On Saturday night against the Windsor Lancers, the Waterloo Warriors men's hockey team used a dominant first period to earn their biggest two points of the season to date.
Jack Scanlan (Penetanguishene/Stratford Warriors, GOJHL) and
Michael Morgan (Scarborough/North York Rangers, OJHL) notched three points apiece in the opening frame, and the Warriors scored four times in the game's first 16 minutes en route to a 5-1 win over the Lancers at the Columbia Icefield Arena.
Nick Chyzowski (Kamloops/Kamloops Blazers, WHL) added two helpers for the Warriors, and David Comeau earned his first career USPORTS point in the victory.
Markson Bechtold (Strathmore/Saskatoon Blades, WHL) and
Cam Nicoll (Loretto/Newmarket Hurricanes, OJHL) also scored for the Warriors, while
Trevor Martin (Ardrossan/Calgary Hitmen, WHL) turned aside 23 shots to earn the win in what was likely his best start-to-finish performance of his Warriors career.
The win extended Waterloo's recent hot streak, as the Warriors improved to 5-1-1 in their last seven contests. It also vaulted the black and gold a point above the Lancers in the OUA West division standings, where six teams are vying for the final four playoff spots. Coupled with other weekend results, the Warriors now find themselves in a four-way tie at 21 points with Lakehead, Laurier, and Guelph, just one point ahead of Windsor and Toronto.
Knowing the importance of the game, and knowing that the Lancers endured a long travel weekend (they played in Toronto on Friday night), the well-rested Warriors wasted no time asserting themselves on Saturday night. In the game's first shift, defenceman Comeau's hard, low point shot was deflected in by Morgan, giving Waterloo a lead just 21 seconds in.
The Warriors doubled their lead just past the midway point of the period when Scanlan one-touched a Chyzowski feed to Morgan. Morgan returned the pass back to Scanlan, who made a quick move to the backhand to beat Windsor keeper Jonathan Reinhart, making it 2-0 for Waterloo.
The Warriors took their opening stanza from solid to dominant in a 22-second span later in the period, doubling their lead with a pair of quick goals. First, Bechtold whacked home a
Cole Murphy (Cole Harbour/Pictou County Crushers, MJHL) rebound on the doorstep for his team-leading eighth goal, before Scanlan roofed a shot from a nearly-impossible angle to put Waterloo ahead 4-0. Windsor's Ian Parker would get a goal back on a 5-on-3 advantage in the closing seconds of the first, as Waterloo took a 4-1 lead into the intermission.
The Warriors ran into some penalty trouble in the second, but their penalty kill – and some top-notch saves from Martin – kept the Windsor deficit at three goals. Not to be outdone, Reinhart made a number of key saves in the scoreless middle frame as well, including a ten-bell power play stop on
Andrew Cordssen-David (Washington Crossing/Georgetown Raiders, OJHL).
The scoreboard remained at 4-1 in favour of the Warriors all the way past the 13-minute mark of the third, when Nicoll tipped a
Lee Dower (Conception Bay/Miramichi Timberwolves, MHL) one-timer past Reinhart to round out the scoring.
The Warriors will now prepare themselves for two more huge road contests next weekend, as they continue the push for the postseason. Waterloo will visit the York Lions on Friday, January 25, before facing off with the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday, January 26.
