A furious two-goal, come-from-behind, third period effort by the Waterloo Warriors gave them a 2-1 Homecoming Weekend win over the No. 6 Lakehead Thunderwolves Friday night at the Columbia Icefields Arena in Waterloo. Waterloo's goals came from Alex McDonnell and Doug Spooner while Chris Shaffer scored for Lakehead. Lakehead netminder Grant McCune, though recording the loss, played excellently in the 'Wolves' net. This was the first win in fifteen games spread over four seasons for the Warriors against the Thunderwolves. The win puts Waterloo's record at 1-0-0-0 in OUA play and 5-2-0-0 overall while Lakehead's record goes to 0-1-0-0 in OUA play and 6-3-1-1 overall.
Lakehead Head Coach Pete Belliveau said the Warriors were the better and the hungrier team. "They outworked us and outplayed us. Theyouthustled us for the whole game and deserve full marks for the win."
The first saw fast action throughout, with both teams hitting and the Warriors playing very hard against Lakehead. The Thunderwolves had to kill off two penalties in the first ten minutes but the Warriors couldn't beat Lakehead netminder Grant McCune. The 'Wolves struck first at 13:15 when Chris Shaffer beat Waterloo goalie Curtis Darling after a good setup from Erik Lodge and Murray Magill. Waterloo then put on the pressure but McCune was tough in goal; including a great stop off the Warriors' Adam Metherel. Waterloo's Kevin Hurley then had a great opportunity; breaking in alone on McCune when Lakehead's Jeff Richards sped back on the backcheck and lifted Hurley's stick to stop what was probably a sure goal. Shots in the first were 14-10 for Waterloo.
The second began like the first, with hard-hitting two-way action. Both McCune and Darling looked sharp in the goals in the early going. McCune came up with an incredible save; robbing Waterloo's Scott Strazdins who broke in all alone on the Lakehead goalie after picking off an errant 'Wolves' pass. Lakehead then went on the powerplay but couldn't get anything going. The action was fast and furious for the rest of the period but neither team could beat the opposing goaltender.
The Warriors' came out flying in the third and Alex McDonell capitalized on a Lakehead defensive miscue and beat the 'Wolves McCune at 3:10 to tie up the game. The assists went to Adam Metherel and Dave Philpott. Waterloo struck again at 4:41 when Doug Spooner buried it on the backhander to give the Warriors the lead. The assist went to Matt Levicki. Waterloo kept up the pressure and McCune was forced to make two good saves to keep the Waterloo lead at one. Lakehead went on the powerplay but again couldn't capitalize. The Warriors then went on a powerplay of their own and McCune had to make another big save off Adam Metherel. Waterloo kept up the pressure, buzzing the Lakehead goal. The penalty was killed by Lakehead, but Waterloo's Dave Philpott stole the puck and roared down on a breakaway but was stopped by a brilliant save by McCune. McCune followed with another excellent save off Waterloo's Adam Metherel who jumped on a Lakehead giveaway. Lakehead pulled McCune in the last minute and came very close when Chris Shaffer just missed from the front of the Waterloo net. Waterloo outshot Lakehead 14-5 in the third and 34-23 on the game.
The two teams take to the ice again at 2:00 pm Saturday afternoon at the Columbia Icefields arena. Lakehead fans in Thunder Bay can listen to the live play-by-play of Chris Prystanski and Bryan Wyatt on 580 CKPR AM radio, and fans of both teams can listen online at