Bourque, Singer to lead Canada’s men’s hockey team

2011 Winter Universiade

Dec. 14, 2009
OTTAWA (CIS) – Canadian Interuniversity Sport announced Monday the appointment of Canada’s men’s hockey team personnel for the 25th Winter Universiade set for January 27 to February 6, 2011 in Erzurum, Turkey.

Brian Bourque of the Waterloo Warriors will serve as Team Canada’s general manager, while Western Ontario’s Clarke Singer has been named head coach. His assistants behind the bench are Concordia’s Kevin Figsby and Guelph’s Shawn Camp.

It will be a second tour of duty at the University Games for both Singer and Figsby, who served similar roles in 2005 at Innsbruck, Austria, where Canada finished fifth.

The Canadian squad for the Games will be comprised entirely of players from the Ontario University Athletics conference.

Since 1997, Canada has been represented at the Universiade men’s hockey tournament by selections from each of three CIS leagues on a rotating basis. Canada West players claimed bronze medals in 1997 (South Korea) and 2003 (Italy) and silver in 2009 in Harbin, China, where they dropped a 4-2 decision to Russia in the gold-medal final; OUA skaters won bronze in 1999 (Slovakia) before their fifth-place finish in 2005; Atlantic University Sport all-stars returned home with silver in 2001 (Poland) before winning the competition in 2007 in Turin, Italy.

Canada also won gold in 1991 in Sapporo, Japan, while represented by the senior national team, and in 1981 in Jaca, Spain, when the University of Alberta Golden Bears wore the Maple Leaf uniform.

“It is an honour and privilege to represent Canada, the University of Waterloo, OUA and CIS on the international hockey stage,” said Bourque. “I am excited to work with the coaching staff that we have assembled. I look forward to the competition and showcasing the talent of our student-athletes.”

“It will be a great honour to represent the CIS and OUA in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win a world championship,” said Singer. “Our coaching staff is looking forward to putting together a team the country will be very proud of.”

Bourque, who joined the Warriors as an assistant coach in 2003 and was voted OUA coach of the year in 2005-06, is in his fifth season as bench boss at Waterloo, where he has registered an impressive 83-32-9 overall record since taking over the team. A native of Cole Harbour, N.S., he previously coached with the Dartmouth Midget AAA (NSMHL) program, York University and the Newmarket Hurricanes (OPJHL) prior to joining the Warriors.

Singer is in his 11th season at the helm of the Mustangs. The native of Stratford, Ont., led Western to the University Cup national title in 2002, when he also earned CIS men’s hockey coach-of-the-year honours. Named as the OUA’s top coach four times, he has guided his troops to a pair of Queen’s Cup league banners (2005, 2009) and a return trip to the CIS gold-medal final last winter in Thunder Bay, where the Mustangs settled for silver. In addition to the 2005 Universiade, Singer’s international coaching experience includes three seasons in the Norwegian Elite Series with Trondheim and Fredrikstad from 1994 to 1997.

A resident of Baie d’Urfé, Que., Figsby is also in his 11th campaign as a CIS head coach, all at Concordia. Prior to joining the Stingers, he was head coach of the Quebec entry that captured bronze at the world under-17 championship in 1995. He also coached the OUA all-stars in games against the Canadian national junior team in 2000 (assistant) and 2001 (head coach). Figsby is one of less than 30 Canadian coaches to have completed a Canadian Hockey Association Level 4 certification.

Camp, from Ottawa, took over as head coach of the Gryphons in 2007. He made the move to university hockey following numerous seasons coaching and managing at the major junior level, including stints with Saginaw, Sarnia and Guelph, which he led to the OHL championship and a Memorial Cup appearance as head coach in 2003-04. He won a Memorial Cup ring as an assistant coach with Hull in 1997. Camp also coached Canada to a silver medal at the world under-18 championship in 2005 and a pair of Junior World Cup titles in 2004 and 2005.

Canada’s men’s hockey roster for the Erzurum Games will be announced in the fall of 2010.

For more information on the 2011 Winter Universiade, visit: http://www.universiadeerzurum.org/en

TEAM CANADA MEN’S HOCKEY STAFF 2011 UNIVERSIADE
General manager: Brian Bourque, Waterloo
Head coach: Clarke Singer, Western
Assistant coach:Kevin Figsby, Concordia
Assistant coach: Shawn Camp, Guelph

About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-two universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca.

Warriors enter Christmas break on a high note with a win over Windsor

Windsor 0 At Waterloo 4

Friday December 5th saw the Warriors suit up to play divisional rival Windsor in a rare afternoon game for their final match of 2009. Present at the game were many of the Warriors family members as the team was hosting its annual parents weekend.

The Warriors did not disappoint their family members, despite a sluggish first period. John Zelenbaba made his third start of the season in the Warrior net and made several key stops to keep the game scoreless. The Warriors responded with a livelier effort in the second and were rewarded as Kurt Thorner notched his fourth goal of the season, and eventual game winner after he beat Windsor’s Jim Watt. Assisting on the play were Shane Hart and Mark Hartman. The Warriors earned a little breathing room late in the period when Mark Hartman scored, assisted by Jarrett Schnurr and Chris Ray.

