WATERLOO, Ont. - Adversity has been the "word of the year" for the Waterloo Warriors. That's what Keiara Raitt (Ancaster, Ont./Ancaster High School) said after Wednesday's heartbreaking 4-3 loss in game one of the OUA quarterfinals in Guelph.
That was a game in which the Warriors couldn't buy a goal. Three breakaways from three of their top three players were all turned away by Gryphons goaltender Sophie Helfenstein, including a golden chance to tie it in the dying seconds from Tatum James (Stratford, Ont./Northwestern Secondary School).
Friday night at CIF Arena, facing elimination, the Warriors cashed their cheque from the hockey gods, who decided it was time to reward the black and gold with a game where everything seemed to go right, from the opening puck drop, and saw them explode for a five-goal first period en route to a 6-0 win.
"I think the key for us was the start tonight for sure, getting on the board first and just feeding off the energy of the crowd," said Warriors Head Coach Shaun Reagan. "It was a solid crowd out here tonight, and it was loud and noisy. The girls came out flying."
They gave the crowd of over 400 lots to cheer about, and early.
The Warriors looked to take advantage of Guelph's defenders agressive positioning in the offensive zone with long stretch passes on Wednesday, leading to those breakaway chances.
They had more success at home. Seven minutes in, Lyndsy Acheson (Summerland, B.C./Penticton Secondary School) sent a puck high into the Gryphons' zone that a Guelph defender bobbled, and Carly Orth (Bolton, Ont./Humberview Secondary School) was right there to take advantage, scooping up the puck and roofing a shot past Helfenstein to open the scoring.
Less than 30 seconds later, Orth's high clearing attempt went over the head of a pinching defender, and Keiara Raitt (Ancaster, Ont./Ancaster High School) found Katina Duscio (Kitchener, Ont./St. Mary's High School) on the ensuing 2-on-1 to make it 2-0.
Six minutes later, it was an missed pass from a Gryphons' winger in the Warriors zone that got behind the defence and sprung Tatum James (Stratford, Ont./Northwestern Secondary School) on a rush down the left wing, she fired a shot over Helfenstein's shoulder, and that would be it for the OUA's second-winningest goaltender in the regular season.
Into the net came Martina Fedel, the 2024 OUA Goaltender of the Year, making her first OUA appearance since October 30, after taking an extended break to represent Italy at the 2026 winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina, where she made history leading Italy to their first Olympic hockey win over France in her first game.
Her OUA return didn't start as strong, as she was on the wrong end of what might be the goal of the year.
Just 40 seconds after James's goal, Keiara Raitt (Ancaster, Ont./Ancaster High School) chipped the puck past a Gryphons defender and gave herself a 1-on-1 with Alexie Olivier. She slid the puck through Olivier's legs, jumping around the defender and quickly firing a backhand shot past Fedel.
"My first thought was I've got to chip it out, got to reach and get it out of the D-zone," said Raitt. "Coming down the wall, I could kind of see the girl coming out of the corner of my eye and just kind of sent it up there and hoped and then went backhand on a good goalie. I mean, she just played in the Olympics. She's a damn good goalie, and I was lucky to finish."
"The goal was outstanding. It was a move that I don't even think I've seen her do it in practice," said Reagan. "She's so good. I'm a big fan," added Waterloo goaltender Kara Mark (New Hamburg, Ont./Waterloo Oxford District Secondary School and Victus Academy).
The Warriors weren't finished, as Orth added a second goal with seven seconds remaining to put the exclamation point on the most impressive period of hockey this team has played yet this season.
"It's just Warrior hockey, we talk about it all the time," said Raitt. "When we play our way and the warrior way, it's hard to beat us."
Tatum James's (Stratford, Ont./Northwestern Secondary School) second goal of the game made it 6-0 90 seconds into the second, and the rest of the period passed without much excitement.
The Gryphons seemed to find some life in the third period, and Kara Mark (New Hamburg, Ont./Waterloo Oxford District Secondary School and Victus Academy) made some excellent saves to maintain the shutout, including on a penalty shot awarded to Olivia Knuff. Mark calmly tracked Knuff's deke to the forehand and kicked out the right pad to deny her.
"All I want to do is be the backbone of my team, be there for the girls when they need me. That's what I take pride in," said Mark. "Not even the shutout, I mean, that's always a bonus, but I think just being there for the girls and them feeling comfortable and having faith in me and is something that I'm really, really proud of."
"I thought it was a great effort. They put some pucks on net, and Marky stood tall," said Reagan. "You could feel throughout the game that she was dialed in and made some great saves, and I thought defensively we were real good clearing rebounds. We always say, Marky grabs the first one, and we clear rebounds."
Mark, the reigning OUA Goaltender of the Year, outdueled one of the conference's best tandems and earned her fourth career playoff shutout with 39 saves.
With the win, the Warriors stay alive and force a deciding game 3 on Sunday in Guelph. Puck drop is set for 2:30 PM. Expect a battle.
"This team has fought for every inch all year long. It's been a bumpy road, a lot of highs and a lot of lows, and at the end of the day, everything that's come towards us, we've fought back," said Raitt.
"The mindset for us doesn't change at all. We're fighting for every inch, and they want it just as much as we do. Whatever team shows up on Sunday is going to win, and so we're going to show up to fight."
