WATERLOO, Ont. — In a fast-paced, physical Friday night at CIF Arena, the Waterloo Warriors used a relentless forecheck, timely scoring, and a strong performance from
Matt Onuska (Waterloo, ON/) to earn a 5–2 win over the Western Mustangs on January 23.
The game opened with plenty of neutral-zone structure as both teams worked to establish pace. Western generated sustained zone time early, but Waterloo kept the Mustangs to the perimeter and forced low-danger looks while creating traffic around the crease at the other end. The first period remained scoreless, though it was anything but quiet—scrums, late hits, and a series of penalties raised the intensity and set the tone for a gritty contest. Waterloo's penalty kill was especially sharp, disrupting Western's puck movement and even creating a short-handed odd-man rush, while Onuska turned aside quality chances to keep the game level after multiple Western power plays.
Waterloo broke through early in the second period. After forcing a Western tripping penalty, the Warriors capitalized on the power play at 2:55 when
Cory Jewitt (Clinton, Ont./St Annes Catholic Secondary School) scored, with Jayden Reyers and
Jordan Hendry (White Rock, B.C./Elgin Park Secondary) recording assists. Western answered at 9:45 as Brett Willits tied the game, but Waterloo responded again late in the period.
Simon Rose (Renfrew, Ont./St. Josephs High School) restored the lead at 14:12, finishing a play set up by
Jaxson Murray (Waterloo, Ont./St. David Catholic Secondary School) and
Jesse Fishman (Thornhill, Ont./Blyth Academy Downsview) to send Waterloo into the intermission up 2–1.
The Warriors took control in the third. Just 1:45 in,
Liam Fedak (Oakville, Ont./Oakville Trafalgar High School) scored unassisted to extend the lead to 3–1 and build momentum for the home side. Western pushed back and made it a one-goal game again at 11:35, with Willits scoring his second of the night, but Waterloo stayed composed down the stretch. With Western pressing and the goaltender pulled,
Adam Grein (Kitchener, Ont./Resurrection Catholic Secondary School) sealed the result with an empty-net goal at 18:38.
Jaden Goldie (Owen Sound, Ont./St Mary's High School) added one more at 19:56, finishing a play from Rose and
Sam McKinney (Fredericton, NB/) to close out the 5–2 win.
Onuska was steady throughout, stopping 33 of 35 shots as Waterloo's penalty kill held Western to 0-for-5 on the power play. Waterloo generated consistent pressure of its own, outshooting the Mustangs 43–35 and turning a hard-fought, entertaining game into a strong home win in front of 200 fans.