Despite the 2 goal lead going into the third, the Warriors would be without Kurt Thorner as he was injured late in the period and forced to leave the game. In the third the Warriors added to their lead as Shane Hart scored eight minutes in assisted by Cory Fraser and Steve Whitely. The Lancer s would not go quietly though as they blasted 18 shots that the Waterloo net, however Zelenbaba continued to frustrate the Windsor shooters. Kyle Schwende put the game on ice late in the period as he drifted a wrister into the empty Windsor net, assisted again by Fraser and Whitely to secure the 4-0 victory – earning John Zelenbaba his first OUA shut-out.

Warriors slay Lions, trampled by Mustangs in OUA week eight

Vs. York, W 6 – 4

Thursday November 26th saw the Warriors take to the road looking to avenge their 3-1 loss to the York Lions earlier this month. Despite several regulars for the Black and Gold relegated to the sidelines by injuries, many of the freshmen recruits stepped up in a big way.

It was the Lions who struck first on this night as Rob Labute scored on a goalmouth scramble where Warrior goalie, Keaton Hartigan, had little chance on the rebound. It did not take long before the Warriors responded on the powerplay; as Steve Whitely ripped a high and hard heater past David Davenport from the point. Assisting on Whitely’s goal were Chris Ray and Mark Hartman.

With the score tied at 1 a piece, the Warriors found themselves in a see-saw battle against a York team that was hungry for a win. Early in the second it was York scoring again to pull ahead by a goal before Kurt Thorner bulled his way to the net and shovelled the puck past Davenport to tie the game at 2. Halfway through the Period Shane Hart gave the Warriors their first lead of the evening as he converted a play set-up by Kirt Hill. The Warriors added another powerplay marker late in the period to take a commanding 4-2 lead courtesy of Aaron Lewicki and assisted by Steve Whitely and Jarrett Schnurr.

With the Warriors up by 2 at the start of the third period, it was all York as the Lions clawed their way back into the game on goals by Jesse Grespan and Cassidy Preston to knot the game at 4. However, the Warriors Kyle Schwende made no mistake when he stole the puck in the neutral zone and punctuated his breakaway opportunity with perfect puck placement, high over Davenport’s shoulder for the eventual game-winner, his second in as many games. The Warriors added an insurance goal late in the period as Mark Hartman finished a nice passing play made possible by Schwende and Chris Ray. With the win the Warriors improved their record to 10-4-1 and remained tied with Laurier for 3rd in the OUA West.


Vs Western, L 5-3

Saturday November 28th the Warriors held their annual Alumni Day, which saw several former Warriors return to the Icefield to participate in a friendly Black and Gold game before taking in the main event, a showdown with the Western Mustangs, with first place in the West hanging in the balance.

The Warriors came out of the gate determined and carried the play for most of the first period, however it was Western who capitalized on two Warrior gaffes in their own end to take a 2-0 lead into the locker room after the first.

In the second, the Warriors played with a little more desperation, which lead to Chris Ray’s beautiful breakaway goal while a man down on a feed from Shane Hart to draw the Warriors within one. Less than a minute later the Mustangs replied with a goal of their own as Yashar Farmanara beat Hartigan on the powerplay for a 3-1 lead after the second.

The third saw the Warriors continue to battle back as Kurt Thorner continued his consistent play at both ends of the ice and beat Keyvan Hunt just 5 seconds into the period to again draw the Warriors within one. Assisting on Thorner’s goal was freshman Kirt Hill. This was as close as the Warriors would get on this night as Western added two more third period goals, while Chris Ray replied late for the Warriors assisted by Kyle Sonnenburg and Steve Whitely.

The final score in the contest was 5-3 in favour of Western, despite the Warriors outshooting the Mustangs. Coach Bourque and his staff will be looking for more consistency on the back-end as they go into the final week of the first half. Up next for the Warriors are the Windsor Lancers on Saturday December 5th in a rare 2:00 PM matinee at the Columbia Icefield.

Warriors dominant in two road wins against OUA East opponents

Vs. Nipissing, W 1-0

November 20th and 21st saw the Warriors on the road for two games against OUA East opponents Nipissing and Ottawa, looking to keep pace with divisional leader in the West.

Friday night’s contest in North Bay against the expansion Nipissing Lakers was a great experience for the Warriors as it was a charged atmosphere with well over 2000 spectators in attendance at the Memorial Gardens.

From the first drop of the puck the Warriors controlled the tempo of the game and made quite an impression on many of the Laker faithful. To their credit, the Lakers did not play like a first year program. Their line-up boasts more than a handful of OHL grads and they have a staff of knowledgeable coaches, all of whom have experience at the professional level.

Despite the Warriors carrying the play, the Lakers kept the game deadlocked at 0 for most of the contest thanks to stellar goaltending by Kyle Cantlon, who frustrated the Warriors on several glorious opportunities.

At the other end of the ice, the Warriors Keaton Hartigan refused to be “outgoalied” making several timely saves, including numerous breakaway stops to keep the Warriors alive.

The lone goal in the game came early in the third period as Cory Fraser sent in a harmless looking dump on the Laker net, this was followed up by an excellent net drive by Jarrett Schnurr who got inside of his defender and bunted the bouncing puck past Cantlon.

