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WATERLOO, Ont. - Goaltender Tristan Malbouef stopped 47 shots as the Laurier Golden Hawks opened the 2026-27 OUA men's hockey season with a 3-2 victory over the Brock Badgers on Friday night.
Ty Petrou, Travis Verbeek and Joshua Kavanagh scored for the Golden Hawks, while Max Antoine-Melancon recorded two assists to begin the back-to-back weekend.
Laurier opened the scoring midway through the first period, capitalizing on a quick sequence off an offensive-zone faceoff to grab an early lead.
The Golden Hawks doubled their advantage before Brock responded on a fortunate bounce, as a clearing attempt deflected off the stanchion and past Laurier netminder Andrew Ness.
Ness saw limited action after replacing Malbouef, who temporarily left the game because of an equipment issue.
Despite being outshot 53-29 and facing six Brock power plays, the Golden Hawks relied on Malbouef's stellar performance to preserve the lead.
The Badgers managed just one power-play goal and were unable to generate an equalizer.
Kavanagh restored Laurier's two-goal cushion late in the second period with what proved to be the game-winning goal, and the Golden Hawks held firm defensively through the final frame.
The performance was an encouraging start to the season for Laurier's manager of men's hockey operations and head coach, Kevin Forrest.
"We had really good energy tonight, and I think there was some relief early on too," said Forrest. "It shows that when we play our game, we give ourselves a chance to win."
Malbouef turned aside 47 of 49 shots in the victory and welcomed the workload.
"I love facing shots and trying to steal a game every now and then," said the fifth-year goaltender. "That's fine with me."
The Golden Hawks return to action Saturday when they host the York Lions at 7 p.m. at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.
Tickets are available at tickets.laurierathletics.com while fans can also catch the game live on OUA.tv and Radio Laurier.
