LONDON, Ont. – The Western Mustangs came ready to play three periods of hockey Thursday night at Thompson Arena, and ended the game in a 2-2 tie after a tough and exciting battle against Team China as they prepare for the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

The evening started off with a ceremonial puck drop. Young London Devilettes minor hockey players took part in the fun and waited on the ice to welcome the Mustangs and the Chinese national team. The youngsters remained on the ice for the national anthems of both countries, and played their own game between periods.

There was lots of energy and sprit coming from the stands, with almost 1,000 fans gathered to watch this fast paced game featuring end-to-end action throughout.

“When I heard Team China was touring in Canada, I contacted them and invited them to play a game,” explained Mustang’s head coach Chris Higgins. “The planning has been under way for a month.”

Alison Li (Richmond, BC.), a freshman goalie and Chinese-Canadian, got the start in Western’s net and stopped all 16 shots she faced in the first period.

China opened the scoring in the second period when captain Qi Xueting beat goalie Olivia Ross (Huntsville, Ont.) who came in to play just over four minutes into the period. Less than two minutes later, the Mustangs capitalized on the power play as Katie Dillon (Oshawa, Ont.) delivered a great screen in front of Chinese goaltender Shi Yao, redirecting a shot from defender Tara Cation (Caledon, Ont.) through the five-hole to tie the game at 1-1.

In the third period, Dillon scored Western’s second goal on another power play, and was once again set up by Cation. After a Western timeout with 40 seconds left, the Chinese team pulled their goalie and equalized as Sun Rui redirected Zhang Shuang’s point-shot with 22 seconds left to tie the game at 2-2.

It was anybody’s game. “We finally played three solid periods of hockey,” said Holly Ouelette, one of the Mustangs’ assistant captains. “But they are a lot more mechanical. They play hockey like they play chess. It is harder to stop them because they are so precise.”

At the end of the game, both teams remained on the ice for a photo to capture the collaborative spirit of the exhibition game, and afterwards the Mustangs held a reception for the Chinese national team and gave them special gifts.

Western returns to action on the road this weekend at Toronto and York, returning home on Oct. 30 to face Waterloo at 4 p.m. at Thompson Arena.