As far as season-opening games go, it's hard to get much better than what the Waterloo Warriors did on Thursday night.
The Warriors got two-goal efforts from Nick Chyzowski (Kamloops/Kamloops Blazers, WHL) and Alex Pawelczyk (Richmond/Dalhousie University, U SPORTS), and Trevor Martin (Ardrossan/Calgary Hitmen, OHL) notched his first career OUA shutout, as Waterloo drubbed the visiting Lakehead Thunderwolves 6-0 in their 2019-20 debut at the Columbia Icefield Arena.
Defenceman Andrew Cordssen-David (Washington Crossing/Georgetown Raiders, OJHL) added four assists in the big Waterloo win, while Chyzowski and Pawelczyk both added an assist apiece for matching three-point efforts. Zac Coulter (Owen Sound/Elmira Sugar Kings, GOJHL) notched a goal and an assist, and Cole Murphy (Cole Harbour/Pictou Country Crushers, MJHL) also found the back of the net in the victory.
In what was a complete 200-foot team effort, Martin earned his first career donut with just 17 saves – albeit, several of the difficult variety, including two clear breakaways. The Warriors were also perfect on special teams, killing off both Lakehead man-advantages, while scoring on their only power play of the night. Lakehead goaltender Nick Reynard made several 10-bell stops early, but was eventually replaced after allowing 4 goals on 23 shots after two periods. Brock Aiken turned away 9 of 11 Warriors attempts in the third.
Puck drop was delayed by about 15 minutes to accommodate some minor travel woes experienced by the visitors, and when the puck finally did drop, it showed – Waterloo outshot Lakehead 6-1 early on, but Renyard's play kept the game scoreless. With under four minutes to go in the opening frame, Waterloo finally broke through when Chyzowski neatly tipped home a Cordssen-David blast for a 1-0 Warriors lead. Lakehead pushed to respond on the very next shift, but Martin stymied Dexter Kuczek on a partial break to keep the score 1-0 after 20 minutes.
The ice continued to tilt in Waterloo's favour in the second, and the floodgates finally opened – In the span of just over four minutes, Pawelczyk ripped home a short-side wrister, then whacked home a goalmouth rebound to make it 3-0. Chyzowski added a power play marker in the waning seconds of the middle stanza to make it a 4-0 Waterloo lead heading into the second intermission.
Lakehead's goaltending switch didn't have the desired emotional effect for the Wolves, as Murphy took advantage of some blown defensive zone coverage to fire home a one-timer all alone in front of the net. Then, following a pair of stunning right pad saves from Aiken, Coulter took advantage of some additional time and space down low to lift a rebound into the yawning cage. With the Warriors up by a half-dozen, they battened down the hatches – including a late penalty kill – to secure Martin's shutout.
The Warriors will now take advantage of a weekend off from league play to finish up their exhibition schedule on the road against the Ferris St. Bulldogs of the NCAA. Waterloo is back in league action next week, as they host a pair of games against powerhouses from the nation's capital – the Carleton Ravens visit the Columbia Icefield Arena on Friday, October 11, before the Warriors welcome the Ottawa Gee-Gees on Saturday, October 12. Both games are slated for a 7pm puck drop.
