On Saturday night in North Bay, rookie goaltender Trevor Martin (Ardrossan/) was spectacular in what was his first career USports start. And with the help of some timely offense from some fellow freshmen, it also turned out to be his first career USports victory.

Martin turned aside 34 shots, and the Warriors got third-period goals from rookies Lee Dower (Conception Bay/) and Keigan Goetz (New Hamburg/) to skate past the Nipissing Lakers 4-2 for their third win in four games to start the 2017-18 season.

Phillip Fife (Oromocto/) and Cam Nicoll (Loretto/) also scored for the Warriors, while captain Mike Moffat (Waterloo/) added two assists. Meanwhile, the Lakers saw their record fall to 1-2-1, despite getting shorthanded goals from Danny Desrochers and Joel Herbert. Domenic Graham made 32 stops in a losing cause for the hosts.

The Lakers earned momentum off the opening faceoff, but Martin's play held the game scoreless until Fife broke through for the Warriors on a man advantage to give Waterloo a 1-0 lead. Nipissing pushed hard right away to find the equalizer, but more Martin heroics ensured the Warriors an advantage heading into the first intermission.

Waterloo came on harder in the middle fame, forcing the Lakers into some minor penalty problems. But it was Nipissing who scored the period's only goal, as Desrochers made a great shorthanded play to spin and fire over Martin's left shoulder, equalizing the score at 1-1 after two periods.

And early in the third, the Lakers struck again while short a man. After killing off the first portion of a Waterloo five-on-three advantage, Herbert converted on a shorthanded breakaway to take a 2-1 lead. But just when it looked like Nipissing would spoil Martin's debut, the Warriors responded with a big closing push.

First, it was Dower who took a Zac Coulter (Owen Sound/) drop pass and ripped a shot through traffic that beat Graham to the blocker side, squaring the score at 2-2. Then, with under eight minutes to play, Goetz was credited with the eventual game-winning goal, putting Waterloo up 3-2. Nicoll would score into the empty net to salt away a perfect 2-0 road trip for the Warriors in Northern Ontario this weekend.

The Warriors will now return to Waterloo for their annual weekend visit from the Lakehead Thunderwolves. Puck drop at the Columbia Icefield Arena is slated for 7pm on Friday, October 27 and 4pm on Saturday, October 28.