Galbraith honoured, Warriors wreck LaSalle, passes the test against Elmira and snatched victory in Komoka

The Stratford Hunter Steel Warriors kicked off their week with positive news. On Jan. 7, first-year forward Coen Galbraith was honoured with the Western Conference Performer of the Week by the GOHL, as he led the Warriors with four goals in the two wins last weekend.

Galbraith shared his thoughts on the honour.

“Oh, it's great. I thank my mom and my dad. They supported me through some ups and downs and linemates, Donner (Dominic Marshall) and Murph (Grady Murphy), for battling hard to get me the puck,” Galbraith said.

Stratford kicked off the pivotal week with their last regular-season trip to LaSalle as they faced the Vipers at the Vollmer Recreation Complex on Jan. 7.

Colin Slattery opened the scoring for Stratford less than two minutes into the game with his seventh of the season. Galbraith continued to light up the scoring charts as of late with his seventh of the season at the 6:04 mark on a beautiful cross-ice feed from Marshall.

LaSalle caught momentum as the opening period progressed to its latter half and scored two goals in under six minutes to tie the game at two apiece heading into the second period.

The score remained tied until Stratford retook the lead midway through the period. During the penalty kill, Galbraith passed the puck to the streaking Marshall, who deked the LaSalle netminder for his eighth of the year. With 4:21 remaining, Galbraith struck again with his eighth of the season as he tucked the puck in the LaSalle crease.

LaSalle cut the deficit to 4-3 39 seconds later. But the turning point of the game came when Stratford reestablished their two-goal lead. Jaxson Broda scored his first goal since February 2024, from Quinn Kipfer and Evan Arnold. Broda ended the game with a goal and two assists for the Warriors.

In the third period, the Warriors extended their lead with Jonas Schmidt scoring both goals in the final frame, and he picked up three points in his last seven games.

Assistant coaches Mike Knechtel and Dave Schlitt shared their thoughts on the Warriors' latest performances, who are outscoring opponents 21-8 through three games.

“We're starting to move our feet in the neutral zone and start to use each other a lot more, but that being said, we need to remember our own end at the same time now,” Knechtel said.

“So, it's awesome that the offence is coming, but we can't remember what gets us those wins also.”

“… Coming out of a Christmas break to get off in the start we have is very positive for the group and playing with a lot of confidence,” Schlitt said.

“Now it's like we're doing some good things to generate our offensive chances, we’re four checking effectively, and more putts on the wall, and some guys have a really good start to their second half here and lots of confidence.”

The Warriors faced their strongest test to date against the Elmira Sugar Kings at the Allman Arena on Jan. 9. Before the game, the Warriors honoured their major sponsor, Hunter Steel, for their contribution to the organization.

In this tightly contested heavyweight-like bout between two of the top clubs in the Western Conference, the Warriors got the upper hand at the midway point of the first period as Marshall scored his ninth of the season from Galbraith and Murphy. Eleven seconds later, the Warriors doubled their lead when Kipfer scored his ninth of the season from Slattery and Aaron Green.

Stratford increased their lead to 3-0 in the second period with a goal at the midway mark of the period by Green, his fifth of the season, from Slattery and Drew Hodge. The Warriors kept the Elmira offence off the scoreboard with their check-down defence and put in arguably their best defensive effort of the season.

Despite having Noah Bender’s shutout bid spoiled with 1:49 left in the game, the Warriors preserved their lead and prevailed 3-1.

Bender stopped 27 of 28 shots for his 13th win of the season. After the holiday break, the Waterloo native has been much better in his last three starts than the previous three prior to the break, going from 4.98 goals-against-average (GAA) and a save percentage of .809 per cent to 2.00 GAA and a .907 per cent save percentage.

Williams was pleased with the effort shown by the team against one of the league’s top teams.

“I thought we played a pretty solid game from start to finish. There were definitely some moments where maybe we weren't as sharp as we would like to be defensive,” Williams said.

“I mean, that's a really good hockey team over there, and they're going to have their moments throughout the game. So, I thought we did do a good job, and we got into a little bit of trouble. We were able to kind of hang tight and weather the storm.”

For Marshall, the win is significant.

“It feels good. We just beat a first-place team. That's a pretty big deal when you're sitting in fifth place. We battle hard every game, and New Year's is a new year for us. Glad to be a part of it,” Marshall said.

Hours before the game against Elmira, the Warriors made a trade that could provide an offensive spark. Stratford acquired Cruz Ferguson from the London Nationals for Jack McGurn and Matthew Blake.

The second year forward from Angus, Ont., Ferguson comes to Stratford with championship experience, having won the Sutherland Cup with the Chatham Maroons last season.

Ferguson has tallied 38 points in 31 games with the Nationals this season. Ferguson says he feels confident in being part of the team heading into the playoffs.

“I feel like with this group, I do think we have a chance. That's why I wanted to come here,” Ferguson said.

Williams likes the trade and is hopeful for Ferguson to provide the offensive spark the Warriors need for the playoff run ahead.

“Yeah, I think he'll be a nice addition to our group. You know, come back after Christmas here, and I think we found the net the back of the head a little bit more than we had maybe going into Christmas. So, I think he's going to come in and provide some offence for us. That's a good thing anytime you've got a guy that has his pedigree and his body of work that he's been able to deliver offensively, I think you're always looking for those consistent guys to come in and help the group,” Williams said.

“The other thing is, he's he won last year. So, I think anytime you're on a team that has that long journey to winning a championship, and it's never easy, and you must persevere, and there's lots of adversity, I think you can never have too many guys like that that have that experience. So hopefully our group can lean on that a little bit as well.”

On Jan. 10, the Warriors travelled through the blistering snow from Stratford to Komoka for their last road matchup of the season at the Komoka Wellness Centre against the Kings.

Schmidt notched his 16th of the season from Haden Frayne 31 seconds into the game to give a 1-0 lead. The score remained 1-0 for the visitors until Komoka switched momentum and scored at 5:01 to tie the game. The Kings took the lead at 12:07, but Galbraith responded for Stratford 95 seconds later to tie the game at two.

In the third period, Galbraith notched his tenth of the season from Curtin and Murphy with 7:29 remaining in the game, giving the Warriors a 3-2 lead.

From there, the Warriors withstood the Kings' offensive push, overcame a late penalty kill, and, with a timely shot block in front of the crease by Hodge, stole the win, their fifth straight, and secured 11 of the possible 12 points in the last six games.

Gage Hurst gets his eighth win of the season for the Warriors as he stopped 15 of 17 shots.

Galbraith continued to be on a tear this week with seven points. In the last seven games, going back to Dec. 19, the first-year forward has recorded eight goals and six assists and averaged two points per game in this span.

After the game, Williams shared his thoughts, noting the team’s strong start and overcoming a disappointing second period to win in Komoka.

“I thought we were okay in the first period. I didn't mind how we got started. In the first, we had talked a lot, starting this morning at practice, and then kind of delivered the same message before the game, but we needed to make sure we didn't have a let-up. Because I think a lot of times after having the big emotional game we had last night against Elmira, there's a tendency not to come back the next night and play the same way.”

“You're just not emotionally committed to the game. So that was a little bit disappointing to see our second period the way it was, given that we talked a lot about it and felt like we lost our way in the second period and kind of, you know, let them hang around and made it a tougher night, then maybe it could have been for us today.”

Next up for Stratford is Jan. 16, when they host the St. Marys Lincolns at the Allman Arena.