Waterloo Siskins goaltender Tanner Wickware makes a glove save during a game versus the Listowel Cyclones earlier this season (Photo by FSFotos)

Wickware backstops Waterloo to seven straight wins 

The Waterloo Siskins began this Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League Season in rebuild mode after winning the Sutherland Cup with a veteran group last spring. Losing its starting goaltender and much of its offensive firepower in the off-season, Waterloo looked for ways to stay competitive in a top-heavy Midwestern Conference. 

After beginning the season with seven straight losses, the Siskins have once again found their stride and now own the GOJHL’s longest active winning streak at seven in a row. They still don’t possess the same score-at-will threats they did last season, but strong goaltending and timely scoring has the Siskins knocking on the door of home-ice advantage in this season’s first round. Waterloo trails the Stratford Warriors and Listowel Cyclones – tied for fourth place – by seven points with 16 games to go. 

Tanner Wickware has emerged as a reliable starting goalie for the Siskins after being acquired from the Cambridge Redhawks after last year’s starter, Matt Onuska, signed with the OHL’s London Knights. Wickware has 10 of Waterloo’s 15 wins, and owns a 2.75 GAA and .913 SV% with two shutouts. He has won his last five outings, including a 3-0 shutout of Listowel on Sunday afternoon. In fact, all 10 of his wins have come in his last 16 decisions, after beginning the season 0-5-1. His turnaround is indicative of how Waterloo has been able to salvage its season. 

The Siskins still have plenty of work to do, with five of their final 16 games coming against Listowel and Stratford, the two teams they’re chasing for home ice. Those will be key points to earn, and Waterloo has to take care of business against teams below them in the standings from here on out. The Cyclones are also in a rebuilding season after three excellent years, although they returned more players from last season than Waterloo did. 

The Elmira Sugar Kings still pace the Midwest, five points clear of the second-place Kitchener Dutchmen. Cambridge, which has two games in hand on Kitchener, sits four points back of them. It’s a 10-point drop to Listowel and Stratford in a tie for fourth, before the Siskins in sixth. Brampton and Brantford trail the field significantly, and will likely battle for the right to avoid Elmira in the first round of playoffs. 

The GOJHL regular season concludes at the end of February, which means teams have just over a month to jostle for their playoff positions.