points by a defenceman, with 14 and 15 points, respectively.