Box Score WATERLOO, Ont. – For the first time since October 26 the Western Mustangs men’s hockey team took to the ice and came away without a win, losing 2-0 to the Laurier Golden Hawks on Thursday night. It’s only the fourth loss this season for the Mustangs, giving the team an OUA leading 17-4 record.
 
The Mustangs heavily outshot the rival Golden Hawks, however fourth-year goaltender Ryan Daniels put on an outstanding performance in the Laurier net, stopping 36 shots including 14 in the final 20 minutes.
 
At the other end of the ice Josh Unice turned the game into a goaltending duel, stopping 27 of the 29 shots he faced in the loss. Unice returned to the Mustangs on Wednesday after spending the first half of the week stopping pucks in Etobicoke at the Toronto Maple Leafs training camp.
 
Third-year forward Tyler Stothers led the Laurier offence, picking up both of his team’s goals, opening the scoring at 13:46 of the first period and adding the insurance marker midway through the third.
 
Not surprisingly for a game between two close rivals, Thursday’s contest was physical right from the opening whistle. By the end of the night the two teams combined for 16 infractions that totaled 56 minutes of penalties. Despite the large volume of penalties and subsequent power play opportunities, five for Western and nine for Laurier, neither team was able to capitalize with the man advantage.
 
Western’s loss ends the team’s longest winning streak since 2009-10 when the team rattled off 16 straight victories. This year’s streak is among the longest regular season streaks in team history, with the team also holding streaks of 17 and 19 games, and a perfect 24-0 regular season in 2002-03.
 
Western still holds down first place in the OUA with 34 points, leading the West Division by six points over Windsor. The team also holds a four point edge over the Carleton Ravens, who lead the OUA East Division with 30 points and a 14-5-2 record.
 
The Mustangs will finish up their recent stretch of road games this Saturday when the team travels to Guelph to face the Gryphons. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.