The Waterloo Warriors men's hockey team embraced the next-man-up mentality until the very end, but they came up just short of a second straight road upset in the OUA playoffs.
The second-seeded Rams scored twice in the third period, and Joe Rupoli fired home the winner at 5:12 of overtime, as the sixth-seeded Warriors were eliminated from the playoffs with a heartbreaking 4-3 defeat in Toronto on Saturday.
It was the Warriors' second high-intensity, single-elimination road playoff game in less than 48 hours, after they dispatched the Toronto Varsity Blues in round one of the postseason on Thursday night. Waterloo held a 3-1 lead after two periods, but couldn't hold on as their depleted bench got shorter – Chase Campbell (Waterloo, ON/) left the game in the first period, becoming the fifth Warriors forward from their opening night roster to be shelved.
The rookie forward line of Dan Walker (Sudbury, ON/), Jack Phibbs (Hagersville, ON/), and Tate Popple (Brandon, MB/) had another outstanding performance: Walker registered a goal and an assist, while Phibbs chipped in with two helpers and Popple scored the game's opening goal. Captain Connor Lovie (London, ON/) also found twine for the Warriors, while goaltender Dan Murphy (Waterford, ON/) stopped 39 shots in the loss.
The Warriors advanced to the second round for the first time since 2013, and they were keen to extend their postseason stay – just under eight minutes in, Popple buried the Phibbs feed on a 2-on-1, putting the visitors up 1-0. Kevin Gursoy of the Rams roofed a backhander on a breakaway less than three minutes later, and the teams went into the dressing rooms tied at 1-1 after 20 minutes.
In the second, Waterloo's rejuvenated power play did some serious damage, and it put the Warriors in the driver's seat to advance to the West division finals. First, Walker hammered home a one-timer at the tail end of a four-minute power play to make it 2-1. Then, with just under six minutes to play in the period, Lovie's wrister from the point found its way behind Rams goalie Garrett Forrest to give Waterloo a 3-1 advantage after two periods.
The Warriors staved off the Rams' advances for much of the final frame, but the hosts weren't panicking – they'd been trailing 3-1 and 4-2 in the third period of their first-round game against Western, only to tie the game late and advance with a double-overtime victory. The experience paid off late when Kyle Bollers and Chris Playfair scored in the second half of the frame, sending the game to overtime.
In the extra session, the Warriors had a few early chances, highlighted by a Gavin Wood (Waterloo, ON/) shot that trickled just wide of the open far side behind Forrest. At the 5:12 mark of the overtime, Rapoli's point blast somehow eluded traffic in front, and beat a screened Murphy to give the Rams the 4-3 victory.
The Warriors will say goodbye to a septet of graduating veterans, as the loss closed out the careers of Andrew Cordssen-David (Washington Crossing, PA/), David Radke (Orinda, CA/), Tyler Beauparlant (Freelton, ON/), Dave Comeau (Fredericton, NB/), Nick Halagian (St. Catharines, ON/), Nick Chyzowski (Kamloops, BC/), and Connor Cole (Kitchener, ON/). But with a solid returning core in place, and recruiting season in full swing, the Warriors should be a serious contender in the OUA West division in 2022-23.
