The Lakehead Thunderwolves were edged 2-1 by the Waterloo Warriors at the Columbia Ice Field on Saturday.
The Warriors came out strong and had some good scoring chances early on, but Wolves netminder Devin Green was equal to the task, making several nice saves before Riley Sonnenburg put one past him at 14:37 for the only goal of the first period.
Waterloo extended its lead to 2-0 with a short-hander when Michael Morgan sped in alone on Green on fired a hard shot that beat him on the glove side.
Lakehead had a five-minute power play opportunity when Adam Bignell was ejected from the game for kneeing Zach Whitlock early in the third, but the Wolves were unable to generate much offense with the extended man-advantage.
Sam Schutt broke Waterloo goalie Mike Morrisons shutout bid when he held the puck on a two-on-one break and rifled it past him on the short side with 8:16 remaining. E.J. Faust was credited with the assist.
Green made plenty of key stops in the final frame to give the Wolves a chance to even the score, but despite applyingplenty of pressure on Waterloo in the latter stages, Lakehead was unable to convert and the Warriors held on for the win.
Neither team was able to score on the power play, with Lakehead getting five attempts and Waterloo four.
Total shots on goal in the game were 34-22 for the Warriors.
The setback drops Lakehead down into eighth place in the OUA West Division, but with Westerns loss at UQTR, the Wolves have clinched a post-season berth.
Lakehead will return home to conclude the regular season with a pair of games against the Mustangs next Friday and Saturday at the Fort William Gardens.