The Waterloo Warriors men's hockey team finished their regular season with a home-and-home split, but they might have earned something more important this weekend – serious momentum heading into the playoffs.
A night after falling 5-3 to the cross-town rival Laurier Golden Hawks, the Warriors fought back from an early 2-0 deficit to topple the Hawks 3-2 in their home finale on Saturday night at the Columbia Icefield Arena.
Dan Walker (Sudbury, ON/) put an exclamation point on an incredible rookie season, breaking a 2-2 tie with a power play goal at the 19:01 of the third period. It was Walker's second goal of the night, and his 10th point in his last four games. Jacob Cascagnette (Kitchener, ON/) and Nick King (Waterloo, ON/) registered a pair of assists each, as they drew helpers on both of Walker's power play markers.
Connor Cole (Kitchener, ON/) also scored on his senior night, as the Warriors honoured seven graduating seniors before puck drop. Along with Cole, the men's hockey program also acknowledged grads Andrew Cordssen-David (Washington Crossing, PA/), David Radke (Orinda, CA/), Tyler Beauparlant (Freelton, ON/), Dave Comeau (Fredericton, NB/), Nick Halagian (St. Catharines, ON/), and Nick Chyzowski (Kamloops, BC/).
The win elevated the Warriors' final record to 8-8-0, and gave them the sixth seed in the OUA's amalgamated playoff bracket for the West and Far West divisions. The Warriors will visit the University of Toronto Varsity Blues in the first round of the single-elimination OUA playoffs, which begin next week.
The Saturday victory helped erase the memory of a loss on Friday night in which the Warriors likely thought they deserved a better fate. The Hawks scored the game's first three goals, and a third-period rally came up short in a 5-3 road loss to the Hawks. Waterloo outshot Laurier 42-31 on the night, but the Hawks got goals from five different forwards, and goaltender Tyler Fassl made 39 stops in the victory.
Walker and Jack Phibbs (Hagersville, ON/) each registered a goal and an assist, while King also added a goal for the Warriors. Dan Murphy (Waterford, ON/) made 26 saves in defeat.
Just under 24 hours later, the Warriors ended up behind the eight-ball before the sizable crowd could even settle in. Comeau took a penalty 11 seconds into the game, and Grayden Gottschalk tipped home a power play goal to make it 1-0 Laurier at the 42-second mark. The Hawks doubled their lead midway through the frame on a goal by Sullivan Sparkes, but Walker answered on a late-period power play: he took the Cascagnette feed from below the goal line and squeezed one through Hawks netminder Christian Propp, making the score 2-1 after 20 minutes.
The Warriors found the equalizer midway through the second period, thanks to an aggressive pinch by defenceman Jake Heerspink (Regina, SK/). The blueliner stepped up at the line and slapped the puck in behind the Laurier defense to a wide-open Cole, who one-timed it past Propp to make it 2-2 after 40 minutes.
The teams settled into a defensive battle in the third period, but the tenacious forecheck of Phibbs drew an interference penalty with just under 90 seconds left to play. On the ensuing power play, Walker took a Cascagnette feed down low, made a move the forehand, and stuffed it home to give the hosts the victory.
The Warriors will now turn their attention to the postseason, as their offense rounds into form: Waterloo finishes the season averaging four goals a game over their last four contests. The black and gold will face the Varsity Blues in their first playoff appearance since 2017, in a single-elimination game that is still to be scheduled – visit oua.ca for the latest updates.
