Box Score
If Senior Day is a kind of on-ice graduation ceremony for the Waterloo Warriors, then Riley Sonnenburg (Cambridge) made sure he was the valedictorian.
One of six graduating players honoured before the game, Sonnenburg netted a hat trick and added an assist in Waterloo's commanding 7-4 victory over the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Friday night in Waterloo.
Colin Behenna (Waterloo), Andrew Smith (Kitchener), and Stephen Silas (Georgetown) also had three-point nights for the Warriors, who wrapped up their home schedule with their 13th win in their past 15 games. Waterloo finished 9-4-0 at home, and they pushed their record to 17-7-2 on the season.
Meanwhile, the loss could be costly for the Thunderwolves. Despite two-point efforts from Mike Hammond and Jake Wright, the Wolves fell to 9-14-3 – and they fell out of the final playoff spot in the OUA's West Division. With just one game left, the Wolves find themselves in a logjam for the final playoff spots.
Mike Morrison (Hamilton) earned his 14th win of the season for the Warriors, turning aside 36 shots in the victory. Meanwhile, Lakehead keeper Justin McDonald stopped 14 of 19 shots through two periods, before getting replaced by call-up Riley Corbin.
After weathering an early storm, Sonnenburg opened the scoring for the hosts when he capitalized on an Anthony Tapper (Marmora) rebound less than four minutes in. Before the first period expired, Wright would even the score with a power play goal on the doorstep, making it 1-1 after 20 minutes.
Silas sniped his second goal of the season just 91 seconds into the second, before Lakehead forward Matt Kaarela tipped home a point shot to make it 2-2. That's when the Warriors stepped on the gas, notching the game's next five goals to pace them to victory.
First, Smith beat his man on the rush and beat McDonald on the far side to put Waterloo up 3-2. Then, Sonnenburg completed the hat trick with a pair of markers – a short side wrister from a sharp angle, followed by a tap-in off a gorgeous feed from Behenna. When the middle stanza ended, the Warriors were up 5-2, and they weren't done there.
A new Wolves goaltender didn't slow down the Warriors, as Smith converted a Sonnenburg centering pass to make it 6-2 just 14 seconds into the third. Waterloo's final goal of the night was perhaps the prettiest, as Behenna fought off a defenceman and made a move to his forehand to finish top shelf, making it 7-2 for the hosts.
Keith Grondin and Ryan Magill scored late goals for the Thunderwolves, but the damage was already done, as the Warriors held on for victory.
Waterloo will now turn its attention to their regular season finale, as they travel down highway 7 to take on the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday night. Puck drop is slated for 7:30 pm.
Notes: Lakehead went 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Warriors didn't get a chance on the man advantage…in addition to Sonnenburg, the Warriors also honoured seniors Kain Allicock (Markham), Jeff Einhorn (Red Deer), Robin Clarke (Cambridge), Anthony Tapper (Marmora), and Justin Larson (Buckhorn) in the pregame ceremony…Waterloo regulars Chris Chappell (Pickering), Matt Kennedy (Oro Medonte) and Joe Underwood (Canton) missed the game due to injury, while Phillip Fife (Oromocto) was out serving a suspension.
