WATERLOO, Ont. - The Laurier Golden Hawks defeated the Lakehead Thunderwolves 2-1, snapping a five-game losing streak, for their first victory of the 2022-23 season. The game would need extra minutes with Laurier's Evan Benwell scoring the game-winning goal in overtime.
 
The Golden Hawks began the game with the same intensity they finished with against Brock. Although the Golden Hawks came out strong, Lakehead would be the first to score. Kyle Auger scored the Thunderwolves' first (and ultimately last) goal on a one-timer from the hash marks that just beat rookie goaltender Matthew Dunsmoor glove side.
 
The second period opened with Laurier down a man for a minute. Once the penalty was killed off, the Golden Hawks put the foot down on the pedal. Laurier was all over Lakehead, controlling much of the period and outshooting them 21 to 5 in the second.
 
Laurier dominated, firing shots from everywhere. Their persistence was finally rewarded on their 34th shot of the game. Tyler Davis took a defender with him after he dropped the puck to Matt McJannet. McJannet, finding himself all alone, rifled a snap shot past Cicigoi to tie the game.
 
The third period would be scoreless, but Laurier kept the pressure on. Patrick Brown almost finished off a one-timer from Steven MacLean midway through the third. The game remained tied, so sudden death overtime was necessary.
 
Overtime began with both teams playing strong defensively. Laurier came close to ending the game halfway through on a Sullivan Sparkes shot that beat the goalie but not the crossbar. Lakehead corralled the puck and had a scoring opportunity on the counter-attack that Dunsmoor shut down.
 
The game ended on a perfectly executed two-on-one. Conor Ali found himself with Evan Benwell with just under three minutes left in the extra frame. Ali dished a pass under the stick of the Lakehead defender to Benwell who redirected the puck off of his backhand and into the net.
 
The night was full of firsts. Laurier's first win of the season would also be Interim Head Coach Kevin Forrest's first win at the helms of the squad, Matthew Dunsmoor's first OUA win (in his first start) and Evan Benwell's first career overtime goal.
 
When asked about his first win, Forrest instantly began to praise his team. "It's great for them. They've been working their butts off and it's great to finally see them rewarded. It means a lot for sure."
 
Matthew Dunsmoor, who stopped 21 of the 22 shots, also gave a team-oriented answer when asked about his first win. "It felt good and it's exciting. The boys made it so easy on me, I think I only had five shots a period so when they can do that and play the way they did I think we're going to start getting a couple more wins."

The Golden Hawks will look to continue building off of their best games so far this year next weekend. The Golden Hawks will open the weekend against the Waterloo Warriors at Columbia Ice Field Arena on Friday, November 4th at 7pm. Catch all the action live on OUA.tv