Box Score The Waterloo Warriors were able to keep the potent Western Mustangs attack off the board for the first forty minutes on Friday night. But in a matter of 48 seconds, the Mustangs seized control.

Kyle De Coste scored two third-period goals just 48 seconds apart, and the 8^th-ranked Western Mustangs extended their winning streak to six games with a 3-2 decision over the Warriors at the Columbia Icefield Arena Friday night.

Zach Harnden earned two assists for the Mustangs, who move to 17-6-0 on the season. Josh Woolley (Cambridge/) and Justin Larson (Buckhorn/) scored for the Warriors, who fall to 10-11-3 and remain just outside of the OUA West playoff picture.

Josh Unice made 26 stops for the Mustangs in the win, while Justin Leclerc (Saskatoon/) was solid in the Waterloo net, turning aside 36 shots.

The Mustangs came out of the gates with more jump than their hosts, earning an early 10-2 lead on the shot clock and testing Leclerc early. As the period wore on though, the Warriors began pushing back, and they capitalized when Woolley grabbed a rebound above Unice's head, put the puck down at his feet, and slid home the puck in one motion to put Waterloo up 1-0 through 20 minutes.

The second period pace was, at times, frenetic, and temperatures rose between the two rivals in a period that featured very few stoppages in play. The Mustangs came close to tying the game a number of times, including ringing one off the crossbar in the late stages of the frame. But the Warriors held firm, and the hosts took their 1-0 lead into the second intermission.

The Mustangs finally broke through in the third, when Steve Reese carried the puck wide and drew all the attention to himself before throwing it in front for De Coste, who slammed it home to tie the game. Less than a minute later, Harnden fired a wrister from the left wing that squeaked through Leclerc, leaving it lying in the crease for De Coste to tap in.

Western would extend their lead to 3-1 on a controversial goal mouth scramble, in which it appeared Leclerc was shoved into the net. The officials saw no foul, however, and Stefan Salituro was given credit for the Mustangs goal.

With the goaltender out and just under two minutes to play, Larson drew the Warriors to within one goal with a bullet from the slot. But try as they might, the Warriors couldn't get the game-tying marker.

Waterloo will now use the next week to tune up for a pair of huge games next weekend, as the Warriors will host the Brock Badgers on Friday night before welcoming the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday night.

Notes: Waterloo went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Western went 0-for-1…Warriors captain Joe Underwood (Canton/) missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury…Larson's goal was his team-leading 17^th on the season.