Western (11-3-1) was just over five minutes away from completing a two-game sweep against Lakehead (6-9-2) last weekend when Carson Dubchak spoiled the party, jamming in his second of the night to force extra time. Kelin Ainsworth would eventually seal the deal for the Thunderwolves, scoring in double-overtime to snap Western's six-game win streak.

Still, despite having their streak snapped, the Mustangs were able to pick up three important road points on against Lakehead and head into this week ranked second in the OUA West Division behind Windsor, who Western will face for the first time this season on the road on Wednesday. But first, the Mustangs will travel to Waterloo on Tuesday to match up against Laurier. 

That's a quick turnaround for a team that just spent the better part of the weekend in Thunder Bay— probably much quicker than the purple and white would have liked. But, at the same time, the games represent the end of the 2014 schedule for the Mustangs, so they'll have lots of time off to look forward to before returning for some home action in January.

And no matter what happens on the upcoming road trip, one cannot say enough good things about the Mustangs' performance on the road as of late. Western has earned seven of a possible eight points on their current four-game away stretch, beating some tough competition in UQTR (11-2-2) and taking three of four points from an underrated team in Lakehead.

That success shows up in some of their statistics. For one thing, Western's road penalty kill percentage has improved considerably since they began their current string of away games on November 21, as they've shifted from second last in the OUA at 63.6% to 10th in the league at 79.2%. Through their last 13 times shorthanded, Western has given up just one goal.

Similarly, while the Mustangs have been scoring on the power play in opponent's arenas at the same rate as they were before November 21, their overall scoring on the road has increased by a large margin. After managing just nine goals through their first four away games, Western more than tripled that total through their next four by scoring 28, thanks in large part to a huge offensive outburst in their 8-4 comeback win against Concordia.

Meanwhile, the ability of Western's defence to contribute on offence—something head coach Clarke Singer said he was looking for prior to the season—was on full display again Saturday night, as David Corrente had a goal and Stephen Gaskin added a goal and an assist. The night before, it was Matt Paltridge earning a primary assist. In total, Western's defence has registered an impressive six goals and four assists on their current road stretch.

Up front, captain Steve Reese had a goal on Friday night and remains atop the Mustangs' scoring leaderboard with 21 points, while Julian Cimadamore started a two game goal-scoring streak by notching a tally in each weekend game. Adam McKee, possibly the hottest Mustang of late, extended his point streak to six games on Friday before sitting out Saturday's loss. The veteran centre is an important part of Western's depth down the middle, so his availability this week could play a big part in the Mustangs' success.

Speaking of depth, Western could get a big piece back this week with Kyle De Coste eligible to return from his five-game suspension. De Coste was hot before being ejected while coming to the aid of a teammate, as he had compiled nine points in the five games prior. His 11 points this year are good enough for fourth on the team.

Western at Laurier — Tuesday, December 2 at 7:30 p.m. — Watch live on OUA.tv

The Laurier Golden Hawks (5-9-1) have had a tough kick at the can this season when on the road but have actually put together a pretty solid record at home, going 4-3 at Sun Life Financial Arena compared to just 1-7 at opposing arenas.

That fact may not seem odd at first glance—after all, most teams are better at home— but if you look at the team's split stats an interesting trend appears: the Golden Hawks have actually been quite a bit better, at least statistically speaking, when on the road.

Consider the following: Laurier has scored more goals, fired more shots, gone 10% better on the power play while drawing ten more opportunities, been better on the penalty kill, and allowed 17 less shots in one more game when playing the role of visitor. For most teams, that success would probably result in a better record on the road, or at least a comparable one.

But the Golden Hawks have been better in one key area in their seven home games: goaltending. Four of their five wins have come at home, thanks in large part to a solid .914 team save percentage in their own arena. Despite facing less shots when on the road, Laurier's goaltenders have given up 14 more goals for an .863 save percentage. Thus, Western will have to make sure they challenge the goalies early and often on Tuesday.

Up front, the Golden Hawks are led in scoring by freshman Zach Lorentz and veteran Tyler Stothers, who have 17 and 16 points, respectively. Stothers, who finished last year with just 14 points after recording 26 in his sophomore year, is in the middle of a bounce-back campaign this year, leading the team with nine goals through 15 games.

Western at Windsor, Wednesday, December 3 at 7:30 p.m. — Watch live on OUA.tv

It's hard to talk about the Windsor Lancers (14-1-1) without talking about Spencer Pommells, so we may as well just start there.

Long story short, Pommells has been the best player on the OUA's best team so far this year, tallying a CIS-leading 32 points through 16 games— the same amount he had through 28 matches last year. With a CIS-best 22 assists, he's displayed his elite playmaking skills, although his CIS-leading five game-winning goals suggests he can also finish when need be.

And while Windsor has had less success at home, putting together a record of 5-1-1, the same can't be said for Pommells. The veteran forward has been lights out in his own arena, where he's put up 18 of his points through seven games to go with two game-winning tallies. Only one team—McGill— has been able to keep him off the board at South Windsor Arena this year.

But while Pommells has been a huge factor in his team's success this season, he certainly hasn't been the only factor. No, the Lancers possess a number of other offensive weapons.

In fact, six of their players—Pommells, defenceman Kenny Bradford, Matt Beaudoin, Dylan Denomme, Drew Palmer, and Ryan Green—have recorded over a point-per-game so far this year. And a large part of their OUA-best 72 goals have come from a potent defensive core; Bradford is second on the team with 18 points while fellow blueliners Julian Luciani and Saverio Posa have also hit double-digits in points with 11 and 10, respectively.

The Lancers have also drawn an OUA-leading 85 penalties, with a disproportionate amount of those man advantages coming at home (47 versus 38 in two less games). When they've gotten those opportunities at home they've been sharp too, registering a 21.3% success rate on the power play at their arena compared to 18.4% on the road. On the penalty kill they're also considerably better at home, going 91.2% as opposed to 72.7% when they're the visitors.

In net, last year's starter, Parker Van Buskirk, has begun to lose playing time to sophomore Taylor Speed, who has picked up wins in all four of his appearances this season since making his first appearance in relief of Van Buskirk on October 25. Speed has gotten the call in two of Windsor's last three games and made the best of those opportunities by stopping 55 of 57 shots. He currently owns a .949 save percentage on the year compared to Van Buskirk's .900.