The Western Mustangs will begin their first real road stretch of the season against Laurier (0-3) on Thursday after playing three out of their first four games in front of the Western faithful at Thompson Arena. The game against the Golden Hawks, which is scheduled to start at 7:30 at Sun Life Financial Arena, will be the first of four consecutive road games for the 3-1 Mustangs.

After playing two of their first three games on the road, Laurier will no doubt welcome the opportunity to be back at home for the second time this season and will be looking to break out of their early season struggles. Slow starts are becoming a bit of a habit for the Golden Hawks as this season marks the third in a row that they have started with three consecutive losses.

Although the team may be experiencing a slow start, the same cannot be said about one key member of the Golden Hawks offence: third-year forward Tyler Stothers. Stothers is coming off of his first point-per-game season of his OUA career last year when he accumulated 26 points in 23 games and has picked up four points already in Laurier's first three games. 

Also scoring at a point-per-game pace for the Golden Hawks is Joe Vanni, who has dished out three assists despite only playing in two games this season. With his three points, two of which came in the Golden Hawk's 4-2 loss to Lakehead on October 26, Vanni has already accumulated a quarter of his OUA career point total, 12, in one-ninth of the games.

For the Mustangs, Matt Clarke and Daniel Erlich continue to shine, both putting up two points in the Mustangs 5-4 win over Waterloo to bring their season point-totals to eight and nine, respectively. But Western's five-goal outburst was the result of more than just the efforts of Clarke and Erlich with eleven Mustangs players reaching on the score sheet on the night.

Adam Mckee had his first two-point night of the season with two assists while Zach Harnden completed his third, also compiling two assists. Harnden's performance on Saturday night was a reminder that the skilled forward, who is generally known as a pure-goal scorer after putting up two 15-plus goal seasons in a row, can dish the puck too.

After their Halloween-night battle Thursday the Mustangs will turn their attention to the Ryerson Rams for their game at Mattamy Athletic Centre, the old Maple Leaf Gardens, on Saturday. The Rams are currently tied for third, one spot ahead of the Mustangs, in the OUA with a record of 4-1 after picking up wins against McGill, Ottawa, Guelph and Brock to start the season.

The Rams are led in scoring by Jamie Wise and Domenic Alberga, who are both in the top ten in OUA scoring at 3rd and 8th, respectively. Wise has picked up eleven points in the first three games with 3 goals and eight assists while Alberga, a rookie forward, has picked up five goals and five assists for ten points to begin his OUA career.

Thursday's game is set to start at 7:30 p.m. at Sun Life Financial Arena while Saturday's game will kick off a bit earlier at 7:00 p.m.