Box Score For five years, the teams of the OUA west division have known that Keaton Hartigan (Kitchener/) is the kind of goalie that can absolutely steal a game for his Waterloo Warriors.

Now, the nation's top-ranked team knows, too. 

Hartigan made 42 saves and Justin Larson (Buckhorn/) and Blake Chartier (Winnipeg/) scored power play goals to lead the sixth-seed Waterloo Warriors to a monumental upset over the first-seed Alberta Golden Bears at the opening game of the Potash Corp University Cup CIS championship tournament Thursday afternoon in Saskatoon.

The game moves Waterloo to 1-0 in pool A, with their final round-robin matchup coming Saturday against the St. Mary's Huskies. The Warriors now have their path to the championship final in their own hands – a win Saturday will move Waterloo to Sunday's finale.

While Hartigan's play might have come as a shock to the frustrated Golden Bears shooters, he's had the confidence of his team and coaching staff for half a decade now. And his heroics on the big stage were no surprise to Waterloo coach Brian Bourque.

“Keaton has been the heart and soul of our team during our playoff run,” said Bourque. “He's one of the main reasons we're here.”

Torrie Dyck scored for the Golden Bears in the loss, their first regulation defeat since December 1, 2012. CIS goaltender of the year Kurtis Mucha made 11 saves in a losing cause for Alberta, who now need a victory over St. Mary's on Friday to avoid elimination. The Bears also hit five goalposts in the game, including a crossbar in the game's final three seconds.
Despite what the shot clock – and the goalposts – said, Hartigan didn't feel like he was under siege as much as it appeared.

“I just felt comfortable in there,” said Hartigan, who was named player of the game for the Warriors. “We allowed a lot of shots, but I got a good look at most of them, and the guys did a great job clearing rebounds.”

It was in Waterloo's game plan to play the Bears physically, and that was apparent right from the opening faceoff. But while bodies flew, the Warriors got a tad overzealous with their twigs, as Chartier and Jarred Parent (West Montrose/) each took stick-infraction penalties before the game was six minutes old. The Warriors penalty-killing units held the fort though, killing off the 34-second 5-on-3 and getting through the penalty trouble unscathed.

The kills may have been a momentum swinger for the Warriors, who went to a four-minute advantage on a high-sticking minor to Alberta's Jesse Craige. In the first of the two minors, Colin Behenna (Waterloo/) dangled through multiple checks on the half-boards and fed Larson, who one-timed the game's first goal through Mucha for a 1-0 Waterloo lead after 20 minutes.

Alberta came out with more jump in the second, and Hartigan was forced to weather the storm. He got plenty of help from the goalposts and from Waterloo's defensive zone play – despite the shot count, the Warriors were able to force Alberta's powerful attack to the outside for much of the game. The Warriors also blocked plenty of shots – over 20, by head coach Brian Bourque's count – throughout the game.

The second period was, however, all Alberta on the shot clock – the Bears outshot the Warriors 22-4 in the middle frame, but Waterloo held their 1-0 lead after forty minutes.

In the early stages of the third, with Waterloo clinging to their advantage, Alberta's Johnny Lazo was assessed a 2-minute minor and a 10-minute misconduct for a dangerous-looking check to the head of Joe Underwood (Canton/). While the Warriors workhorse was no worse for wear, save a bloody nose, Waterloo took advantage of the odd-man opportunity to extend their lead.
Kirt Hill (Winnipeg/) dragged the puck out from the half boards and fed Behenna down low, who fired a seeing-eye lazer pass to Chartier's stick, giving Waterloo a 2-0 lead and putting the Warriors on the doorstep of a shocking upset.

The Warriors continued to defend their lead and Hartigan's shutout, as the Bears hit two posts on the same shift shortly after Chartier's goal. Alberta's Dyck finally cracked the goaltender's goose egg when he buried a power play marker with 3:30 remaining, setting up a white-knuckle finish for the OUA West division champs.

The game's final play was likely Alberta's best chance to tie the game when, on a 6-on-4 advantage following a Hill penalty, the Bears won an offensive zone faceoff with 3.2 seconds remaining. The Bears nearly worked the wheel play to perfection, but the one-timer shot from the point rang off the crossbar over Hartigan's outstretched blocker arm as time expired.

With the victory, Waterloo earns a day off from the tournament's grind, taking on the St. Mary's Huskies at 1:30 local time (3:30 EDT) on Saturday afternoon. The game can be seen live on Sportsnet Ontario, West and Pacific.   

Notes: Waterloo went 2-for-7 on the power play, while Alberta went 1-for-6…Warriors forward Micky Sartoretto (Sault Ste. Marie/) went into the boards heavily as the first period expired, and he didn't return to the game…Larson was named a second-team All-Canadian at the CIS awards gala on Wednesday.