Box Score GUELPH, Ont. – A pair of power play goals from forwards
Daniel Erlich and
Kyle De Coste led the Western Mustangs men’s hockey team to a 2-1 win over the Guelph Gryphons on Thursday night. The win is Western’s eighth consecutive victory, giving the team a 10-3 record and a share of the OUA lead with Windsor.
"It was great to see the team play a strong defensive game. The guys fought for every inch of ice in both ends and the results showed on the scoreboard," said Western head coach
Patrick Powers.
De Coste’s goal was his sixth on the season, and fifth straight game with at least one goal. The London native has been on a tear of late, not only with the five-game goal scoring streak, but he’s also recorded at least one point in each of the team’s last nine games.
Josh Unice was again strong in net, stopping 19 of the 20 shots he faced to record his sixth straight win. Brandon Maxwell took the loss for Guelph, his first of the season, allowing two goals on 25 shots.
Guelph opened the scoring early in the opening period when James Merrett scored a power play goal only two minutes and eight seconds into the game. The goal was Merrett’s fourth on the year, coming off of assists from Matthew Lyall and Kenneth Peroff.
Western struck back with a power play marker of their own just before the period’s six-minute mark as De Coste slid a puck past the Guelph netminder.
The Gryphons found themselves in more penalty trouble a few minutes later as Lyall was sent off for hooking. He wouldn’t spend much time in the box however, as Erlich potted his third goal of the season only 33 seconds into the power play to give the Mustangs a lead they would never relinquish, earning a 2-1 victory.
Next up for Western is a showdown with the Waterloo Warriors tomorrow night at the Thompson Arena in the team’s annual Movember game. Donations will be accepted at the event for prostate cancer research and fans will have the chance to win prizes, including an autographed stick by Mike Brown of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
