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If there was any doubt that the Waterloo Warriors had completely righted their ship after a mid-November swoon, they were erased Saturday night.
The Warriors used timely scoring and a dominating forecheck to topple the defending OUA champion Guelph Gryphons 3-1 in their 2016 home debut, extending their winning streak to six games while handing Guelph their first loss in their last five.
Colin Behenna (Waterloo), Andrew Smith (Kitchener), and Riley Sonnenburg (Cambridge) scored for the Warriors, while goaltender Mike Morrison (Hamilton) made 24 stops in the victory. The win pushes the Warriors to 10-8-0 on the season, and positions them just two points behind a trio of teams – including the Gryphons – for second place in the OUA West.
Dylan Gilbert scored Guelph's only goal of the night, an unassisted marker early in the second. Andrew D'Agostini made 29 saves in the loss, his first since November 21.
Behenna got the Warriors on the board first when he converted a gorgeous end-to-end rush and feed from Mike Moffat (Waterloo) on the power play. After Gilbert squared things at 1-1 in the second period, the physical play intensified – a total of eight minors were called in the middle frame, and every whistle was punctuated by an exchange of pleasantries.
Just over six minutes into the third period, the Warriors broke the deadlock for good when Smith found Daniel Perigo (Truro) joining the rush from off the bench. Perigo slid a beautiful return feed to Smith, who made no mistake on the give-and-go for a 2-1 Waterloo lead.
The Gryphons couldn't mount much of a late surge against the staunch Warriors forecheck, as Guelph often found trouble even exiting their own zone. With less than three minutes to play, Sonnenburg salted the game away with a wicked wrister that beat D'Agostini to the blocker side.
The Warriors will now look to extend their winning streak next weekend, when they welcome a pair of OUA East division opponents. First, they'll face the Laurentian Voyageurs on January 15, before hosting the Nipissing Lakers on January 16. Both games are slated for 7pm at the Columbia Icefield Arena.