The Warriors continued to press in the third and then played great team defense to preserve the victory. Of note was Warrior blueliner Greg Steffes, who blocked 5 shots in the game. For the second straight week Keaton Hartigan earned a shut-out in goal for the Warriors.

Following the game, many Warrior players and coaches were praised what the Nipissing program has accomplished over such a short period of time, especially with regards to the outstanding atmosphere and coverage that the OUA game receives in the North Bay community.

Follow this link for further coverage of the game:
http://www.nipissingu.ca/athletics/hockey/?item=news2

Vs. Ottawa, W 4-3

Saturday morning the Warriors boarded the bus and headed down highway 17 to face-off against the Ottawa Gee Gees. Ottawa was looking to avenge their loss earlier in the season at the hands of the Warriors. Waterloo was looking to keep pace in the West as Western, Laurier and Lakehead had all won their first game of the weekend against East opponents.

The first period saw the Warriors play with the same passion that had earned them a victory the night before, however they found themselves on the wrong end of the scoresheet after twenty minutes as the Gee Gees jumped out to a 2-0 lead despite being out-shot 14-10.

In the second, the Warriors evened the score on goals barely a minute apart. Scoring the Warriors first goal on the power play was Chris Ray, assisted by Mark Hartman and Kyle Sonnenburg. The second Warriors goal was a lesson in hard work. Cory Fraser jumped into the offensive zone hard on a Warrior dump-in while on the penalty kill. Fraser out-hustled the Ottawa defender and slid the puck into the slot, allowing Chris Ray to record his second goal of the night.

Ottawa clawed their way back on top, as Ryne Gove scored with eight minutes remaining to give the Gee Gees a 3-2 edge. Following some second intermission retooling, the Warriors responded admirably to the challenge at hand with Kyle Schwende scoring two goals on virtually identical rushes, beating Ottawa’s Riley Whitlock with hard wrist shots to the low blocker side. Assisting on both of Schwende’s goals were Mark Hartman and Chris Ray.

When the dust had settled, Ray lead Waterloo on the scoresheet with 4 points, Hartman had 3 and Schwende added 2 goals.

With the win Waterloo kept pace in the West and currently sits tied in third with Laurier at 19 points each. Western leads the West with 22 points and Lakehead sits in second with 20.

Up next for the Warriors is a return engagement with the York Lions on Thursday November 26th at 7:00 PM at the York University Ice Gardens, followed by Alumni Day Saturday November 28 when the Warriors host division leading Western Mustangs at 7:30 at the Columbia Icefield.

Warriors split with OUA East teams in week six action, slip to third in OUA West

Vs. Concordia, W 2-0

Friday nights victory against the Concordia Stingers marked two firsts for Warrior players. In a rare match-up against OUA East opponents, Aaron Lewicki made his debut in the Black and Gold, while Keaton Hartigan recorded his first career shutout in OUA/CIS competition.

Lewicki was clearly excited after having been confined to the stands for the first 3 months of the season while he waited to become eligible. For the past two seasons Lewicki played for Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, prior to those three seasons in the OHL. When coach Bourque recruited Lewicki, he had hoped that he would bring a spark to the team. Friday night that spark was there as Lewicki showcased his speed at centre, hit everything that moved and even chipped in with an assist.

Hartigan was stellar in net for the Warriors, as he stopped all 37 Concordia shots. Earlier this season, Hartigan was honoured as the Blackberry CIS Athlete of the Week for his outstanding efforts in week one of the season. Five weeks later, Hartigan has kept up his consistent play through every game he has started this season. A tireless worker on and off then ice, Hartigan didn’t have much time to savour the moment as he was already preparing for Saturday nights match-up against McGill.

The Warriors scored the their first goal mid-way through the first on the powerplay as Shane Hart beat Concordia’s Maxime Joyal, assisting ion the play were Steve Whitely and Aaron Lewicki. The second Warrior goal came early in the third period as Kyle Schwende drove the wing on a feed from Chris Ray and Mark Hartman and beat Joyal with a hard low wrister.

Vs. McGill, L 6-4

Saturday evening saw the Warriors play host to the visiting McGill Redmen. McGill was just coming off their first regulation loss of the season courtesy of the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks. If the Redmen had something to prove, they sure played like they did as the Warriors coaching staff surmised that McGill was the toughest opponent they had played to date this season.

McGill struck early, and often Saturday night as they drew first blood just three minutes in on a nifty passing play that caught the Warriors off guard. To punctuate the first McGill goal, Guillaume Doucet added a second just one minute later.

The Warriors replied less than one minute into the second period as Kyle Sonnenburg scored on a beautiful one-time shot with a man advantage, assisting on the goal were Shane Hart and Chris Ray. McGill replied by opening up a 4-1 lead by the end of the second with goals from Ben Gazdic and Ben Wright.

The third period was marred by several scrums after the whistle as the Warriors desperately tried to claw their way back into the game, however they were unable to take advantage on numerous power play opportunities. McGill scored again to increase their lead to 5-1, while the Warriors continued to press scoring two unanswered goals to close the gap to 5-3. Scoring his first goal as a Warrior was Kyle “Duke” MacDonald, assisted by Kyle Schwende, while Aaron Lewicki also recorded his first goal as a Warrior from Shane Hart and Aaron Dileo.

