LONDON, Ont. - The Mustangs dominated the Lakehead Thunderwolves winning 7-2 in the first game of a back-to-back series at Thompson Arena on Jan. 8 to extend Western's regular season winning streak to 15.

 

Yashar Farmanara (West Vancouver, BC) claimed two Mustangs goals while remaining goals were scored by Patrick Lee (Sharon, ON) , Patrick Ouellet (Baie-Comeau, PQ) , Jason Furlong (London, ON), Matt Piva (Maple, Ont.) and Kevin Baker (Georgetown, ON). Farmanara added two assists for a four-point night.

Thunderwolves goals were scored by rookie Ryan McDonald (Prince Albert, Sask.) and Mitch Maunu (Thunder Bay, Ont.).

 

Lee put Western up by one goal less than two minutes into the first period, after his shot from the top of the circle ripped past Thunderwolves goaltender Kyle Moir (Calgary), frustrating Lakehead at the start of the contest. 

Lakehead was called for a hooking penalty midway through the first frame to provide Western with a powerplay opportunity. Defenceman Ryan Martinelli (London, ON) craddled a pass from linemate Keaton Turkiewicz (Brantford, ON) and released a shot on net from the blueline. Ouellet anticipated Martinelli's shot and redirected the puck through Moir's legs, increasing Western's lead by two.

 

In the dying seconds of a Mustangs penalty kill in the first frame, Lakehead's McDonald snuck a shot past netminder Keyvan Hunt (Coquitlam, BC) to finish the period at 2-1. Hunt turned aside 31 shots for the win.

 

Furlong scored the game-winning goal after Moir deflected the original shot and he was there to wire the rebound into the net. Farmanara's followed several minutes later after another rebound came loose and he capitalized on the open net.

 

Rookie Piva, playing in his first game with the Mustangs, benefitted from a Lakehead mishap and released a shot past Moir to claim his first CIS goal. Lakehead responded after Western's defence collapsed in their own end. Maunu went up against Hunt and was able to find the open net, bringing the score to 6-2.

 

Farmanara scored his second goal of the game in the last minute of play after streaking down the wing and rifling a shot over Moir's shoulder.

 

The Mustangs play host to Lakehead for their second game of the weeked on Sat. Jan. 9 for Western's Rock the Rink event and Mustangs Family Hockey Festival (food served from 6-8 p.m., children's entertainment from 6-8 p.m.) at Thompson Arena. The game is preceded by the women's game against Windsor.