Although the Waterloo Warriors came away with just a single point in their two games this past weekend, they also proved that they can skate with two of the best teams in the country.
The Warriors dropped back-to-back contests against nationally ranked opponents, as they fell 5-4 in overtime to the Carleton Ravens on Friday night, before getting edged by the Ottawa Gee-Gees 4-2 on Saturday night at the Columbia Icefield Arena.
Ravens 5, Warriors 4 (OT).
On Friday night, the Warriors opened up their OUA East crossover schedule with a gritty effort against the Ravens, who came into the weekend ranked fifth in the most recent USPORTS top-10 poll. After a wild finish in regulation, Brogan O'Brien scored a power-play goal 2:12 into Overtime to give the Ravens a 5-4 win.
Cody Caron scored twice for the Ravens, including the equalizing goal with 46 seconds left in regulation. Dalen Hedges and Alexandre Boivin also notched goals for the Ravens, while Mark Grametbauer made 19 stops in the victory.
Zac Coulter (Owen Sound/Elmira Sugar Kings, GOJHL) led the way for the Warriors with a goal and an assist – including a highlight-reel go-ahead tally in the third period. Connor Lovie (London/Cochrane Crunch, NOJHL) added a pair of helpers, while Nick Halagian (St. Catharines/Powell River Kings, BCHL), Alex Pawelczyk (Richmond/Dalhousie University, U SPORTS), and Andrew Cordssen-David (Washington Crossing/Georgetown Raiders, OJHL) also scored for Waterloo.
Julian Sime (Mississauga/North Bay Battalion, OHL) made 24 stops for Waterloo, including 14 in the first period alone. Mark Grametbauer turned away 19 shots to earn the victory in the Ravens' net.
Carleton came out as the quicker team, outshooting the Warriors 17-5 and outscoring Waterloo 3-1 in the opening 20 minutes. But, buoyed by a strong penalty kill, the Warriors faught back: they held the Ravens to just 8 shots on goal over the next two periods, and goals from Pawelczyk and Cordssen-David (the latter on a 5-on-3 power play) knotted the game up at 3-3 after 40 minutes.
Early in the third, the Warriors claimed their first lead of the night when Coulter waited, then threaded the needle for a short-side beauty and a 4-3 Waterloo advantage. The score stayed that way until late in the third, when Jacob Cascagnette (Kitchener/Ottawa 67's, OHL) was assessed a boarding call that the Waterloo bench vociferously disagreed with. The Warriors were able to kill off the minor, but they weren't able to clear the zone, and a pinballing puck was knocked home by Caron with 46 seconds remaining.
Both teams had some chances in the extra session, but the Ravens power play finally counted, as a loose puck off a rebound in front was elevated into the back of the cage by O'Brien. The win extended Carleton's unbeaten start to 3-0, while the Warriors suffered defeat for the first time in the regular season.
Ottawa 4, Waterloo 2
In a tight-checking, back-and-forth affair against the #4-ranked Gee-Gees, Domenic Cormier's first career USPORTS goal turned out to be the game-winner in Ottawa's 4-2 win over Waterloo on Saturday night.
Yvan Mongo and Kevin Domingue scored for the Gee-Gees, while Nicolas Mattinen added an empty-netter. Waterloo got goals from Cole Murphy (Cole Harbour/Pictou Country Crushers, MJHL) and Cam Nicoll (Loretto/Newmarket Hurricanes, OJHL), and goaltender Trevor Martin (Ardrossan/Calgary Hitmen, OHL) made 24 saves on 27 shots in defeat.
The tight-checking affair was scoreless through the first period, and the game was over halfway complete before the Warriors' hard-working fourth line drew first blood – off a strong offensive zone cycle, Murphy beat Ottawa keeper Domenic Graham to the post on a wraparound, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead. But just before the end of the period, Brendon Jacome dangled through the Warriors zone and rang a shot off the post, where Mongo tapped home the rebound to knot the game 1-1 after two periods.
The Gee-Gees grabbed their first lead of the night just 47 seconds into the third, when Domingue elevated a shot past Martin in tight. But the Warriors responded just short of the 13-minute mark of the third, when a heavy forecheck by Nick Halagian (St. Catharines/Powell River Kings, BCHL) and Connor Cole (Kitchener/Kitchener Dutchmen, GOJHL) forced a misplay by Graham behind his own net. The puck bounced out front to Nicoll, who whacked the puck into the gaping net to tie the game at 2-2.
The tie was short-lived though, as Cormier jumped into the rush and ripped a wrister home with just under five minutes to play. The Warriors had their chances to tie the game, including a power play with under three minutes to play, but they were unable to find the equalizer. Graham ended up with 35 stops on the night, as the Warriors fell to 1-1-1 on the season.
The black and gold will now head out on the road for the first time in the OUA regular season, as they finish up their OUA East crossover schedule next weekend with a pair of games in Montreal. The Warriors will visit McGill on Friday, October 18 at 7pm, before facing off with the Concordia stingers on Saturday, October 19 at 7:30 pm.