Yan Turcotte scored the sixth McGill goal at the seventeen minute mark before the pressing Warriors beat Hubert Morin for their final goal of the game by Chris Ray, set up by Shane Hart and Steve Whitely.

With the 6-4 loss the Warriors slipped to third place in the OUA West, tied with Laurier – one point out of second and three points out of first.

This weekend the Warriors are back on the road, heading east to face the Nipissing Lakers in their inaugural season in North Bay before heading south to Ottawa to play the Gee Gees on Saturday night.

Warriors drop two tight games in week 5 action, 2nd place in OUA West

Vs Western, L 3-2

Friday November 6th saw the #7 Warriors on the road visiting the Western Mustangs. The Warriors were looking to widen their lead in the OUA West Conference, however despite their best efforts the Mustangs hung on for a narrow victory.

The first period saw the Warriors jump out to an early 1-0 lead as Chris Ray converted a pretty passing play down low, fed by Kyle Sonnenburg. Sonnenburg, Waterloo’s All Canadian anchor on defense was playing in just his third game of the season after recovering from an early season injury. The Mustangs replied two minutes later to tie the game on the power play before opening up a 2-1 lead late in the period.

The second period saw plenty of fast paced action and hard hitting. The Warriors ended up shorthanded on the bench as Kyle Pellerin and Jarrett Schnurr both left the game with injuries. Waterloo was able to tie the game at two late in the period on a Kyle Schwende goal after he received a nice pass from Mike Veysey.

The third period saw the Warriors pressing and generating opportunity after opportunity without being able to beat Western’s Anthony Grieco. Eventually it was Western’s Keaton Turkiewicz who broke the deadlock in the game as he beat Waterloo’s Keaton Hartigan with a shot off the rush.

With the loss Waterloo falls to 6-2-1 on the season and out of first place into a tie for second with Lakehead.

Vs York, L 3-1

Looking to avenge their Friday night loss in London, Waterloo again was on the road in Toronto facing the York Lions. This game saw freshman forward Kyle MacDonald in his first OUA action as he returned from injury.

Against York, the Warriors must have felt like they were experiencing a case of déjà-vu, as for the second night in a row they faced a hot goaltender and had difficulty finding the back of the net.

York struck first in the opening frame as they took advantage of a power play opportunity to beat Warrior goalie John Zelenbaba. The Lions scored their second goal of the game on a goalmouth scramble mid-way through the second to build on their lead.

In the third period, the Warriors looked like they were finally putting things together as Chris Ray scored on a nifty pass from Shane Hart shorthanded. However with the Warriors pressing late, York’s Jesse Grespan intercepted the Warriors breakout pass and converted on the ensuing breakaway to seal the York victory.

With the loss the Warriors fall to 6-3-1 on the season and tied for Second place in the OUA West.

#10 Warriors sweep #4 Lakehead Thunderwolves in Week 4 of OUA action – Waterloo now in sole possession of 1st place in the West

Vs Lakehead, W 3-2

On Friday evening the Warriors were back in action on home ice as they looked to rebound from their first regulation loss of the season. Visiting the Icefield for a two game set were the #4 ranked Lakehead Thunderwolves.

The first period saw the Warriors playing uninspired hockey as they allowed themselves to be pushed around by the clearly more aggressive Thunderwolves. By the time the third period rolled around the Warriors found themselves down by two goals courtesy of Brock MacPherson and Dan Speer.

Despite their lacklustre performance over 40 minutes, the Warriors appeared more determined and desperate in the third. Just over a minute into the period, Mark Hartman got the Warriors on the board after he managed to get the puck past Lakehead goalie Kyle Moir in a goalmouth scramble, Kirt Hill assisted on the play. Five minutes later Kyle Pellerin, who just returned to the lineup after recovering from injury, tied the game with help from Cory Fraser. For the next six minutes it looked as though the game would go to overtime, as neither team was willing to give the other any opportunity to score.

However, as the Warriors took a penalty in the back half of the period it looked as if Lakehead would be given a chance to score the go-ahead-goal. In dramatic fashion, while on the penalty kill, Waterloo’s Kirt Hill stripped the Lakehead defenseman of the puck in the neutral zone, and rushed in all alone on Lakehead’s Moir. Hill calmly moved first to his right then sharply to his left before sliding the puck past the surprised goalie.

This was all the Warriors would need to beat the ‘Wolves despite several tense moments late in the third as Lakehead pulled Moir in favour of the extra attacker.



Vs Lakehead, W 3-1

Halloween night saw the Warriors treated to their second victory of the weekend as the Warriors controlled the game from start to finish. In the first period, both teams were evenly matched until Chris Ray converted a beautiful cross ice passing play via Jarrett Schnurr and Kyle Pellerin on the powerplay. Lakehead had several chances to draw even but were frustrated time and time again by Warrior goalkeeper Keaton Hartigan.

The second period saw no scoring on either side of the puck, although the intensity increased as both sides exchanged several big hits, which saw the Warriors initiating the physical play, finishing every check all over the ice.

