As a nanotechnology engineering student, Micthell Smith is used to dealing with things on a smaller scale. But on Friday night against the Brock Badgers, his performance was anything but microscopic.
Smith scored twice, including the eventual game winner late in the second, as the Waterloo Warriors toppled the Badgers 3-2 at the Columbia Icefield Arena in Waterloo.
Markson Bechtold (Strathmore/) and Keigan Goetz (New Hamburg/) had a pair of helpers apiece, playing on a newly-formed line with Smith. Daniel Perigo (Truro/) added a goal for the Warriors, who have now won four of their last six games to climb back into the playoff race at 9-13-3.
The win, coupled with Windsor's 3-1 loss against the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Friday night, propels the Warriors into a three-way tie for the eighth and final playoff spot in the OUA West division. The Toronto Varsity Blues also joined that group on Friday, with a 1-0 victory over Laurier.
Meanwhile, the Badgers missed an opportunity to improve their position in the middle of the OUA West pack, falling to 12-8-5 on the season. Mack Lemmon and Dexter Weber scored for Brock, who sit in a three-way tie of their own for fourth place in the West division.
Mike Morrison (Hamilton/) was excellent in the Waterloo net, turning aside 32 shots in the victory. Meanwhile, Brock goaltender Clint Windsor, the OUA leader in minutes played, made 26 saves in defeat.
While the game turned into a defensive affair late, the opening period certainly wasn't indicative of the tight-checking finish. The Badgers drew first blood when Lemmon picked the top corner for a 4-on-4 goal just over five minutes into the game, but Smith and the Warriors responded later in the frame: On a breakout play started by Eric Diodati (Niagara Falls/), Bechtold hit a streaking Smith with a bomb pass through the middle of the ice, sending Smith in on a partial break. The former Kitchener Dutchmen star made a move to the forehand and beat the outstretched leg of Windsor, evening the score at 1-1.
The tie was short-lived though, as Weber's blast through traffic eluded Morrison just over three minutes later to give the Badgers a 2-1 advantage. But before the end of the period, and with the Warriors on a power play, Perigo broke in on the right wing and snuck a wrister through the arm and body of Windsor to tie the score at 2-2 after 20 minutes.
The second period featured chances at both ends early, but shot blocking and defensive zone play became the orders of the day on both sides. However, just when it looked like the game would head into the third period knotted up, Smith skated his way in and fired a wrister towards Windsor. The off-speed puck fooled the Brock keeper – it may have been deflected as Smith let it go – and it beat Windsor to the blocker short-side to give Waterloo a 3-2 lead with just over a minute left in the second.
The third period was a nailbiting affair, marred by a scary injury – with under 8 minutes to play, Brock's Patrick Volpe and Waterloo's Michael Morgan (Scarborough/) clipped skates, sending Volpe to the ice in a harmless-looking slide. But Volpe's upper body crashed into the end boards hard, and he lay motionless on the ice for several moments before slowly getting to his feet and skating off.
The Badgers were forced to regroup emotionally and put together a late push. While their efforts pushed the Warriors in the game's closing seconds, Joey Champigny (East Angus/) won a key defensive zone draw in the closing seconds to help salt the game away for Waterloo.
Smith's two-goal performance helped kick off a big weekend for the Plainfield, Ontario native – on Saturday, he receives his iron ring to commemorate his impending graduation from the nanotechnology engineering program. Then, later in the evening, Smith and his teammates will look to carry their momentum into a huge matchup with Toronto, in a game that might go a long way in deciding the OUA West's final playoff spot. Puck drop at Varsity Arena is slated for 7pm.
