Box Score A cold start and a hot goalie almost sunk the Waterloo Warriors in their first road game of the season.
Almost.
The Warriors used a dominant final 40 minutes and a third-period goal by
Justin Larson (Buckhorn) to erase an early two-goal deficit and take a 3-2 decision over the York Lions Friday night in Toronto.
Larson added an assist for his second multi-point game in four contests this year, while
Matt Kennedy (Oro Medonte) and
Colin Behenna (Waterloo) each scored their team-leading fourth goals for the Warriors. Derek Sheppard and Shayne Rover scored for the Lions in the loss.
York netminder Chris Perugini deserved a better fate, as he stymied the Warriors on a number of high-quality chances. Perugini finished the night with 41 saves, as he faced almost twice as many shots as Warriors goalie
Mike Morrison (Hamilton). The Waterloo keeper saw the first two shots of the night beat him before shutting the door the rest of the way, making 21 saves for the win. The victory pushes the Warriors to 3-1 on the young season, while York falls under .500 at 2-3.
The hosts came out of the gate with the upper hand, and their energy level soon translated to the scoreboard. Rover opened the scoring with an unassisted marker just over four minutes in, and Sheppard made it 2-0 York before the midway point of the period.
The Warriors started to tilt the ice in their favour before the period ended, and Kennedy was able to bat home a loose puck to cut the York lead in half. The Warriors looked to have an equalizer before the period ended, but they rang a puck off the post and went into the dressing room down a goal.
The Warriors came in waves in the middle frame, and they wasted no time getting the equalizer. Less than two minutes in, Behenna was sprung in on the left side and sniped a wrist shot past Perugini's glove side to make it 2-2. The rest of the period was dominated by the Warriors, but Perugini's heroics maintained the deadlock – even though Waterloo outshot York 17-5 in the period.
As they did in the second, the Warriors broke through before the third period was two minutes old. This time, it was a marvelous solo effort by Larson – he poked a
Jeff Einhorn (Red Deer) pass ahead for himself in the neutral zone, and finished a quasi-breakaway with a top-shelf rifle that turned out to be the game-winning goal. The Lions never really threatened again, and Waterloo claimed the two points.
The Warriors will now turn their attention to the rival Western Mustangs, who come to Waterloo on Saturday night. Puck drop at the Columbia Icefield Arena is slated for 6:30 pm. The game is also streaming live on oua.tv.
Notes: The Warriors were 0-for-3 on the power play, while the Lions were 0-for-4…Morrison made his fourth straight start for Waterloo…Larson, Behenna and Kennedy all have points in each of the Warriors' four contests this season.
