LONDON, Ont. - Four second period goals helped lift the Western Mustangs 4-2 past the Waterloo Warriors in the first game of the Semifinal best-of-three series on Feb. 24.

Josh McQuade, Chris Corbeil, Kevin Baker and Jason Furlong added goals for the Mustangs as Jarrett Schnurr and Josh Schappert scored for Waterloo.

Despite a scoreless first period, the Mustangs turned up the heat in the second frame. Western shifted the game to their favour after Warriors Aaron Dileo (Waterloo, Ont.) was called for a four minute infraction after spearing Furlong right in front of the referee. On the man-advantage, McQuade gained possession of the puck and walked in, slipping a shot through Keaton Hartigan’s (Kitchener, Ont.) legs. McQuade’s goal broke a 151:80 minute shutout for Hartigan as Waterloo downed Lakehead two games to none in the Quarterfinals.

McQuade set up the Mustangs second goal as he cycled across the top of the circle and fired a shot on net that was tipped by Corbeil for a two goal lead.

Western showed no sign of slowing down as Baker was hit with the puck while wide open in the slot and fired a shot wide of the net. Baker regained control of the puck and fanned on a shot at the top of the crease as bodies clogged the blue paint. Baker finally added the Mustangs third goal as he wired a shot off the post and past Hartigan.

Just five minutes later, Furlong, Kyle Lamb and Yashar Farmanara exploded on a 3-on-1 offensive rush. Farmanara streaked down the right wing and put a strategic shot off Hartigan’s left pad, leaving a juicy rebound for Furlong who secured the goal with a one timer in the top half the of the net. The Mustangs held Waterloo off for the remainder of the period and carried a 4-0 lead into the final 20 minutes. Farmanara added two assists.

Warriors goaltender Justin Leclerc relieved Hartigan to start the third period as Waterloo looked to put some jump back into their game. The Warriors forechecked hard at the drop of the puck and worked the puck around in Western’s territory. Schnurr caught netminder Anthony Grieco off-guard with a quick shot, burying Waterloo’s first goal of the game.

Waterloo’s Schappert tipped a shot past Grieco with ten minutes left to play, bringing the game within two goals for a score of 4-2.

Grieco backed the Mustangs with 23 solid saves on the night and held on for the victory.

Western’s momentum continued after their first goal and head coach Clarke Singer said the first goal is key, “Waterloo is a very good defensive team and it’s important to try and get up one and maybe they open up a little  bit. I thought we did a real good job of pressuring them.”

Singer also commented on the importance of blocking shots, “Especially when they got Sonnenburg and Whitely two of the top D in the league back there firing away I mean they got great shots and they’re a big part of their offense, we have to make sure we get in shot lanes and I thought we did a good job tonight.”

The team will travel to Waterloo on Sat. Feb. 26 for a 7:30 p.m. rematch for Game 2.