Box Score LONDON, Ont. – The 90s came up big for the Mustangs on Saturday—not the 90s in the sense of Nirvana or Dave Matthews but rather in reference to 90 and 92, the jersey numbers of Stefan Salituro and Daniel Erlich, respectively. The two Mustangs forwards provided all the goals the Mustangs would need on the night, potting the first two tallies to lead the Mustangs to a 5-1 victory over the Lakehead Thunderwolves at Thompson Arena.  
 
The big win came only one night after a tough 3-2 loss at the hands of Laurier—a game which saw the winning goal be scored with less than a second left on the clock. After the game, Mustangs assistant coach David Kontzie said he was happy with the team's bounce-back effort.
 
"It's good for the guys to bounce back and have a game where they play sixty minutes like they're capable of," Kontzie said. "The guys realized that, when they're focused and they play sixty minutes, they can play some good hockey. Now it's just a matter of bringing that work ethic every night and realizing that two points are available and to work hard for them."
 
Erlich also added an assist, his league-leading 21st of the season, on Kyle De Coste's second goal—a tally which put the game out of reach at 5-1 with just over six minutes left in the final frame. He and Salituro hardly provided all of the offence in the game, though, with De Coste and Steve Reese both turning in multi-point efforts on the night.
 
After getting the end they didn't want yesterday the Mustangs opened Saturday's game exactly how they wanted to, getting a goal from Erlich just over two minutes in. The sophomore forward cleaned up the rebound from a Stephen Gaskin shot for his eighth goal and 28th point of the season.
 
Although the Mustangs looked poised to add to their lead soon after the first goal, getting a great chance from the hash marks off a hard one-timer from Stephen Salituro, it was Lakehead who would end up drawing blood next on a goal from Luke Maw. Maw put the Thunderwolves on the score sheet with a quick shot from just above the faceoff dots, putting the finishing touches on a break-in passing play from teammates Paul Thompson and Brennan Menard.
 
Despite the lack of goals for the rest of the period, there was hardly a lack of action as both teams had their fair share of chances. Western's Josh Unice had one of the highlights of the period, making a desperation save on Cody Alcock, who slipped the puck through the netminder's legs only to have the goalie get his glove down in time to keep it out. 
 
The Mustangs came out hungry in the second and managed to start quickly again, capitalizing on a chance in front of the net only six seconds into the period. The goal came at the hands of Salituro who netted his seventh of the season on a feed from Adam Stoykewych. 
 
"The line out there was ready to go and they were hungry—they were ready to compete right from the get-go," Kontzie said of Salituro's goal, adding that the Mustangs may have also had some help from lady luck, especially in the first and second periods, and that getting those bounces "definitely helps."
 
Western's lead looked like it might be erased quickly, with Mike Hammond snapping up a bad giveaway in the Mustangs' zone and firing a hard shot on an unsuspecting Unice. But the Toledo native came up big, stacking the pads and making a quick stop with his glove to keep the Mustangs on top.
 
That save would turn out to be a big one as Western was able to add to their lead just over a minute later, getting a goal from Zach Harnden off the rebound of a shot from defenceman David Corrente. The second goal on the play also came from a d-man, as rookie blueliner Jed Rusk was the one to feed Corrente on the blue line.
 
The Mustangs didn't get a goal to start the third but they did get a big hit, with Alex Micallef stepping up to lay out Brennan Menard as he attempted to enter the zone. The hit—a hip-check executed perfectly along the boards—elicited a big cheer from the Mustangs' crowd of 371.
 
The hit marked a sort of turning point in the period and soon the Mustangs were dominating the play, getting a goal five minutes in from De Coste before he added his second of the game to make it 5-1 with just over six minutes left.
 
In net, Unice wasn't forced to stop too much in the frame, only having to make five saves, although he was sharp when he had to be, keeping the Thunderwolves from getting any momentum. The veteran netminder made 25 saves in total on the night.
 
The Mustangs won't have a full week to rest as they usually do after Saturday games, as they'll be back on the ice Wednesday to take on the Ryerson Rams. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Thompson Arena and fans across the world can watch live on Mustangs TV.
 
Notes
 
Before giving up five goals to Western on Saturday night, the Thunderwolves were tied for the least goals against in the OUA at 38.  Western sat 10 above them with 48, which was good enough for fifth in the OUA and third in the OUA West.
 
Entering Saturday's game, Lakehead goaltender Jeff Bosch was on top of the OUA in both goals against average (1.35) and save percentage (0.952). After Saturday's tough outing, the third-year goaltender now sits third in goals against and save percentage, having been replaced at the top by Western's Greg Dodds (although both the goalies have played limited minutes this season).
 
The Mustangs may have gotten five power play opportunities Saturday but they could hardly let their guard down during those 10 minutes, as the Thunderwolves entered the game sitting second in the OUA in shorthanded goals with six. Three of those goals had come from Andrew Wilkins alone.
 
While Lakehead didn't enter the game with great power play stats on the year (11^th at home and 14^th away), they had proven to be a lot better on the penalty kill—at least at home. Their home penalty-kill numbers were good enough for second in the league at 88.9% while their overall numbers were a bit lower at 82.4%. The Mustangs only managed one goal on five attempts during Saturday's game.