The Warriors again got on the board early in the third thanks to a deceptive shot by Thomas Cardiff off the rush assisted by Aaron Dileo. Not long afterwards Cory Fraser extended the Warrior lead to 3 as he blasted a shot from the top of the circles past Moir, assisted by Kyle Schwende and Kyle Pellerin.

The Warriors survived a scare late in the game as Dan Speer finally was able to beat Keaton Hartigan. The Thunderwolves did not let up as they missed several glorious chances on an ensuing powerplay and then finally with Moir out of the net in favour of a sixth attacker.

The story of the game for the Warriors was the brilliant play of second year netminder Keaton Hartigan who made 39 saves. Also factoring into the Warriors victories was freshman Mike Veysey who battered the Thunderwolves with 24 hits in both games. With the sweep of Lakehead, the Warriors move into sole possession of first place in the OUA West.

Up next for the Warriors are two road games; Friday November 6th the Waterloo travels down the 401 to do battle against Western, before heading to Toronto to play York on Saturday evening.

Warriors split with Guelph and UOIT in week 3

Vs Guelph, W 4-2
Friday October 23nd saw the Guelph Gryphons make the short trip down the highway looking to pick up their first win of the season after dropping a narrow decision to Laurier the night before in a shoot-out. Friday’s games marked the debut of John Zelenbaba in net for the Warriors as he faced his former junior coach, Shawn Camp, who is now the bench boss of the Gryphons.

With a large crowd on hand for “Hockey School Appreciation Night”, the fans were treated to a very physical game from both teams. The Warriors matched Guelph very well in the physical aspect of the game; the Gryphons have a reputation as one of the hardest hitting teams in the league – and several huge hits were exchanged on both sides of the puck throughout the game.

It was the Gryphons who struck first on this night as JT MacDonald beat Zelenbaba just three and a half minutes in. Despite several good chances to score, the Warriors could not solve Guelph’s Scott VanBommel until late in the period. The equalizer for the Warriors came courtesy of a highlight reel rush by Steve Whitely, as he went end to end through all three Guelph defenders as Waterloo capitalized on a two man advantage with the assist going to Zelenbaba.

In the second period, the Warriors scored their second goal as Shane Hart tucked the puck right under the crossbar on VanBommel, assisting on the play were Mark Hartman and Chris Ray. The eventual game winning goal was scored by Kyle Schwende as he jumped off the bench to join the forecheck wiring a shot just inside the left post. Assisting on Schwende’s effort was Kurt Thorner.

Guelph gave Waterloo a brief scare in the third as they continued to throw everything at the net, Cale Jeffries drew the Gryphons within one goal midway through the frame. Some solid defensive play by the Warriors late in the game helped preserve the win as Guelph had a couple of good chances to force overtime with the goalie out for the extra attacker. Mark Hartman sealed the Gryphons fate on this night with an empty net goal, assisted by Chris ray and Kurt Thorner.

With the win, the warriors moved to 4-0-0-1 on the season for a share of first place in the OUA West.

Vs UOIT, L 4-2
Saturday October 24th the Warriors were on the road in Oshawa to play the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks, and it proved to be a dogfight, start to finish. The Ridgebacks were looking for their first regulation win against the #10 ranked Warriors and they came out hard.

After a scoreless first period it was the Ridgebacks who jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second while Waterloo gave their best effort firing 17 shots at Jason Guy before Mark Hartman found the back of the net on a brilliant power play goal from Steve Whitely and Jarrett Schnurr.

The third period saw Waterloo again frustrated by the solid play in the UOIT net by Guy as they failed to capitalize on the power play and a couple of break-aways. With five minutes to go in the period UOIT added a fourth goal, however the Warriors did not give up, and Steve Whitely drew the Warriors within two on a pass from Cory Fraser. It was too little too late, as the Ridgebacks collected their first regulation win of the season.

The Warriors now have a record of 4-1-1 with 9 points in OUA play.

On deck for the Warriors are back to back games against conference rival and perennial OUA contender Lakehead University Thunderwolves. Both games will take place at the Columbia Icefield at 7:30 Friday October 30th and Saturday October 31st.

Warriors move to 3-0-1 after two thrilling overtime games

Vs Laurier, 5-4 W
The Waterloo Warriors kicked off week two of the OUA season with what turned out to be a thrilling match against cross-town rival Wilfrid Laurier. In attendance for the “Battle of Waterloo” was former Warrior Captain, CIS Player of the year and All-Canadian John Wynne as well as Warrior Alumnus Mike Payne.

Waterloo entered the game tied for top spot in the West, boasting a 2-0 record, got off to a slow start as the Warriors could not solve Golden Hawks rookie netminder Ryan Daniels in the first two periods.

The good news for the Warriors was that headed into the final period they were only down one goal thanks to Laurier Captain J.M. Rizk. In the third period the Warriors came to life playing inspired hockey. Three minutes in, Kurt Thorner scored the Warriors first goal of the game with help from Jarrett Schnurr and Thomas Cardiff. The turning point in the game for the Warriors came just three minutes later when Thorner was sprung for a breakaway and hauled down by a Laurier defender. As a result, Thorner was awarded a penalty shot, however, due to an injury sustained on the play, Waterloo defenseman Steve Whitely was given the honours. The result was the Warriors second goal of the game as Whitely faked out Daniels with a nifty, change-up deke.

