WATERLOO, Ont. – A last-minute goal from Andrew Smith ruined a comeback bid for the Mustangs on Friday night, as the purple and white fell to the Waterloo Warriors 6-5 at Columbia Ice Field.
 
Western bounced back from a three-goal deficit with three straight markers, capped off by a goal from Spenser Cobbold with 3:22 on the clock in the third. But Smith cancelled any overtime plans with a power play goal 2:54 later, deflecting the puck past Greg Dodds to give Waterloo a big two points.
 
The Warriors move to .500 on the season at 8-8-0 while the Mustangs fall to 10-7-0 and are currently on a three-game losing streak heading into a much-needed winter break. After opening the season with a 6-1 record, Western has gone 4-6 through their last ten and are tied for second in the West.
 
The Mustangs have been one of the best penalty killing teams in the OUA all season but haven't had much luck through their last three games. Friday night saw Western's units give up their highest total in a game so far this year, as they allowed four on eight opportunities.
 
Waterloo's Mike Moffat played a big part in that damage, putting up four power play points on the night. He recorded a natural hat trick between the first and second periods before adding an assist on Smith's winner in the third. Defenceman Joe Underwood also had a four-point night, registering three power play assists to go with a helper on Brett Mackie's shorthanded marker in the second.
 
In total, seven goals came with a team on the man advantage, although two of those were for the team killing the penalty. Western and Waterloo each finished with one short-handed marker, as Mackie and Matt Marantz both notched one in a four-goal second period.
 
Peter Delmas started the night in net for the Mustangs but Dodds would take his place mid-way through the second period and was shackled with the loss. The two goalies combined for 30 saves, with Delmas making 12 of those and Dodds 18. Western actually outshot the Warriors, coming out hot with 15 shots in the first and finishing with 39.
 
Western's high shot total in the first yielded them two quick goals, as last week's Male Athlete of the Week Connor Chartier got the scoring started two minutes in before fellow rookie Ray Huether added one of his own 1:21 later. But the Warriors would respond by rattling off five straight, including three in the first period and two before the 13-minute mark in the third.
 
Mike Morrison finished with 34 saves to pick up the win for Waterloo. The result helped make up for Western's fluky fifth goal, which found the net thanks to an odd bounce in front. The veteran backstop now has five wins on the year and an even .900 save percentage through 10 appearances.
 
NOTES: Western doubled their shorthanded output on Friday, as they only had one goal heading into the night… The purple and white's penalty kill percentage no longer leads the OUA, ranking fifth at 83.3%... Noah Schwartz assisted on Chartier's opener and now has points in his first two games to start the year.