LONDON, Ont. – Goaltenders Keyvan Hunt (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) and Anthony Grieco (Brampton, Ont.) shared ice-time during Western’s 5-3 home opener loss against the Brock Badgers on Oct.10 at Thompson Arena.

Mustang goals were claimed by Jason Furlong (London, Ont.), Patrick Lee (Sharon, Ont.), and assistant captain Kyle Lamb (Port Coquitlam, B.C.).

Forward Chris Corbeil (Oakville, Ont.) was called for boarding only three minutes into the first period and the Badgers utilized their powerplay to take an early 1-0 lead. Brock forward Eric Toonders (Winchester, Ont.) redirected a shot from the point into the left corner of the net past Hunt. Brock went 2/5 on the powerplay throughout the game and Western went 0/3.

Furlong tied the game up at one to finish the first frame after making himself available in the slot and receiving a quick pass from Scott Aarssen (London, Ont.).

Brock outshot Western 15-7 in the second period and claimed three goals against Hunt in 20 minutes of play. However, Western led the shots 39-35 for the entire game, but could not capitalize in crucial moments.

Captain Luc Martin (St. Thomas, Ont.) said he believes Western’s luck will change.

“We know we can score, it’s just that we’ve been putting a lot of pucks on net and they just haven’t been going our way,” he said, “other teams have been putting them on us and they’re getting the bounces, but it’ll come back around, we’ll start getting the bounces.”

Western fought hard to comeback in the third, with Grieco in net and goals from Lee and Lamb in less than one minute, the game was suddenly a one point difference at 4-3.

With over 15 minutes left to play, the Mustangs began to hit harder and skate faster in a desperate attempt to turn the game around. Unfortunately, a Badger defenceman moved in from the point and capitalized on an open rebound to beat Grieco and gain a 5-3 lead.

Despite two disappointing losses, Martin said he feels a more focused attitude will benefit the Mustangs for the upcoming games. “We have a strong team and maybe that’s why the work ethic hasn’t been there,” he said.

Western will travel to Guelph on Thurs. Oct. 15 to fight for their first win.

Brock 5, Western 3
(Thompson Arena, London, Ont.)
1st Period
1. Brock, Toonders 1 (Allen, Mullin), 5:12 (pp).
2. Western, Furlong 1 (Aarssen), 10:01.
Penalties-Corbeil Uwo (boarding), 3:19; Duncan Bro (roughing), 11:56; Pattison Bro (10-minute misconduct), 11:56; Martin Uwo (10-minute misconduct), 11:56; Ouellet Uwo (roughing, roughing), 11:56; Tolles Bro (slashing), 15:35.
2nd Period
3. Brock, Pearce 1 (Duncan, McNeil), 4:42.
4. Brock, Smeltzer 1 (Toonders, Scott), 12:52 (pp).
5. Brock, Miller 1 (Pearce, McNeil), 19:54.
Penalties-Swit Uwo (interference), 11:14; Toonders Bro (holding), 15:59; Tolles Bro (roughing), 19:18; Ouellet Uwo (inter. on goaltender), 19:18.
3rd Period
6. Western, Lee 1 (McCann), 3:08.
7. Western, Lamb 1 (Turkiewicz, Baker), 3:40.
8. Brock, Tolles 2 (Friesen, Pearce), 12:21.
Penalties-TEAM Uwo (too many men), 6:38; Snow Uwo (tripping), 14:49; Bradley Bro (slashing), 17:10.
Scoring By 1 2 3 F
Brock  1 3 1 5
Western  1  0  2  3
Shots on Goal 1 2 3 F
Brock   9 15 11 35
Western  17 7 15 39
Power Play Opportunities: Brock 2/5; Western 0/3.
Goalies-Brock, Yetman (W, 3-0-0-0, 36 saves on 39 shots). Western, Grieco (0-0-0-0, 10 saves on 11 shots); Hunt (L, 0-2-0-0, 20 saves on 24 shots).
Attendance-123
Referees-Ray McManus.
Linesmen-Mike Logan, Mike Sangster