Box Score If the Waterloo Warriors wanted to set themselves up for an extended run of success once the calendar changes to 2014, they certainly ended 2013 on the right foot.

Colin Behenna (Waterloo/), Andy Smith (Rosetown/) and Chris Chappell (Pickering/) each had three points and Justin Leclerc (Saskatoon/) made 40 saves for the black and gold as they defeated the Carleton Ravens 6-2 in the first half finale on Saturday night at the Columbia Icefield Arena in Waterloo.

The win moves the Warriors to 7-7-1 heading into the exam and holiday break, while the defeat drops Carleton to 9-5-1. Ryan Dube made 24 saves in the Ravens net in the loss, while Leclerc's 40 stops were a season high for him.

The Warriors struck first in a fast-paced opening few moments, as Matt Amadio (Sault Ste. Marie/) jumped on a loose puck off a scrambled draw and slammed it above a sprawling Dube for a 1-0 Warriors lead. Both teams had chances to score as the period wore on, but the first would end with just a single entry on the scoresheet.

The Warriors continued to apply the pressure in the second, and it paid off just over 7 minutes in when Behenna took a feed from Chappell and scored a highlight-reel goal over the glove on the short side of Dube to make it 2-0 Waterloo. Carleton responded just over a minute later when Joey West beat Leclerc from a terrible angle along the goal line, but the Warriors restored the two-goal advantage on a power play when Brett Mackie (Whitby/) broke in on the wing and pinballed a shot in off of the post and off of Dube.

The 3-1 lead was short-lived though, as the Ravens responded even quicker this time – only 49 seconds after the Mackie marker, Joe Pleckaitis dragged a puck through the slot and fired a backhander against the grain to draw Carleton to within one goal again. Soon after, the Ravens would go to the power play looking for the equalizer – but the reigning CIS scoring champion shifted the game's momentum for good.

While on penalty kill duty, Justin Larson (Buckhorn/) forced a turnover at the Waterloo blue line and created a clear breakaway for himself from the other side of center ice. Larson faked a shot and went to a forehand move, beating Dube on the blocker side for the gorgeous shirt-handed marker and a 4-2 Warriors lead after two periods of play.

The Ravens dominated on the shot clock in the third, but the only two goals were scored by Chappell. First, he followed up his own blocked shot in the slot to beat Dube five-hole to make it 5-2. Then, Chappell converted on a Larson feed for a power play marker to round out the scoring.

The Warriors will now turn their focus to the books – exams start next week. After the holiday break, Waterloo will get back into action on January 3 against the Brock Badgers.

Notes: The Warriors went 2-for-6 on the power play, while the Ravens went 0-for-7…Chappell finished the first half with 15 goals in 15 games, which leads the CIS…Amadio's first goal of the season came in front of younger brother Mike, a forward with the OHL's North Bay Battalion who was in town ahead of Sunday's game against the Kitchener Rangers.