LONDON, Ont. – Mustangs goaltender Keyvan Hunt (Coquitlam, B.C.) made 28 saves as Western fell 5-2 to the Lakehead Thunderwolves in the final game of the OUA West Finals at Thompson Arena. Lakehead wins the best-of-three series 2-0 and advances to host the OUA Queen's Cup against McGill on March 13.

With the loss, the Mustangs must now win a third-place game in Trois-Rivières, Que., on Saturday March 13 at 7 p.m.against the UQTR Patriotes to decide the third seed from the OUA at the CIS Nationals.

Mike Sharp (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) and Keaton Turkiewicz (Brantford, Ont.) scored for Western while Ryan McDonald (Prince Albert, Sask.), Dan Speer (Thunder Bay, Ont.), Scott Dobben (Drayton, Ont.), Shandor Alphonso (Orangeville, Ont.) and Mark Soares (Burnaby, B.C.) scored for the Thunderwolves.
 
Sharp notched the first goal of the game on a shorthanded break as he rushed in on a 2-on-1 with captain Luc Martin (St. Thomas, Ont.). Martin carried the puck and released a shot on net that trickled off the right pad of Thunderwolves goaltender Alex Dupuis (Thunder Bay, Ont.) and Sharp charged in to tap in the rebound.

The Mustangs Sensational Sophmore line consisting of Turkiewicz, Aaron Snow (Windsor, Ont.) and Kevin Baker (Georgetown, Ont.) set up Western’s second goal. Baker launched a cross-ice pass to Snow who streaked down the left wing. Snow faced two Lakehead defenders and split them apart, leaving the puck behind for a trailing Turkiewicz who wired a quick shot past Dupuis.

Midway through the second frame, Thunderwolves McDonald released a shot from the point towards Western’s net. McDonald’s shot deflected off Western’s defender before jumping over Mustangs netminder Hunt’s shoulder to bring the game to a 2-1 contest.

Lakehead tied the game 2-2 while on the powerplay after Speer let a shot go on net that slipped past Hunt who was screened from the play. Western went 0/6 on powerplay opportunities where as Lakehead went 1/3.

Western went up on the powerplay with thirty seconds left in the second period. After a hard forecheck, the Mustangs got caught deep in the offensive zone and Dobben streaked out of Thunderwolves territory. Dobben was pulled down by Ryan Martinelli (London, Ont.) before his shot could be released and a penalty shot was called. Hunt prepared himself in net while Dobben set up at centre ice. Dobben skated in and beat Hunt on a fast shot that hit the inside of the post and in to take a 3-2 lead to finish the frame.

The Thunderwolves took a two goal lead four minutes into the final frame when the Mustangs were disadvantaged on an odd-man rush and after Hunt stopped the initial shot, Alphonso followed hard to the net and put the rebound past Hunt.

Lakehead sealed their victory after the Mustangs offence left too many attackers deep in the Thunderwolves’ end. Soares and his linemate attacked Western’s net and beat Hunt to finish 5-2. 

BOX SCORE
Western 2, Lakehead 5
(March 6, 2010 - Thompson Arena, London, Ont.)
1st Period
1. Western, Sharp 1 (Martin), 9:59 (sh).
2. Western, Turkiewicz 2 (Snow, Baker), 16:28.
Penalties-Nemeth Uwo (interference), 1:20; McDonald Lkhd (interference), 4:06; Caria Lkhd (cross checking), 7:19; Swit Uwo (roughing), 9:38; Dupuis Lkhd (interference), 10:53; Caria Lkhd (high sticking), 20:00; Aarssen Uwo (high sticking), 20:00.
2nd Period
3. Lakehead, McDonald 3 (Wilkins), 11:13.
4. Lakehead, Speer 4 (Baird), 18:44 (pp).
5. Lakehead, Dobben 4   19:52 (sh ps).
Penalties-Maunu Lkhd (roughing), 7:14; Snow Uwo (roughing), 7:14; Hogg Lkhd (high sticking), 14:48; Smith Lkhd (roughing), 16:44; Martinelli Uwo (slashing), 16:44; Nemeth Uwo (high sticking), 17:27; Maunu Lkhd (elbowing), 19:28; Martinelli Uwo (tripping, 10-minute misconduct), 19:52.
3rd Period
6. Lakehead, Alphonso 2 (Dias), 2:56.
7. Lakehead, Soares 4 (Speer), 16:31. Penalties-Smith Lkhd (boarding), 12:29.
Scoring By  1 2 3 T
Western  2 0 0 2
Lakehead  0 3 2 5
Shots on Goal  1 2 3 T
Western  9 10 11 30
Lakehead   11 12 10 33
Powerplays: Western 0/6. Lakehead 1/3.
Goalies: Lakehead, Dupuis (W, 6-0-0, 28 saves on 30 shots).Western, Hunt (L, 4-3-0, 28 saves on 33 shots).
Attendance-1,100
Referees-Ray McManus.
Linesmen- Don Yeoman, Brent Thompson