KITCHENER -- When the Whitby Warriors acquired Derek Hopcroft prior to the OLA Jr. A lacrosse trade deadline, they were looking to add a little offensive punch to a roster that had been sorely lacking in that area. Although he was held pointless in his first game as a Warrior last Tuesday, Hopcroft chose an opportune time to make an impact Friday night as Whitby registered a much-needed 8-7 victory over the Kitchener-Waterloo Braves.
He registered an assist on the game's first goal, a Phil McIlhone marker in the first period to get the ball rolling. In the second, he helped set up Brad Levick for a tally which got the Warriors back into a game they trailed 7-4 in at the time.
However, he saved his most important contribution of the night for later in the game.
Hopcroft scored with just over four minutes remaining in regulation as the Warriors capped the comeback and improved their record to 7-5-2. With 16 points, the Warriors find themselves tied with Kitchener-Waterloo in sixth place. However, by virtue of defeating the Braves in both meetings this year, the Warriors own the tie-breaker.
While Six Nations and Orangeville are seemingly running away at the top of the standings, Brampton sits in third with 18 points thanks to a 9-5 mark. Only six points separate spots three through nine, a slot Burlington currently occupies with a 5-6-2 record.
Tonight the Warriors will take to the road and look to take advantage of the league's worst team, the Ottawa Titans, owners of a 2-14-0 mark on the year.
Whitby's final home game of the regular season goes Friday night at Iroquois Park (8 p.m.) against Burlington.
NOTES: In addition to his first-period marker Friday, Phil McIlhone added two more goals and had four points all told to lead the Warriors in scoring. Steve Hutchins, Zack Greer and Kyle O'Brien joined Derek Hopcroft in scoring single tallies... Alex Henderson had three assists... In two meetings this year, the Warriors outscored the Braves 25-10.