At the eight minute mark, Laurier drew even with Waterloo on Rizk’s second goal of the evening before Waterloo countered two minutes later on a Cory Fraser tally (Schnurr). With five minutes to go in the game Laurier drew even on a Paul Bradley goal and then regained a 4-3 lead on Jason Bergeron’s goal with just under two minutes to play.

Once again Waterloo rallied and Shane Hart gave the Warrior faithful something to cheer about with just over one minute to play as he tied the game at 4 with the help of Chris Ray. Two minutes into the extra frame, Steve Whitely made sure that the Waterloo fans would go home happy as he ended the “Battle of Waterloo” as he beat Daniels for the second time in the game with the assists going to Chris Ray and Shane Hart.

Keaton Hartigan was solid in net for the Warriors posting his third win of the season.

Boxscore:
Laurier 4 at Waterloo 5 (OT) - Status: Final OT
Oct 15, 2009 - Columbia Ice Field
Laurier 1 0 3 0 - 4
Waterloo 0 0 4 1 – 5

1st Period-1, Laurier, Rizk 2 18:58 (sh).
Penalties-Good Wlu (bench minor), 1:48; Wong Wat (tripping), 5:47; Hartman Wat (hooking), 15:42; Borrows Wlu (slashing), 17:34.

2nd Period- No Scoring.
Penalties-Ray Wat (hooking), 9:04; Schnurr Wat (high sticking), 11:38.

3rd Period-2, Waterloo, Thorner 1 (Schnurr, Cardiff), 3:09. 3, Waterloo, Whitely 1 6:10 (ps). 4, Laurier, Rizk 3 (Voakes, Magistrale), 8:13 (pp). 5, Waterloo, Fraser 2 (Schnurr), 10:45 (pp). 6, Laurier, Bradley 1 (Pettapiece, Bernardi), 15:43. 7, Laurier, Bergeron 1 (Rizk), 18:09. 8, Waterloo, Hart 2 (Ray), 18:48.
Penalties-Bonneville Wlu (hooking), 6:10; Wong Wat (interference), 7:03; Van De Bospoort Wlu (high sticking), 8:51; Bergeron Wlu (charging), 12:07.

OT Period-9, Waterloo, Whitely 2 (Hart, Ray), 2:14.

Shots on Goal-Laurier 7-12-12-0-31. Waterloo 4-8-15-1-28.
Power Play Opportunities-Laurier 1 of 5; Waterloo 1 of 4.
Goalies-Laurier, Daniels 1-0-1-0 (28 shots-23 saves). Waterloo, Hartigan 3-0-0-1 (31 shots-27 saves).

Vs Brock, 4-3 SOL
Less than 24 hours later, the Warriors took their undefeated record on the road to face-off against the Brock Badgers, who were also sporting a perfect 3-0 record. With several Warriors sidelined with the flu and injuries, the team dug deep, and matched the talented Badgers in all areas of the game.

It was, however, Brock who drew first blood on a goal by Derek Brochu who beat Waterloo’s Keaton Hartigan. The Warriors rallied to tie the game as a result of a well timed rush through the neutral zone, which freed up enough ice allowing Thomas Cardiff to grab his own rebound, assisting on the play were Mark Hartman and Jarrett Schnurr.

The second period saw Waterloo briefly gain the lead as Shane Hart punctuated some great puck movement with a power play goal, assisted by Aaron Dileo and Chris Ray. Five minutes later the Badgers replied to tie the game at 2 headed into the third period.

Early in the third, Shane Hart added his second goal of the game assisted by Mark Hartman for Waterloo to regain the lead. Late in the period it looked as if Waterloo would hang on for the win by the skin of their teeth. However, late pressure from the Badgers resulted in the tying goal with less than two minutes to go, despite goalie Keaton Hartigan’s best efforts.

Overtime saw both teams go back and forth exchanging several scoring chances, including Hart’s failed bid to complete the hat trick on a breakaway.

In the shootout, only one shooter was successful for the Badgers, which was all they would need to remain undefeated and in sole possession of first place in the OUA West. Waterloo earned a single point and sits tied for second in the OUA West with Lakehead and Laurier.

Boxscore
Waterloo 3 At Brock 4 (SO) - Status: Final SO
Oct 16, 2009 - Seymour-Hannah Centre
Waterloo 1 1 1 0 - 3
Brock 1 1 1 0 - 4

1st Period -1, Brock, Brochu 3 (Schram, Scott), 3:11. 2, Waterloo, Cardiff 1 (Hartman, Schnurr), 15:29.
Penalties-Veysey Wat (high sticking), 4:45; Dileo Wat (elbowing), 5:45.

2nd Period -3, Waterloo, Hart 3 (Dileo, Ray), 10:17 (pp). 4, Brock, Tolles 3 (Allen), 15:12.
Penalties-McNeil Bro (holding), 4:41; Wong Wat (hooking), 5:51; Bradley Bro (interference), 5:55; Miller Bro (roughing), 10:05; Veysey Wat (interference), 12:03; Miller Bro (holding), 12:23; Carwardine Wat (holding), 16:49.

