Box Score On a night when the Waterloo Warriors and Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks looked every bit like two teams coming off a month-long hiatus, one Hawk was able to shake the rust off fast and ensure victory for his club.

Veteran Laurier forward Ben Skinner notched a first-period assist and scored his first goal of the season with just over four minutes remaining in the third period to lead the Golden Hawks to a 2-1 win over the Warriors Thursday night at the Waterloo Memorial Rec Complex.

Skinner, the brother of Carolina Hurricanes forward Jeff, was the benefactor of a bouncing puck that found its way behind Warriors goaltender Keaton Hartigan (Kitchener/) in the waning minutes of regulation. While Waterloo looked rusty in front of its netminder, Hartigan was in fine form, turning away 42 saves in the loss. Laurier veteran Ryan Daniels looked just as sharp, making 32 saves for the win.

The victory moves the Hawks (6-9-2) into the eighth and final playoff spot in the OUA West division, while the Warriors (9-6-2) remain in a tie for fourth with Lakehead. The season series is now knotted up at one game apiece, with the rubber match slated for January 25.

The Warriors actually looked the sharper of the two teams off the drop of the puck, outshooting the Hawks 7-2 and drawing two penalties in the game's first 10 minutes. However, it was the Hawks that drew first blood when James Marsden beat Hartigan to put the hosts up 1-0 after the first 20 minutes.

The goal seemed to kickstart Laurier, as they started dominating on the shot clock. Hartigan was up to the task, turning away all 20 shots the Hawks registered in the period. Not only were the Warriors able to weather the storm, but they were also able to find the equalizer just short of the game's halfway point, when Brett Mackie (Whitby/) finished a pretty passing play with Andy Smith (Rosetown/) and Justin Larson (Buckhorn/) to even the score at 1-1 through two periods.

As the third period wound down, the game looked to be headed to overtime, as did the first contest between these clubs back in October. However, Skinner's bouncing-puck goal put the Hawks up for good, as Daniels shut the door on the Warriors' late-game pressure.

The Warriors will have less than 24 hours to shake off the rest of their rust, as they open the home portion of the 2013 calendar against the York Lions on Friday night. Puck drop is slated for 7:30 at the Columbia Icefield Arena, and the game will be broadcast live on www.ssncanada.ca.

Notes: Both teams went 0-3 on the man-advantage…Larson's assist moves him into sole possession of fourth in the nation in scoring, with 25 points.