Western at Guelph

The Western Mustangs women’s hockey team take to the road this weekend for a two game road trip which starts off in Guelph against the Gryphons. This game promises to be exciting as the Gryphons (13-5) and Mustangs (12-4) are ranked third and fourth respectively in the OUA standings. Guelph is currently on a six-game win streak while Western is on a four-game winning streak of their own and only one team will be able to keep their streak alive.

The Gryphons have been one of the OUA’s top teams all year, possessing one of the league’s top offences as well as the first ranked power play in the CIS. The Gryphon are lead by a young trio of forwards including freshman Amanda Parkins who is second in CIS scoring with 30 points, sophomore Jessica Pinkerton who is fourth in the nation with 26 points and freshman Christine Grant who is tied for eighth with 22 points. The trio lead a veteran Gryphon squad who will be looking defeat the Mustangs for the third time this season.

The young Stangs team will need to rely of their tough team defence highlighted by sophomore goaltender Kelly Campbell. Campbell is one of the CIS’s top goaltenders with a save percentage of .947, good for third in the CIS, as well as a goals against average of 1.89. The Stangs will also rely on balanced team scoring as sophomore defenceman Katelyn Gosling and first-year forward Kryshanda Green are both tied for the team lead in points with 16. The Stangs are also one of the CIS’ top ranked penalty killing teams with Western killing off 91.8 percent of their penalties, so look for special teams to play a role in this game.

Puck drop is scheduled for Saturday January, 12 at 2:00 p.m. in Guelph at the Gryphon Center.

Western at Brock

For the second game this weekend the women will be traveling to St. Cathrines to take on the Brock Badgers on Sunday afternoon. Western enters the game with an edge in the season series, going 2-0 in regular season play against the Badgers and will attempt to make it 3-0 on the weekend. The Mustangs will be riding a four game win streak coming into this week’s action while the Badgers are looking to capitalize on the team momentum following winning gold at the Waterloo Christmas Tournament.

The Badgers are lead by junior forwards Jessica Fickel and Leigh Vanderveen who lead the team with 16 and 14 points respectively. In between the pipes the Badgers rely on sophomore goaltender Emily Kelly who has a save percentage of .889.

Although Western holds the edge in regular season contests the Stangs will be looking for retribution following a 6-4 loss at the hands of the Badgers in the Waterloo Christmas Tournament. Mustangs forward Kryshanda Green will be looking to add to her team leading 16 points, in the last two contests Green has lead the Mustangs with seven points against the Badgers.

Puck drop is scheduled for Sunday January 13, at 3:15 p.m. in St. Catharines.