3rd Period -5, Waterloo, Hart 4 (Hartman), 6:18. 6, Brock, Pattison 2 (Allen, Friesen), 18:35.
Penalties-Turcotte Wat (delay of game), 9:05; Brochu Bro (holding opp. stick), 9:33.

OT Period - No Scoring.
Penalties-Schram Bro (slashing), 4:01.

Shootout - Waterloo 0 (Hart NG, Ray NG, Whitely NG), Brock 1 (Allen G, Scott NG).

Shots on Goal-Waterloo 11-9-2-1-0-23. Brock 8-7-7-2-1-25. Power Play Opportunities-Waterloo 1 of 6; Brock 0 of 6.
Goalies-Waterloo, Hartigan 3-0-0-1 (24 shots-21 saves). Brock, Yetman 4-0-0-0 (23 shots-20 saves).

Hartigan honoured as CIS Blackberry Athlete of the Week

Queen’s Conroy, Waterloo’s Hartigan honoured
OTTAWA (CIS) – Hockey players Becky Conroy of Queen’s and Keaton Hartigan of Waterloo are the BlackBerry Canadian Interuniversity Sport female and male athletes of the week for the period ending Oct. 11, 2009.

Conroy, a fourth-year accounting major from Pembroke, Ont., tallied three goals and five points over two games on Thanksgiving weekend as the No. 9-Gaels (2-0) opened the regular season with a pair of wins over nationally-ranked opponents. On Saturday, the 5-foot-2 forward scored twice, including the game-winner, in a 4-0 shutout of York, No. 8 in the CIS Top 10 going into the contest. On Sunday, Conroy scored the game-tying goal and set up the winner to cap off a three-point night in a 6-5 victory over Toronto, ranked ninth in the nation before the weekend.

St. Francis Xavier rugby player Ghislaine Landry, Laval rugby player Claudiane Renaud and Saskatchewan hockey player Breanne George were also nominated for the women’s award.

Hartigan, a second-year sociology student from Kitchener, Ont., stopped 78 of 83 shots fired at him to lead the Warriors to a 2-0 start in conference play. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound goaltender opened the schedule with a brilliant 46-save performance as Waterloo beat reigning OUA champion and CIS finalist Western 4-1, last Friday. He followed up on Saturday with a 32-save effort, including 11 in the third period, in a 5-4 road victory over Windsor.

UNB basketball player Alex DesRoches, McGill hockey player Simon Marcotte-Légaré and Alberta hockey player Reade Wolansky were the other male nominees.

Warriors impress with two victories in OUA opening weekend

Vs Western, 4-1 W; Vs Windsor, 5-4 W
The Waterloo Warriors began their quest for the Queen’s Cup this past Friday as they hosted the defending OUA champion Western Mustangs in their home opener. Despite it being Thanksgiving weekend, over 200 Warrior faithful showed up to catch their first glimpse of the 09-10 edition of the Warriors.

Like two heavyweight fighters trying to feel each other out in the first round of a boxing match, both Waterloo and Western tested each other exchanging several unsuccessful scoring chances as the period drew to a scoreless close.

The second period was not much different as the pace of the game quickened. Waterloo opened the scoring just over a minute into the second as Warrior freshman Kirt Hill (Hartman) notched his first career goal for the Warriors. Waterloo would not have long to enjoy their lead as less than 20 seconds later, Mustang defenseman Geoff Killing (McDonough), beat Warrior goalie Keaton Hartigan with a well placed shot off the rush. Jarret Schnurr (Sonnenburg) continued his torrid scoring pace from the pre-season when he broke the 1-1 tie and scored the eventual game winner. Kyle Sonnenburg hit the streaking Schnurr with a nifty pass through the neutral zone springing him for a partial breakaway before wrestling off a Mustang defender and beating goalie Keyvan Hunt.

In the third period, it was Schnurr again who bought the Warriors some insurance with his second goal of the game assisted by Hill and deJong, less than three minutes into the period. Despite several golden opportunities, the Mustangs could not solve Warrior goalie Keaton Hartigan, who was outstanding start to finish, turning away 46 shots. The Warriors put the game in the bag when Kyle Pellerin (Fraser) scored late in the period on the powerplay.

Following a successful home-opener, the Warriors hoped to build upon their Friday night victory as they visited Windsor Arena to do battle with the Lancers. Windsor came out of the gates hard as they were looking to avoid going 0-2 in their opening weekend after dropping a narrow 2-1 decision to Brock the night before.

It was Windsor who drew first blood on this night as Mark Thorburn (Lang, Vandehogen) scored his first of 2 goals halfway through the first on the powerplay. However, Waterloo’s Captain, Chris Ray would even the match at 1 with 10 seconds to go in the first on a shorthanded effort, assisted by Hart and Whitely.

Into the second period Waterloo picked up right where they had left off in the second and made the most of their opportunities, scoring three big second period goals in what would have appeared to be a replay from their Friday night victory against Western. Waterloo goal scorers in the second period were: Cory Fraser (Schnurr, Pellerin); Chris Ray (2nd) (Thorner, Wong) and Mark Hartman. However, it was Windsor’s powerplay that continued to click as Ryan Federman (Lang, Thorburn) beat Hartigan late in the second to draw Windsor within 2 goals headed into the third period.

