Hockey Hawks move to 2-0 for the season

Assistant captain Jean-Michel Rizk leads the team to 5-3 victory over Waterloo with four points

The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's hockey team met up with cross-town rivals the Waterloo Warriors Saturday night at the Waterloo Recreation Complex. The Hawks came out on top, winning their second game of the season with a 5-3 final score.

In the first period, the Warriors out-skated the Hawks and rightfully earned a two-goal lead. Only two minutes after the first puck drop, Kurt Thorner of the Warriors scored Waterloo's first goal, and Jordan Brenner added another.

"We weren't moving our feet; we weren't battling" commented Head Coach Kelly Nobes.

Both teams served a significant number of penalties as well as misconducts and ejectments throughout the first half of the game, setting the stage for a number of power-play opportunities.

The Hawks, two men up, were denied twice with post shots from veteran forwards Mark Voakes and Luke Girard. Girard finally managed to snipe the Hawks' first goal, with a little help on the offence from second-year Jean-Michel Rizk and defenceman Ryan Bernardi. "We gained a little bit of steam late in the first ... we finally got going,” said Nobes.

Moving into the second period, there was a considerable change in the momentum of the game.

The Hawks orchestrated beautiful plays and dominated in shots on goal, nearly doubling those of Waterloo. "We really picked it up," Nobes added.

Bernardi tied up the game, completing a cross-ice pass from Voakes, set up by team captain Nick Vergeer. Minutes later, failure to clear the puck from the Hawks' end allowed Mark Hartman to score for the Warriors.

Assistant Captain Rizk pegged a top-corner goal from the combination of veteran forward Vergeer and rookie defenceman Phillip Magistraleand, after several other attempts to take command of the game, the period ended at an even 3-3.

Maintaining a strong defence, Magistrale tallied the game winner, a one-time point shot assisted by fellow defenceman Tyler Townsend and Rizk.

Rizk then added one more of his own on an open Warriors net to end the game.

The Hawks look to continue their perfect season, heading on the road to face the Windsor Lancers this Friday.