Box Score LONDON, Ont. – A strong second period, and a three-point game from Katelyn Gosling, helped the Western Mustangs women's hockey team overtake the Toronto Varsity Blues with a 3-2 win on Saturday afternoon at Thompson Arena in game two of their OUA Quarterfinal series.
 
After dropping a heartbreaker to the Varsity Blues in triple overtime on Wednesday the Mustangs returned to the ice for the second game of the best-of-three series in their home arena in what could have been the last game of their 2013-14 season.
 
Toronto entered the game with a 1-0 lead in the series and was first on the scoreboard after game one hero Alie Brind'Amour-McClure put the Blues up by one under the ten-minute mark in the first period with a power play goal. It was end-to-end action in the opening frame with both teams fighting to keep possession of the puck as the Mustangs fought to eliminate the early deficit. A point shot from Brianna Iazzolino almost made it past a scramble in front of the net with a minute left in the first period but Toronto goaltender Nicole Kesteris would make the stop, one of eight shots that she would turn away in the period as the Varsity Blues outshot the Mustangs by three.
 
After Wednesday's goalie battle that proved why Kesteris and Western netminder Kelly Campbell are two of the top goaltenders in the OUA, recording 33 and 30 respective saves on the night, Game 2 was slightly different with the purple and white outshooting their opponents 30-21 to keep the pressure on Kesteris.
 
The second period saw a decided change in momentum as the Mustangs skated hard in enemy territory, firing off five shots in the first five minutes of the frame. Their persistent effort paid of 12 minutes in when the Mustangs got past Kesteris with a shot from the corner by Katelyn Gosling off of assists from Marlow Pecora and Cassidy Gosling. It was almost 2-1 for the Mustangs a short time later when a goal was disallowed after the officials determined the puck to have crossed the goal line after the whistle, but the Western squad would get their goal with just a minute left in the frame as Carly Rolph notched the Mustangs second power play marker with the assists going to Katelyn Gosling and Iazzolino. The second period belonged to the Mustangs as they outshot the Varsity Blues with 13 attempts and two goals while Campbell turned away all six shots she faced in the frame to give the purple and white a 2-1 lead heading into the third.
 
Western head coach Chris Higgins was pleased with his team's performance in the second period and how they responded from an early one-goal deficit.
 
"They got the first goal, they capitalized on our mistake on the face-off," said Higgins. "Then we got it back when we tied it up in the second and we just got stronger and stronger. When they took that unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the second I thought, 'these guys are getting frustrated.' That was a really good sign."
 
Once again it was the Mustangs playing aggressive in the Toronto end as the final frame began with the purple and white leading by one and working hard to increase the lead. Western notched what would stand as the game-winner just under three minutes into the third as Sydney Kidd scored the team's only full-strength goal from Katelyn Gosling and Brittany Clapham to extend the Mustangs lead to two. Western wouldn't keep possession of the two-goal insurance for long as Brind'Amour-McClure scored her second of the game just over a minute later but it wouldn't be enough as the Mustangs held on through the final minutes to end the game with a 3-2 victory.
 
Heading into the deciding game of the series with both teams tied at one game apiece Higgins is confident in his team against a familiar Toronto opponent. "You know what, in Game 3 there is no coaching," he said after the win. "You get on the ice and you play your best, that's what it's going to come down to. We don't care who else is on the ice. We put our girls on and we go from there."
 
Game 3 will take place on at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 16 at Varsity Arena with the winner advancing to the OUA Semi-Finals.