WATERLOO, Ont. - Laurier's offence exploded for four goals in the first twenty minutes of the most recent edition of the Battle of Waterloo, helping them to an eventual 5-3 victory over the Waterloo Warriors at the Sunlife Financial Arena on Thursday night.
Three minutes into the first, Laurier's Conor Ali tried to send a pass in front of the net, but the pass bounced off a Warrior skate to a wide-open Caleb Rich. Rich sent a shot that deflected off a body in front and floated over Waterloo's Dan Murphy to open the scoring.
Two minutes later, fourth-year defenseman Steven MacLean's point shot deflected off of a Warrior body and fell onto first-year Matthew Zebedee's stick. The rookie cashed in on the opportunity by sending his first OUA goal past Murphy to put Laurier up by a pair of goals.
Waterloo's Brendan Bowie cut the lead by putting home a rebound fifty seconds into a Waterloo power-play halfway through the first period.
Thirty seconds later, James Thomson walked in from the blue line and ripped a shot to reestablish Laurier's two-goal lead after Colin Campbell delivered him a perfect backhand pass from the far side of the ice.
Murphy's water bottle was sent for a flight with just over a minute remaining in the period as an unintended consequence of Rich's decision to go top cheese for his second of the night and Laurier's fourth and final goal of the first period.
Sullivan Sparkes scored the lone goal in the second period, extending Laurier's lead to 5-1. Evan Benwell collected an assist on the goal, extending his point streak to five games.
Finding themselves leading big for the first time this season, the purple and gold found themselves in an unfamiliar situation for the first time under the new coaching staff.
The Warriors scored two goals in the third in an attempt to make it a game, but the effort came up short as they fell to the Golden Hawks.
After beginning the season 0-4-1, Laurier has turned things around and is now 6-6-1. Six wins in their last eight games have launched them from last place up into the 6th and final playoff spot midway through the season.
"It's new territory for the boys," Interim Head Coach & Manager of Men's Hockey Operations Kevin Forrest said after the game. "In the third, I thought we sat back too much and just defended. In the past when they got a lead, they tended to sit back. But when you have a team on the ropes you got to keep at them because that is the best way to defend the lead."
Forrest also commented how he thought one of the team's rookies "played well tonight."
"It's nice seeing guys like him capitalize when they get a little more opportunity to work in at forward."
"It feels good. It's a nice relief off of my shoulders," Zebedee said after the game on scoring for the first time. "I just found myself with the puck on my stick and I looked up to see a wide-open net."
The Golden Hawks turn their attention towards Saturday's afternoon matchup against the Guelph Gryphons. You can catch the game live at Sunlife Financial Arena at 3:30 p.m. or online at OUA.tv.
