February 27, 2016

Brown nets hat trick, Mustangs force Game Three against Toronto

TORONTO – Cody Brown's first career OUA hat trick just may have meant as much to his teammates as it did to him.

Toronto

Western

Final	1	2	3	T
Toronto	2	0	1	3
Western	2	2	3	7

Toronto

Western

Final	1	2	3	T
Toronto	2	0	1	3
Western	2	2	3	7

TORONTO – Cody Brown's first career OUA hat trick just may have meant as much to his teammates as it did to him.

The forward scored a trio of goals to lead Western to a 7-3 victory over Toronto on Friday night, helping the Mustangs force a decisive Game Three in their OUA West Semi-Final series. Game Three is set for 7:30 p.m. on Sunday at Thompson Arena.

Though he's been limited by injuries through his first two years with the Mustangs, Brown has been an impact player when healthy. He has seven points (4g, 3a) through Western's first four playoff games and has been held off the score sheet just five times in 18 full games with the Mustangs. These are his first playoffs with the team after he missed last year's post-season with an injury.

Greg Dodds got the call on Friday, making 21 saves on his way to his second career OUA playoff win. Andrew Hunt took the loss for Toronto despite showing flashes of brilliance through the first 30 minutes of the game, getting the hook in favour of Michael Nishi after letting in seven goals on 26 shots. Nishi turned away all three shots he faced in his first action of the playoffs.

Hunt didn't deserve the final result but was up against a Western squad desperate to stay in the playoffs. The Mustangs came out flying in the game, getting goals from Ray Huether and Andrew Goldberg before the eight minute mark of the first period to take an early 2-0 lead. Hunt finished the period with four saves on six shots while Toronto fired nine at Dodds.

Two of those Toronto shots found the back of the net, as the Varsity Blues provided a quick response to Western's early offence with goals from Max Lindsay and Dean Klomp. Lindsay's marker came just 46 seconds after Goldberg's while Klomp added his second of the post-season just under six minutes later.

Brown broke the deadlock 10:35 into the second, knocking home a point shot from Stephen Gaskin to put Western up 3-2. He added his second of the night 6:50 later and completed the hat trick just under three minutes into the third period. Sandwiched between Brown's final two goals was Toronto's last hurrah of the night, a snipe from the slot by Mathew Campagna.

From there on, it was all Western. Brown's goal was followed by markers from Trent Ouellette and Shaun Furlong, both of which were assisted by Matt Marantz. Furlong's goal midway through the third ended up being the only power play marker of the night, as Western finished 1-for-6 with the man advantage and the Varsity Blues 0-for-6.

The teams won't have much time to rest, as they're back on the ice on Sunday for a decisive Game Three at 7:30 at Thompson Arena. Western has a chance to make it past the second round for the first time since 2012 while the Varsity Blues get one more chance to complete the upset in a do-or-die game.

NOTES: Western has been solid on special teams through the first four games of the playoffs. They've scored at least one power play goal in each game (5-for-18 overall) and have killed off 92% of their penalties… Seven Mustangs are scoring at a point-per-game rate or higher in the playoffs. Goldberg and Brown lead the way with seven and six points, respectively…