DETROIT – Under the lights at Comerica Park the Western Mustangs defeated the Windsor Lancers 5-2 as OUA men's hockey action moved across the border for the Hockeytown Winter Festival on Monday evening. The energy was palpable as both teams stepped onto the ice for what can only be described as a once in a lifetime opportunity.
 
"Walking down the stairs and out of the dugout and seeing the skyline and the rink is just a fabulous experience," said Western head coach Clarke Singer. "This is the kind of thing that [the players] are going to look back on in forty years when they're watching the Winter Classic on television and say, 'Yeah, I had the opportunity to do that.'"
 
After an impressive transformation the major league stadium, home to the Detroit Tigers, was ready for the two Ontario teams to battle for victory on the stadium's outdoor arena.
 
Buoyed from an important 3-2 win against Nipissing two weeks ago the Mustangs carried their momentum into the matchup as they looked for vengeance against the Windsor squad. The last time the two teams met on the ice was in late November when the Lancers came out on top with a 5-1 win, but it was a different story in Detroit.
 
"Windsor is a great team and it was a great battle, especially at Comerica Park," said Singer. "We wanted to get up early and we did that. It was a great effort and a tremendous experience for the guys regardless but these two points are important for us in the standings."
 
Western goaltender Josh Unice was looking for redemption after allowing four goals on 16 shots in the teams' last matchup, and he certainly found it. The goaltender was impeccable on the open ice as he turned away 39 shots in the win.
 
"We knew this was going to be a big game," said Unice. "We had some business we needed to take care of. I wanted to come out and give it my all. It was amazing, I've never played an outside hockey game."
 
After both teams traded opportunities Steve Reese opened the scoring with assists from Kyle De Coste and Matt Clarke at 5:29 to give the Mustangs an early lead.
 
After failing to capitalize on a power play a minute earlier, the Mustangs continued to push the attack and Noah Schwartz was able to net another Western goal after a scramble in front of the net at 14:23, assisted by Mike Whaley and Adam Stoykewych, to give the Mustangs a 2-0 advantage heading into the first intermission.
 
After the break the Mustangs opened scoring early once again as Clarke scored Western's third goal of the game just 35 seconds into the second period.
 
When Matt Paltridge took a penalty at the fourteen-minute mark the Lancers had ample scoring opportunities on the power play but Unice turned away all five shots he faced as the Mustangs killed another penalty. The shutout wouldn't last however as the Lancers found the net for their first goal of the game at 15:07 off the stick of Eric Noel. It would be the last point of the period as the Mustangs led the Lancers 3-1 heading into the final period.

The cold temperature created a few problems for arena staff as the ice began to chip and ruts were formed, keeping both teams on their toes and a player or linesman losing their footing was a common sight.
 
"The ice was pretty bad," said Unice. "It was tough but it was the same for both teams and you just have to battle through it."
 
As the final 20 minutes of play began it was Western first on the board for the third consecutive period with a goal from Stoykewych, assisted by Whaley and Stefen Salituro, at 6:37 to put the Mustangs up 4-1 with just over ten minutes left in the action.
 
The Lancers had an opportunity to retaliate when Western took a penalty at the eight-minute mark but once again the Mustangs successfully killed off the penalty.
 
"The penalty kill is something we focused on tonight," said Singer. "Windsor has a great power play and our guys did really well against it. A big part of any team's penalty kill is their goalie and Josh was fabulous tonight through the whole game."
 
Although the Lancers netted their second and final goal of the game at 16:02, their only goal of the night from a power play, Western would respond in the final moments of action as Stephen Gaskin scored an empty net goal with just 10 seconds left in the game to clinch a 5-2 win for Western.
 
The Mustangs were just four points behind the Lancers heading into the contest with Windsor sitting tied for first and Western trailing in fifth. With the win the Mustangs move into third place in the league with a 10-5-0 record and sit just two points from first.
 
The Mustangs will now take a well-deserved break until they return to the ice on January 3 when they face Laurentian in Sudbury.