Box Score WATERLOO, Ont. – Following up on last week’s wins over Brock and UOIT the Western Mustangs men’s hockey team took to the road Friday night, heading to Waterloo for a matchup with the host Warriors. In a wild contest with multiple scoring chances and special teams opportunities Western came away with their 14th consecutive win, defeating Waterloo 5-4.

“We played a good 40 minutes but lost our discipline and got away from our game in the third,” said Western interim head coach Patrick Powers following the win. “As a team we need to be able to keep our composure and stop giving up 2 or 3 goal leads if we want to keep being successful.” 
 
Zach Harnden led the Mustangs offence on Friday, coming close to repeating the hat trick he scored against Waterloo in the season opener, scoring two goals and an assist in the win. Justin Larson and Jarred Parent topped the Waterloo scoresheet, each contributing two assists, while four different players each registered a goal.

Josh Unice won the goaltending battle, stopping 32 of the 36 shots he faced to record his CIS-leading 14th win. In the Waterloo net Keaton Hartigan turned away 28 of 33 shots in a losing effort.

The purple and white didn’t waste anytime getting their offence started, opening the scoring just over two minutes into the game when Adam McKee netted his third goal of the season to put the Mustangs in front early. Zach Harnden added to the lead only 63 seconds later, slipping one past Waterloo netminder Keaton Hartigan.

Not to be outdone by Western, the Warriors responded with a quick goal of their own as Jeff Einhorn scored on Josh Unice just prior to the period’s six minute mark to cut the Mustangs lead to one. Josh Wooley would then tie the game for Waterloo in the late stages of the opening frame, scoring a shorthanded goal at 17:27.

Despite giving up a shorthanded goal the Mustangs were undeterred and Julian Cimadamore utilized the team’s man advantage less than a minute later, sending Western to the locker room with a 3-2 lead after the first period.

Keeping things rolling in the second period Kyle De Coste put a shot past Hartigan just 48 seconds into the period off of assists from Matt Clarke and Steve Reese. The two teams would then stay off the scoresheet for the majority of the frame before Harnden scored his second of the night, this time scoring on the power play, to give Western a 5-2 lead entering the third period.

As is typical between two rivals the intensity and physical play only picked up as the night went on, setting the stage for an exciting third period. The Warriors certainly made things interesting for their hometown fans, as Kirt Hill picked up the team’s second shorthanded marker of the night with a little over five minutes remaining to pull Waterloo within two.  

Blake Chartier would push the Warriors even closer at 17:58, beating Unice to make it a one-goal game with two minutes remaining. Tempers flared as the game came to a close, as a scrum in the final seconds resulted in a slashing call for the Warriors Brett Mackie and a checking from behind major to De Coste.

Despite the excitement in the final seconds Waterloo was unable to tie things up, and the Mustangs skated away with a 5-4 win, extending their winning streak to 14 games.

Clarke kept pace in the CIS scoring race, recording three assists to give him 31 points (14 goals, 17 assists) on the year, tied for the most all of Canadian university hockey. Reese’s two assists help him hold onto fifth place in the nation, and he now sits with 29 points (five goals, 24 assists) this season.

Western continues their road schedule tomorrow night in Oshawa, taking on the UOIT Ridgebacks for the second time in a week. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.