Mustangs take down Lancers to snap five-game losing streak
LONDON, Ont. – A pair of third period goals lifted the Western Mustangs over the Windsor Lancers by a 3-1 score on Wednesday night at Thompson Arena.
LONDON, Ont. – A pair of third period goals lifted the Western Mustangs over the Windsor Lancers by a 3-1 score on Wednesday night at Thompson Arena.
"[Tonight's win] is important. We're in a situation right now where we can't afford to give up any more points," said Mustangs head coach Clarke Singer. "I thought it was a great effort by the guys, and it's a good feeling in the room right now, but it's going to be short-lived. We're back to work tomorrow and we have two huge games on the weekend."
The win breaks the Mustangs five-game losing streak and gives the team a 7-13-2 record, pulling them within three points of Waterloo for the final playoff spot in the OUA West. Windsor remains in a tie for fourth place following the loss, and moves to 11-12-2 on the season.
"We need it," said Mustangs captain Matt Marantz on the importance of tonight's win. "We have two games at home this weekend, we need to get some points, so a little confidence going into the weekend feels good."
Ray Huether scored what would end up as the game winner on Wednesday night, netting his fourth goal of the season just under the eight minute mark of the third. Jed Rusk also provided some offence in the third, scoring on a breakaway, while Matt Marantz opened the game's scoring in the second period.
Greg Dodds picked up the win with a strong performance in the Mustangs net, stopping 37 shots in the victory. Kris Joyce also impressed at the other end of the ice, making 36 saves for the Lancers in the loss.
After a back and forth first period that saw the Mustangs outshoot the Lancers, Western took control of the play for the majority of the second frame. Just as a Western penalty seemed to tip things in the Lancers' favour, Mike DiPaolo sprung Marantz with a breakout pass, and the captain took it in alone, going high on the glove side to put the home team up 1-0.
Windsor responded early in the third when Blake Bondeel picked up an errant Western pass in the neutral zone before scoring on the breakaway to tie the game at 1-1.
The game didn't stay tied for long, as Huether scored a highlight reel goal a little more than three minutes later to put Western back in front. Western extended that lead just prior to the 11-minute mark after Rusk stepped out of the penalty box and took a long pass from Rob Polesello to head on the breakaway, beating Joyce on the blocker side for the goal.
Despite strong pressure from the Lancers late in the game with both a power play opportunity and the goalie pulled, the Mustangs maintained their lead and closed out the game with a 3-1 win.
"Great determination," said Singer on his team's efforts to kill off their penalty in the final minutes of the game. "Our PK's been great in the second half, we made a couple of small adjustments to it coming into the second half, and our in-zone kill has been great. The defence and the forwards [have been good], and obviously Greg's been our best penalty killer, but we'll have to continue that into the weekend for sure."
The Mustangs will now get set for two big games this weekend, with the Ottawa Gee-Gees coming to town on Friday, followed by the McGill Redmen on Saturday.
"Every game, the last six games, are absolutely must-wins," said Marantz about the team's approach heading into the weekend. "We know the standings, and we know we have two big games against Lakehead at the end of the year. We have to make [those] meaningful so we can get into the playoffs."
Source: Western Mustangs
