The first game of the playoffs can't win you a series, or a banner, or a spot in the national championship tournament. The Warriors women's hockey team knows this.
But in a best-of-three series, one game can also start you down a concerning path. Especially so if you're the Warriors, who headed into game one of the OUA west quarterfinal with Brock carrying the weight of expectation, the baggage of playoff demons, and the challenge of knocking off the defending champions. It's the kind of emotional storm (not unlike the one outside on Wednesday night) that could have left the Warriors frozen in place, trying to push through the pressure like it's the slushy mess at the corner of Hagey boulevard and Columbia Street.
And then, in a matter of ninety seconds, the skies cleared.
Waterloo's high-octane offense struck three times in a span of 1:30 in the first period, as the top seed in the OUA West division turned in a dominant 6-0 victory over the fourth-seed Brock Badgers on Wednesday night at the Columbia Icefield Arena, claiming a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-three series.
"It was an important win for us," said Warriors head coach Shaun Reagan. "It was a complete effort, and everyone contributed. It's always nice to have a performance like that in a pressure situation."
Six different players scored for the Warriors, and rookie netminder Kara Mark (New Hamburg, ON/) punctuated Waterloo's first playoff win in five years with a 24-save shutout. The OUA scoring champion picked up where she left off in the regular season, as Leah Herrfort (Palmerston, ON/) put up a goal and an assist, while Carley Olivier (Sudbury, ON/) and Jessie Fennell (Fonthill, ON/) each added a pair of helpers. All told, 14 different Warriors registered at least one point, including goals from Lyndsy Acheson (Summerland, BC/), Kieara Raitt, Kathy Verth (Oakville, ON/), Kassidy McCarthy (Bowmanville, ON/), and Tatum James (Stratford, ON/).
The Waterloo pressure was relentless from the drop of the puck, and it didn't take long for their persistence to pay off: just past the 7-minute mark of the opening frame, Herrfort ripped a wrister off the shoulder of Brock goaltender Kenzie Harmison, allowing Acheson to pounce on a rebound and put the hosts in front 1-0.
At the time, it was just the game's first goal, but it would quickly become the first few snowflakes of an impending avalanche for the Badgers. Just 48 seconds later, Jalen Duffy (Burlington, ON/) opened herself up a shooting lane from the point and wristed a puck on net. It was deflected, and Harmison made a nifty pad stop, but the tip forced her to kick the rebound right to the stick of Raitt, who roofed a backhand to double the Warriors lead.
Sensing a much-needed change in momentum, Brock coach Margot Page called an early time-out. Suffice to say, it did not have the desired effect – on the very next shift, Charlee Van De Peer (Dorchester, ON/) poked a puck down low to Verth, who curled off the half-boards and zipped a wrist shot home through a screen. As the dust settled, it was three goals in ninety seconds. The hosts were flying, and the defending champs were reeling.
As the game moved into the second period, the combination of Brock's frustration and Waterloo's speed soon created a steady pipeline towards visitor's penalty box. The Badgers were assessed six minors in the second period – including five in a row – and the Waterloo power play was more than happy to take advantage of the situation.
First, McCarthy danced to the middle of the slot to score a beauty at the tail-end of a Warriors power play to make it 4-0. Then, James tipped home an Olivier blast to make it 5-0. And finally, on a 5-on-3 advantage, Herrfort whistled a bar-down wrister on the short side to give Waterloo a half-dozen goals through 40 minutes.
Mark and the Warriors defended away the Badger advances in the third to maintain the clean sheet, giving the rookie her first career postseason win and shutout.
The Warriors will now get a chance to advance to the OUA semifinals for the first time since 2017, when they visit Brock for game 2 on Friday night at 7pm.
