The Western Mustangs men's hockey team is on a seven game winning streak and will take this momentum to Guelph tonight at the Gryphon Centre. The Gryphons are also on a seven game streak so tonight's game will break one team's impressive record. Tomorrow night, the Stangs return home to light up Thompson Arena versus local rivals Waterloo Warriors. Catch the action Friday, November 23 at 7:00pm.
Western @ Guelph - Thursday November 22nd, 7:30pm @ Gryphon Centre
The Purple and White hit the ice taking with them a seven game winning streak as they battle the Guelph Gryphons just down the 401. Western capped off an exciting weekend with thrilling overtime victories over Brock and Laurier. The young squad led by interim coach Pat powers has raced out to a 9-3 record positioning themselves into third place in the competitive OUA West.
Guelph comes into the game just as hot as Western riding a seven game win streak positioning themselves just one point ahead of the Mustangs in the tight OUA West. Offensively they have a lot of firepower which is led by Andrew Bathgate who has netted twelve goals in the campaign. Line mates Brett Appio and Matthew Lyall have factored in greatly into their lines success chipping in with 14 points apiece. Brandon Maxwell and Andrew Loverock have split the goaltending duties with Maxwell leading the way with a 7-0 record and a minute 1.62 goals against average.
Western goes into this heavy weight battle with a dynamic goal scorer in Zach Harnden who has netted twelve goals in as many games. Look for Harnden, forward Matt Clarke who has nine goals and defenseman Daniel Erlich who has potted 14 assists to provide a bulk of the offensive firepower. Goaltender Josh Unice looks in midseason form riding a seven game win streak and a .921 save percentage.
This matchup which could be a preview of a playoff series takes place in Guelph Thursday night and can be seen live streamed on SSN Canada’s website.
Western vs. Waterloo - Friday, November 23 @ 7:00pm at Thompson Arena
The Mustangs men’s hockey team heads into play this week as one of the hottest teams in all of CIS hockey, holding a 9-3 record and riding a seven-game winning streak. The team is coming off of back-to-back overtime victories, taking down Laurier last Thursday on the road before defeating Brock on home ice in the extra frame.
Western begins this week’s schedule with another Thursday night contest, this time heading down the 401 to take on the Guelph Gryphons. The CIS’ eighth-ranked Mustangs faced a Gryphons squad on a seven-game win streak of their own.
Western finishes off their two game slate at home Friday night versus the Waterloo Warriors. Western is currently near the top of the OUA standings and have been on fire after coming out of the gates slow to start the season look to create more separation between themselves and the middle of the OUA. Waterloo heads into this week sitting in fifth place with a 7-4-1 record only three points behind the Mustangs.
Waterloo comes into this game led by Colin Behenna and Justin Larson who have 16 and 15 points respectively. The two lead a balanced Warrior team who have been 6-3-1 in their last ten moving up in the competitive OUA West. Keaton Hartigan has played the bulk of the minutes between the pipes leading the team to five of their seven wins with a .915 save percentage in the process. The Warriors will need Hartigan’s solid goaltending if they look to snap Western’s hot streak.
The Purple and White have gotten offensive production over the twelve contests not only from leading goal scorer Zach Harnden but from the likes of Steve Reese and Kyle DeCoste with 18 and 14 points apiece. Interim head coach Patrick powers has received solid play on both ends with former US National Team member Josh Unice making key saves time and time again, providing a veteran presence in net for a young Mustangs squad.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Thompson Arena. Following tonight’s matchup the Mustangs have two games left in the first half of their schedule, heading to York on November 29 before a rematch with Brock at Thompson Arena on December 2 to close out the fall schedule.
