Golden Hawks forward Danny Hanlon drives the net on Warriors goaltender Trevor Martin during the first period of their game on Wednesday night at The Aud. (Photo by Charity Matheson)

Laurier clinches playoff spot with win over Waterloo 

The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks and the Waterloo Warriors clashed in the yearly Battle of Waterloo at The Aud in Kitchener on Wednesday night, with Laurier handling its cross-town rivals, 5-1. Waterloo native Danny Hanlon opened and closed the scoring for the Golden Hawks, and the win catapults Laurier into fifth place in the OUA West. 

Hanlon scored 53 seconds into the game to give the purple and gold an early lead, with assists going to Kyle Gentles and former Listowel Cyclone standout Chayse Herrfort. Laurier increased its lead early in the second period, with captain Will Cook and Anthony Conti scoring five minutes apart to make it 3-0 Golden Hawks. Freshman Grayden Gottschalk added to the lead late in the period with Jeremy Pullara drawing the assist. 

The Warriors broke the shutout midway through the third frame on a goal by Nick Halagian, but that’s as close as Waterloo would get. Hanlon scored into an empty net with under 30 seconds to go, and Laurier won easily, 5-1. Freshman goalie Matt Williams, who has been excellent for Laurier during its playoff push, made 21 saves to earn his sixth win of the season. Trevor Martin stopped 23 of 27 shots for Waterloo before being lifted in favour of Julian Sime, who stopped all 8 shots he faced in the third period. 

With the victory, Laurier jumps Brock and Western to move into fifth place with just two games remaining. The Golden Hawks will finish the season next weekend on the road, visiting Western Friday night before facing York on Saturday. The loss hurts Waterloo’s playoff chances, as the Warriors currently sit in ninth place in the West, trailing Lakehead by four points with three games left on the schedule. The Warriors play at Western tomorrow night, then finish with two games in Thunder Bay against Lakehead the following weekend. Those games could decide Waterloo’s playoff fate.