Box Score THUNDER BAY, Ont. - The Western Mustangs men’s hockey team made the trek to Thunder Bay to take on the Lakehead Thunderwolves in a battle betwenn OUA West Division rivals. In front of a raucous and nearly capacity crowd of 3,036 the Mustangs lost a hard-fought contest to the Thunderwolves by a 3-2 score.
 
Tyler Peters and Matt Marantz lead the way for the Mustangs, each of them recording a goal, while Adam Stoykewych and Kyle DeCoste both adding one assist each. Fourth-year goaltender Josh Unice was solid between the pipes stopping 26 out of the 29 shots he faced.
 
There was a quick pace to start the game, with both teams showcasing their skill early on and being rewarded with some nice chances, including one for Lakehead’s Matt Caria - who was robbed right on the doorstep by Unice early on.
 
Lakehead drew first blood as Luke Judson knocked in a rebound in front of the net for his eighth goal of the season, after Matt Caria set up the goal by carrying the puck into the Western zone and firing a shot on Unice.
 
With only four seconds left in the second frame, Adam Sergerie increased Lakehead’s lead to 2-0 after pouncing on a Trevor Gamache rebound, causing the Mustangs to head into the third period down by two.
 
Early in the third period defenceman Steve Gaskin was whistled down for cross checking putting the Mustangs down a man less than two minutes into the final period. Kalvin Sagert capitalized for Lakehead with a wrist shot from the point that snuck through traffic and past Unice to put the Thunderwolves up by three.
 
Although down by three goals the Mustangs kept working and Peters put Western on the board with just over seven minutes left to play, as he found himself alone in front and slipped one past Lakehead goalie Alex Dupuis.
 
With just under three minutes remaining Marrantz took advantage of an out of position Dupuis to record hs third goal of the season, pulling the Mustangs to within one. Unfortunately for Western that was as close as they would come, as Lakehead came away with a 3-2 victory. The Thunderwolves victory was their first over the Mustangs in more than two years.
 
Western gets a shot a redemption Saturday night as the team remains in Thunder Bay prepping for the second half of their weekend double header.

- With files from Lakehead Sports Information