Waterloo, ONT - Laurier hosted Ontario Tech last night for an exciting match-up that resulted in a 5-4 loss in overtime.

With many key players missing, including captain Patrick Brown and assistant captain Bryce Kilbourne, many players stepped up in a close game.

The first period was a tough battle, with Laurier controlling the puck in Ontario Tech's zone for the majority of the 20 minutes.

Kyle Leonard opened the scoring at 16:01 when he caught the purple and gold's starting netminder Tristan Malboeuf too far out of his crease, giving the Ridgebacks a 1-0 lead.

Just before hitting the seven minute mark of the second period, Laurier rookie Mathieu Paquin caught a bounce off the boards to earn his first OUA goal with a backhand tip that went over the shoulder of Ontario Tech's Beckett Langkow.

Max-Antoine Melancon struck 25 seconds later, assisted by Lucas Chard and Tyler Davis, to give the Golden Hawks a 2-1 lead.

A scramble in front of the net allowed Ben Roode to beat Malbeouf and tie up the score again, as things heated up at the end of the second frame, turning up the physicality between teams heading into the third. 

The period opened up with Alex Park and Caleb Petrie dropping the gloves, earning both players a game misconduct that sent them off the ice.

Andrew Suriyuth beat Laurier's defenseman at 8:58, undressing Malbeouf, and giving Ontario Tech a 3-2 lead with a shorthanded goal.

Cullen McLean caught Malboeuf off-guard, making it 4-2 just after the halfway mark in the period.

A great setup from Kai Stothers gave Lucas Chard the chance to beat Ontario Tech's defenseman and find the back of their net with just 4:20 left in the frame.

Chard's late goal gave the Golden Hawks momentum and Sam Rhodes was able to tie the score at 17:51, sending the game into overtime. 

The extra time was a close battle, but Cullen McLean scored an unlucky goal on Tristan Malboeuf and ended the game with just 39 seconds left.

"The boys should be proud of how they're playing," said Laurier's manager of men's hockey operations an head coach Kevin Forrest. "We've been pushing to play a full 60 minutes of good hockey all season and we're finally seeing that, which is paying off for us". 

Game Notes

Although Lucas Chard missed the first half of the season with an injury, he's come back and racked up a total of 10 points in six games. The rookie is on fire and shows promise for the rest of the season, stepping up last night with many players out.