WATERLOO, Ont. —Justin Larson scored on the power play just over three minutes into the final frame to give Waterloo the first and only lead they would need on Saturday night, as the Warriors erased three deficits on their way to a 4-3 win over the Western Mustangs at CIF Arena.
 
The loss was Western's first of the season and marked their first regular season defeat at the hands of Waterloo since October 2009. With the big win, the Warriors extend their winning streak to two games and become the third team in the OUA to reach four wins on the season.
 
If special teams were the story last night, when the Mustangs went three-for-five on the power play to beat Ryerson 4-3, the same could be said for Saturday's game. Not only did Western allow their first two power play goals of the season, they also failed to cash in on a big five-on-three in the third period despite some nice passing and a number of good chances.
 
That five-on-three came with less than ten minutes left in the final frame as a result of a two-pentalty play by the Warriors. Brett Mackie followed up a Colin Behenna slash with one of his own to give the potent Mustangs power play a full two minutes on the man advantage, but Waterloo goaltender Mike Morrison stood strong to keep his team ahead by one.
 
Western's inability to hold Waterloo off the board with the man advantage would also prove costly, as Waterloo scored on both of their power play opportunities to make the Mustangs pay for their infractions. Larson's third-period goal— his third tally of the season and team-leading eighth point— came on the power play and would end up being the final dagger in a game that saw Western hold the lead for the majority of play.
 
The line of Luke Karaim, Julian Cimadamore, and Noah Schwartz was all over the scoresheet for the fourth game in a row, as Schwartz opened the scoring with a tip-in just over four minutes into the game before Cimadamore finished on the power play ten minutes later to give Western the lead back heading into the first intermission. That line has now manufactured offence in all four games for the Mustangs, putting up 13 points since the start of the year.
 
After Waterloo tied the game to start the third period, Stefan Salituro looked to deal a devastating blow to the Warriors' growing momentum when he beat Morrison with less than a minute left in the second period. But Chris Chappell and Larson would open the final frame with goals less than two minutes apart to erase the Mustangs lead and give Waterloo the win.
 
Despite giving up four goals— his highest total of the season— Greg Dodds was strong in the loss, making a number of brilliant saves to help keep his team in the game. He turned aside 26 shots on the night and heads into week three with a solid save percentage of .931.
 
Week three will kick off with a road game against UOIT on October 24 before the Mustangs head to Kingston to take on Queen's the next day.
 
Notes
 
Cimadamore and Schwartz are both on four-game point streaks to start the season, and so is captain Steve Reese with three goals and two assists… Salituro is now on a three game streak, grabbing two goals and two assists over his last two games… Although Waterloo's last regular season win over the Mustangs came in 2009, they have beat Western in the playoffs since then, as the Warriors were responsible for upsetting Western in the 2012-13 playoffs.