The newly renovated Columbia Icefield Arena couldn't have looked better for the Waterloo Warriors men's hockey team's home opener against the Guelph Gryphons: the new boards and ice were ready, the new glass was crystal-clear, and the new bleachers welcomed the 439 patrons that packed the old barn. The only thing that looked out-of-place was the scoreboard at the end of the night.

The visiting Gryphons got goals from five different players, and goaltender Scott Stajcer made 16 saves for his first career CIS shutout, as Guelph spoiled Waterloo's home opener with a 5-0 win on Wednesday night in Waterloo.

Three of Guelph's five goals were of the milestone variety, as defenceman Zach McFadden and forwards Ryan Migliaccio and Manny Gialedakis all notched their first career CIS tallies in the win. Mark Raycroft added a pair of assists for Guelph, while Robert Lepine and Cody Thompson each contributed with a goal and an assist apiece.

For the Warriors, the loss snaps a nine-game winning streak in home openers. Before Wednesday's setback to Guelph, Waterloo's last loss in a home opener came at the hands of the Lakehead Thunderwolves on October 13, 2006.

Mike Morrison (Hamilton) took the loss for the Warriors between the pipes, stopping 22 shots. After carrying the play for much of the first 10 minutes of the contest, penalties became a problem for Waterloo. At one point, the hosts were assessed seven consecutive minor penalties in a 24:36 span that straddled the first and second periods.

With Guelph up 2-0 in the middle frame, the penalty killing unit held the fort – led by some huge shot blocks from Cam Nicoll (Loretto), and strong faceoff work by Joey Champigny (East Angus). But the Gryphons finally found a power-play marker in the final minutes of the second period to extend their advantage to 3-0 after 40 minutes.

With tempers boiling over, the third period saw more Waterloo infractions. Mike Moffat (Waterloo) was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for head checking, and a late-game takedown by Guelph's Michael Stevens on Waterloo's Mitch Elliot (Prince George) ignited the biggest fray of the evening – and also resulted in a major penalty for cross-checking on Elliot.

The Warriors will now look to put the opening loss behind them, and they have over a week off until they hit the ice again – Waterloo will open up the road portion of their schedule on Thursday, Oct 13 when they visit the Toronto Varsity Blues.