Box Score Late in a tied game and facing elimination, the Waterloo Warriors were in need of a hero. Josh Woolley (Cambridge/) was only too happy to oblige.

Woolley scored the game-winning goal with 1:48 remaining in the third period, and Keaton Hartigan (Kitchener/) was outstanding in making 44 stops to give the Warriors a 4-3 win over the Western Mustangs in game two of the best-of-three OUA West division semi-final on Saturday night in Waterloo, forcing a decisive game three on Sunday night in London.

Woolley added an assist for the Warriors, who also got goals from Jarred Parent (West Montrose/), Micky Sartoretto (Sault Ste. Marie/), and Kirt Hill (Winnipeg/). Kain Allicock (Markham/) notched a pair of assists for Waterloo, including one on Woolley's game-winner.

Warrior killer Zach Harnden had two goals and an assist for the Mustangs in a losing cause, including the equalizing goal with less than nine minutes remaining in the third. Daniel Erlich and Steve Resse each counted a pair of assists, and Josh Unice made 21 saves in the Western net.

In contrast to game one – which remained scoreless for over 50 minutes – the offensive acumen of the two clubs shone through early on in game two. Waterloo opened the scoring just over two minutes in when Woolley spun and fired a puck that pinballed off Unice, then off the end boards right to Parent, who shoved the puck in on the short side. The Warriors then went up 2-0 when Sartoretto converted on a juicy rebound off of Unice's blocker, finishing off the original shot by Matt Amadio (Sault Ste. Marie/) on a partial break.

Harnden responded with a wicked wrister to the top shelf just past the six-minute mark, cutting the Waterloo lead in half. Then, just short of the period's half-way point, and with the Mustangs net empty on a delayed penalty, Tyler Peters found room over Hartigan's glove to erase Waterloo's early lead and even the score at 2-2.

The Warriors answered back with just over six minutes to play in the opening frame, converting a bit of a lucky break for the go-ahead marker. Just seconds after the officials failed to notice that a puck was deflected off the netting over the glass and back into play, Hill grabbed a loose puck in the corner and worked his way to the middle of the faceoff circle and beat Unice on the glove side to make it 3-2 after 20 minutes.

The second period might not have featured any goals, but it certainly wasn't for lack of chances. First, it was Waterloo's stalwart penalty killing unit that kept Western off the board during a 1-minute, 20-second 5-on-3 advantage early in the stanza. Then, it was the Mustangs' job to kill off some power play opportunities, as they kept the Warriors at bay during back-to-back Western penalties. The period ended with the score still 3-2, mostly because of Hartigan's play – the Mustangs outshot Waterloo 16-6 in the second.

The third period was much of the same Western pressure, and they finally broke through for the equalizing goal on the power play. After Allicock was sent off for a questionable slashing penalty, Harnden took the feed in front of the net and hammered a shot off the goal post, then off of Hartigan's back and just over the goal line to make it 3-3.

Just when it looked like the game would need extra time to decide a winner, Allicock made a neat play to tip the puck on for a speeding Woolley along the right wing. Woolley unloaded a low, hard snap shot that looked like it fooled Unice, beating him on the short side to give Waterloo the eventual 4-3 victory.

The series will now be decided in game three on Sunday night at Thompson Arena in London, with puck-drop slated for 7 pm. The game will be streamed live on the Streaming Sports Network at www.ssncanada.ca, and you can follow live updates on Twitter @UWWarriorHockey.

Notes: Waterloo went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Western went 1-for-4…Waterloo forward Brett Mackie (Whitby/) took 12 minutes in penalties for a hit from behind in the second period…Harnden now has eight goals in five games against Waterloo this season…the winner of Sunday's game will face the Windsor Lancers in the OUA West division final.