Box Score
The Waterloo Warriors won't have to wait long for a chance to get back at the Guelph Gryphons.
The Gryphons got four points from Carlos Amestoy, as they defeated the Warriors 5-4 in the regular season finale on Saturday night in Guelph. The win gave the Gryphons the 6th seed in the OUA West division, setting up a first-round playoff matchup with the 3rd-seed Warriors.
Stephen Silas (Georgetown) had three assists for Waterloo in the loss, while Riley Sonnenburg (Cambridge), Justin Larson (Buckhorn), and Brett Mackie (Whitby) each added a goal and an assist apiece. Meanwhile, Amestoy's linemates Kyle Neuber and Robert De Fulvis each notched three points for the Gryphons in the back-and-forth affair.
Mike Morrison (Hamilton) made 26 saves in the loss for the Warriors, who finish the season with a 17-8-2 record and 36 points. Andrew D'Agostini earned the win for Guelph, who used a string second half to finish with 25 points and an 11-13-3 record.
Much like they did when the Warriors toppled Guelph 4-3 two weeks ago, Waterloo scored the game's first two goals in the early going. This time, Larson opened the scoring with a lightning wrister from the slot, and Jeff Einhorn (Red Deer) scored on a seeing-eye point shot on the power play to put the Warriors up 2-0 after the first period.
Less than two minutes into the second, De Fulvis hammered a one-timer from the hash marks to get the hosts on the board. Then, just past the mid-way point of the period, De Fulvis converted on a centering feed to square the score at 2-2.
It looked as though the Warriors would reclaim the lead shortly thereafter, when Colin Behenna (Waterloo) and Mackie ran a perfect give-and-go two-on-one. But D'Agostini went post-to-post and stoned Mackie to keep the score tied.
The Gryphons looked to feed off the big save, as Kyle Neuber slapped a one-timer off of Larson and past Morrison to make it 3-2 for Guelph late in the middle frame. However, De Fulvis took a four-minute spearing penalty on the ensuing faceoff, so the Warriors would have a chance to equalize on the man advantage in the third period.
That's exactly what the Warriors did, as the red-hot Sonnenburg beat D'Agostini on a wraparound for his fourth goal of the weekend and his seventh in the past 5 games. The game didn't remain tied for long though, as Jordan Mock tipped a point shot past Morrison just five minutes later to give Guelph a 4-3 lead.
Just 1:02 later, Mackie knotted the game at 4-4 when he walked out from the half boards and picked the top shelf on a gorgeous wrist shot from the faceoff circle. But the hosts weren't to be denied, as Amestoy's one-time shot from the slot put the Gryphons in front 5-4, and held up as the eventual game-winner.
The Warriors and Gryphons will now have a quick turnaround time to prepare for game one of the best-of-three OUA West division quarterfinal, which will go on Wednesday night at 7:30 at the Columbia Icefield Arena. Game 2 will be in Guelph next Saturday night, while game 3, if necessary, will be Sunday night in Waterloo.
Notes: Waterloo went 2-for-3 on the power play, while Guelph went 0-for-3… Waterloo forwards Chris Chappell (Pickering) and Matt Kennedy (Oro Medonte), as well as captain Joe Underwood (Canton) missed the game due to injury…Warriors F Phillip Fife (Oromocto) served the final game of a three-game suspension.