The third period saw Waterloo increase its lead to 3, when Shane Hart (Turcotte) scored the Warriors final goal before the momentum shifted to the Lancers. Windsor replied with their third powerplay goal of the game less than four minutes into the frame – McCready (Ferry). Ten seconds later the Lancers shocked the Warriors when they drew within 1 on Scott Thorburn’s second goal. The Warriors hung on, for their second victory of the 09-10 season with a 5-4 victory.

Looking forward – The Warriors are next in action this Thursday, October 15, 7:30 at the Columbia Icefield Arena in the ‘Battle of Waterloo’ when they host cross-town rival Lauier. The following night the Warriors are on the road in Brock (October 16, 7:35).

Warriors Wrap-up 2009 Pre-season 2-2

Vs Colgate, 6-3 L
The Warriors wrapped up their 4 game pre-season road swing in Hamilton, New York when they laced up against the Colgate Raiders who play in the NCAA (ECAC D I). This contest marked the debut of first year defenseman Luke Turcotte, who recently returned from the defending Memorial Cup Champion Windsor Spitfires.

Waterloo wasted little time jumping on the scoreboard early when Matt de Jong (Schnurr, Hart) beat Colgate’s Bryan Bessette. The Raiders responded midway through the period on a powerplay marker before taking a 2-1 lead heading into the second period.

In the second period the Raiders got back at it early scoring less than one minute into the frame, before Waterloo’s Kurt Thorner (Hart, Ray) drew the Warriors within one. That was as close as Waterloo would get as the Raiders added two more goals before the end of the second.

The third period saw Warrior freshman Kirt Hill get Waterloo back on the board, however Colgate responded with their sixth and final goal late in the game. The difference in the game for the Warriors was special teams; where Colgate took advantage scoring on three of their eight powerplay opportunities.

The Warriors will be hard at work preparing for what should be an exciting game this Friday when they host CIS finalist University of Western Ontario Mustangs in their home opener at 7:30pm at the Columbia Icefield Arena.

Warriors Begin Pre-season 2-1-0

Vs Team USA, 8-0 L
The Waterloo Warriors kicked off the 2009-10 season in Ann Arbor, Michigan on September 18th. This game marked a first in CIS history as the Warriors became the first Canadian university team to play against the US Under 18 National Team.

The game was a fast paced affair, in which 8 players made their debut with the Warriors, and the unfamiliarity of playing with new line mates certainly showed as the Warriors fell 8-0 to the defending World Champions.

The day after their eye-opening defeat, the Warriors enjoyed a day of team building when they took in the University of Michigan/East Michigan football game.

Vs Concordia, 6-3 W
Following a week of intense practicing, the Warriors travelled east to play against OUA East opponents Concordia and Ottawa.

On September 25th, the Warriors set out to avenge their loss from the previous week against the Concordia Stingers. The Warriors were held off the scoreboard early as Concordia was able to beat 2nd year goaltender Keaton Hartigan halfway through the first frame. However the Warriors tied the game in the second on a Mike Veysey (MacDonald, Schnurr) goal halfway through the period before Jarrett Schnurr gave the Warriors the lead on a powerplay marker assisted by Steve Whitely and Thomas Cardiff.

The third period brought more excitement as the Stingers rallied with two goals early, before Waterloo responded with four unanswered goals of their own. Waterloo goal scorers in the third were: Matt de Jong (Carwardine); Kyle Schwende (Pellerin, Fraser); Kyle MacDonald (Fraser); and Kyle Pellerin (Fraser, Schwende).

This game also marked the debut of John Zelenbaba, who split the goaltending duties with Hartigan – both were solid in the win.

Vs Ottawa, 6-4 W
After a night in Montreal, the Warriors travelled back down the highway to play the Ottawa GeeGees in a preview of a match-up which will take place in late November.

Prior to the game the team took part in a guided tour of Parliament Hill.

The game against Ottawa was a raucous, back and forth affair; heavy hitting, rough but also on display was the Warriors team discipline – over 100 penalty minutes were assessed throughout a game which lasted nearly 3 hours.

Waterloo jumped out to an early lead in front of rookie goaltender John Zelenbaba on goals by Shane Hart (Thorner, Ray), Kurt Thorner (Hart, Schnurr), Steve Whitely, (Hill, Hartman) and Jarrett Schnurr (de Jong, Wong). However Ottawa roared back scoring two goals just a minute apart before tying the game at four headed into the third period. Despite Ottawa’s best attempts to throw the Warriors off their game, they remained composed and pushed back with some physical play of their own, of note the Tim Horton like hit by Collin Carwardine on an Ottawa player which forced a lengthy stoppage after a scrum ensued.

Waterloo came out for the third, and has become habit in recent years, played their best period of the game scoring two unanswered goals from Cory Fraser (Pellerin, Hart) and Chris Ray (Hartman, Hart) to secure the victory. Zelenbaba and Hartigan combined for the win in goal for the Warriors.

The Warriors will be rounding out the exhibition season this weekend with another road trip to up-state New York to play NCAA DI Colgate Red Raiders this Saturday evening.