It felt like the weight of the world was lifted Tuesday
night when the Waterloo Wolves team was finally rewarded for their improved
play the past couple games. More and more the team looked like themselves and
regained that swagger that allows them to be a top team in the AA loop. It wasn’t
just the convincing score, a 6 to 3 defeat of the Cambridge Hawks, but how the
team has gotten back to their rugged style of play.
It was the Michael Wei show in the first period. Wei has been putting in the effort and was rewarded with the games first two goals. His first goal was set up by Ethan Wasylyshyn and Cooper Gaul and his second was from Wasylyshyn and Hunter McMurdo. Wei and Gaul combined again on Jackson Andrews goal before Gaul added a goal of his own from Cole Hunsberger and Jackson McNichol. McMurdo added a goal from Ben Yong and Cole Ledgister before Wasylyshyn put in an empty netter the only way he knows how, bar down, from a gracious Andrews on a 2 on 0 breakaway.
Nate Sexton picked up the win for his team and was steady all game for the Wolves. Sexton had to come out to play a couple pucks and was great in close battling hard for his team.
Matthew Ball and Declan Uniac were huge reasons the team was able to sustain a lot of pressure. The pair, along with Hunsberger, cycled down low for prolonged periods in the Hawks zone. Griffin Beddis rang a beauty off the post and was a constant back checker. The teams’ defenders rely on that back checking. Jackson Dietz, Jaxon Broda and Riley Webster were able to step up in the play and frustrate the Hawks because of it.
The Wolves are waiting to see when the playoffs will start but do know they will face the Brantford 99ers in a best of seven series. If the teams swagger and commitment to their style of play continues there is no doubt the team will find success in the playoffs!
Go Wolves!