Following an impressive victory last Sunday, the Western Mustangs women’s hockey team earned themselves a trip to the OUA Championship series to take on the Queen’s Gaels. Both teams are now just two wins away from an OUA Championship and a spot in the CIS Championship next week in Toronto.

Queen’s came into the playoffs as the third ranked team in the OUA while Western was ranked fourth and both teams have an identical playoff record of 4-1 through two rounds. In the regular season, the Mustangs got the better of the Gaels winning two of the three contests between these two teams.

Coming into the playoffs the Gaels boast one of the best offensive attacks in the country. They finished the regular season ranked in the top 10 in the CIS in goals, assists and shots. Leading their offence is forward Morgan McHaffie who finished the regular season with 33 points (12 goals, 21 assists), tying her for seventh in the CIS scoring race. Morgan leads the OUA in points in the playoffs with 10 (3 goals, 7 assists) through two rounds.

Not to be outdone by their team’s high powered offence, the Gaels also have one of the country’s best goaltending tandems in Karissa Savage and Melanie Dodd-Moher. The Gaels have used a two goaltender rotation with great success all season long and have continued their rotation into the playoffs.

Leading the defensive effort for the Mustangs all season has been the outstanding play of goaltender Kelly Campbell. Campbell finished the regular season as one of the top goaltenders in the country, with a goals against average of 2.04, and a save percentage of 0.942 after leading the Mustangs to 12 regular season wins. So far this playoff season Campbell has achieved three shutouts, and holds an impressive goals against average of 0.90 and a save percentage of 0.975 while facing 199 shots. Campbell has been recognized by the OUA for her stellar year of goaltending as she was recently named a first team OUA-all-star.

The Mustangs have played strong team defense and have performed timely offensive production to help them move into the third round of the playoffs. Leading the way offensively for the Mustangs is forward Stacey Scott and OUA first team all-star defenseman Katelyn Gosling. Scott leads Western this postseason with five points (2 goals, 3assists) while Gosling is a close second with four points (3 goals, 1 assist).

Puck drop for game one in the best of three series is scheduled for Wednesday, February 27 at 7:00 p.m. at Thompson Arena in London.