Fresh off their 3-2 victory over the first-ranked Ryerson Rams on Wednesday, the Mustangs will head to St. Catherine's on Friday to take on the Brock Badgers (8-8-3) with a chance to extend their current win streak to three games. Brock will also be looking to extend their winning streak to three games after beating York on January 8 and Lakehead on January 10.
 
The Mustangs, who sit two back of first place in the OUA West with a record of 13-6-0, have spent the last week dismantling the two teams in front of them, beating Lakehead 5-1 on Saturday before handing the Rams a similar fate on Wednesday.
 
One of the players who played a big role in both of those upsets was Stefan Salituro, who scored the game-winning goal against Lakehead before adding another in Wednesday's thriller against Ryerson. The talented forward, who is completing his masters at Western after playing two years for the University of New Brunswick, has eight goals and five assists for 13 points in 17 games this season.
 
After the game against the Rams, Mustangs assistant coach Cam O'Donnell spoke about what the new addition has meant to the team.
 
"He's a pretty academic kid—doing his masters program here at Western and he's been a great addition to the team," O'Donnell said. "He's played from a program that—not unlike ours—know how to win and he's fit right in—hasn't missed a beat and is starting to produce some goals for us."
 
Daniel Erlich and Steve Reese also continued to produce for the Mustangs on Wednesday, both registering multi-point efforts for the second game in a row. Erlich, who sits third in OUA scoring with 31 points in 19 games, is currently on a four game point streak, during which time he has put up one goal and five assists.
 
Josh Unice was stellar once again for Western on Wednesday, recording his fourth win in a row while stopping 43 of 45 shots. Those last four starts have seen Unice put up a save percentage of 0.950, raising his season save percentage to 0.920 and lowering his goals against average to 2.94.
 
Brock Badgers – Friday, January 17 at 7:15 p.m.
 
In the OUA's East Division, the distance between the bottom and the top of the leagues is so far that some of the teams at the top have already clinched a playoff position. In the West Division, on the other hand, the bottom three teams have combined to go 14-13-3 in their last ten games and sit well within striking distance of the middle of the pack.
 
Brock is one of those three teams, sitting tied for seventh with 19 points on the season and a record of 8-8-3. Currently on a two-game winning streak, which saw them beat Lakehead 4-3 in overtime, the Badgers have a chance to move into sixth in the West with a victory over Western on Friday night.
On offense, Brock led this year by Thomas Stajan and Matt Abercrombie, who have put up 20 points and 18, respectively. Stajan and Abercrombie were both held pointless in Brocks 4-3 victory over Lakehead on Friday, although they both made their mark in their team's victory over York, with Abercrombie tallying two goals and Stajan adding an assist.
 
In net, Dalton McGrath has been solid for the Badgers this season, playing in 15 of their 19 games while registering a save percentage of 0.917 and a goals against average of 3.00. The sophomore net-minder is three games away from matching his eight win total from last season and has already topped his rookie-season save percentage by seven whole points. 
 
With a game in hand on first-place Ryerson, the Mustangs will have a chance to reach 28 points and enter a tie for first overall when they take on the Badgers on Friday.