The Western men’s hockey team has a home and away schedule this weekend as they conclude their fall semester of games before final exams begin. The Mustangs are currently tied for top spot in the OUA with Windsor sitting at 11-3 and riding a nine-game winning streak. The Mustangs are coming off an exciting shoot-out victory over Waterloo last Friday now face York on the road then return home to face the Brock Badgers.
Western @ York – Thursday, November 29 at 7:30 p.m.
Tonight the Mustangs put their nine game winning streak on the line in the provincial capital at York University against the resurgent Lions. The sixth place York Lions come into the game riding a two game winning streak and will look for the home ice advantage to help put an end to Western’s winning ways. The nationally ranked Mustangs sit at number six in the CIS polls and are coming off two one goal victories over Guelph and Waterloo by counts of 2-1 and a 6-5 shootout win respectively. The Lions who, sit at 8-6 will move into a tie for fifth place with the Waterloo Warriors with a win.
York comes into the game led in scoring by Jessie Messier who has eight goals and 19 points. His linemates Troy Barss and Evan Gravenor have shown solid production with 12 and 10 points respectively. If York expects to come out with a win, this trio will have to have a productive evening on the score sheet. Andre Perugini has played every minute in goal this season for York manning the pipes in all 14 games. He has already amassed a .906 save percentage and sports a solid 2.62 goals against average. He will be relied on heavily Thursday evening and will need a strong outing for the Lions to have a chance to win.
The Purple and White come into the matchup winning in dramatic fashion by virtue of a 6-5 shootout victory over Waterloo to extend their winning streak to nine games. The Mustangs squad that came out of the gates to start the season slow have been on fire spurred by the scoring of 2011-2012 CIS Rookie of the Year and Ivey student Zach Harnden who has 12 goals and 19 points. Harnden is flanked by Steve Reese and Daniel Erlich in the scoring category who have 18 and 16 assists apiece making it very difficult for opposing teams to shut down one player. Defensively former US National team member and Windsor Spitfire Josh Unice has logged most of the minutes sporting a 9-2 record and a 2.69 goals against average.
Puck drop for tonight’s game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. It will be streamed live and can be seen on SSN Canada at the following link: http://www.ssncanada.ca/game/4234/
Western vs. Brock – Sunday, December 2 at 1:00 p.m.
The Purple and White close out the first half of their 2012-13 schedule at home in the friendly confines of Thompson Arena Sunday afternoon. In a rare matinee start, the Mustangs host a Brock Badger team looking to climb back to five hundred and back into the playoff mix. It’s the second time in as many weeks the two teams have faced off in London, with Western coming from behind to pick up a 5-4 overtime victory.
Ranked sixth in the CIS and tied for first in the OUA, the Mustangs have overcome a slow start to the season in a big way ripping off nine straight victories for an impressive month of November. This December clash is the final game for both squads as they head into exams and the winter break.
The Brock Badgers come into the contest led by Kaine Geldhart and Thomas Stajan, brother of NHL player Matt Stajan who have 16 and 15 points respectively. For Brock to come out with a victory both players will have to find their way onto the score sheet. On the back end goaltender Dalton McGrath has been playing the bulk of the minutes and holds a 3.59 goals against average so far in in his rookie season.
The last matchup between the two teams ended in a 5-4 overtime win for Western, in a game that saw the Mustangs jump out to a 3-0 lead before giving up four consecutive goals to the Badgers. Matt Clarke tied things up with only 11 seconds left in the third period, and also netted the game winner midway through the extra frame. Matt Abercrombie led the way for the Badgers, scoring the first two of Brock’s four goals, finding the net twice in less than three minutes.
Entering this week’s action Western is the second highest scoring team in the nation, tied with the University of New Brunswick with both teams averaging 4.14 goals per game. Steve Reese leads the Mustangs scorers with 23 points (five goals and 18 assists), with Matt Clarke (nine goals, 11 assists) and rookie Daniel Erlich (three goals, 16 assists) trailing just behind with 20 and 19 points respectively. Zach Harnden also has 19 points and leads the team with 12 goals in 14 games.
Game time is 1:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon at Thompson Arena. It will be live streamed and can be seen on MustangsTV on the SSN Canada website.
