Box Score LONDON, Ont. - Adam Mckee's first ever OUA playoff goal couldn't have come at a better time.
 
The fourth-year forward scored on a breakaway with 1:27 left in the third period to complete the Mustangs' three-goal comeback, leading them over the Windsor Lancers 3-2 in the first game of the OUA West Semi-Final on Thursday night at Thompson Arena.
 
"Adam's been great on shootouts his whole career on [the London Nationals] and in here," Mustangs' head coach Clarke Singer said after the game. "I actually thought he might go in and deke—he's got a great left-to-right forehand deke. But it was a great goal, one of the biggest in his career and gives us the lead going into Windsor."
 
Heading into Thursday's matchup, the stats from the teams' previous games seemed to point towards an interesting result. On the one hand, the final game of round one saw both teams score at least five goals, with Windsor beating Toronto 5-2 and Western beating Guelph 6-1; on the other, both teams entered with a hot goaltender, as both Josh Unice and Parker Van Buskirk were instrumental in those wins.  
 
With the two teams preparing to collide in the OUA West Semi-Finals, at least one of those storylines was destined to end.
 
Yet the game's first goal off the stick of the Lancers' Matt Beaudoin didn't represent the end of Unice's hot streak as much as it did the potency of Windsor's offense. With only 1:46 off the clock in the first, the puck popped onto Beaudoin's stick from behind the net and he made no mistake, wiring the puck off the post and in.
 
Although Windsor appeared to control the play for the most part of the opening frame, the Mustangs escaped with a promising stat line heading into the second period. For one thing, they managed to give Unice a bit of rest, limiting the Lancers to nine shots while firing nine of their own. On top of that, both teams managed to stay out of the penalty box, making for a fast and exciting first 20 minutes of hockey.
 
But just like in the first a slow start to the second period would prove costly for the Mustangs, with Kenny Bradford cycling out of the corner and making a seeing eye pass to Mac McDonnell in front of the net for his first of the playoffs. Bradford's nifty pass left McDonnell all alone and once again left Unice with little chance, as McDonnell lifted the puck through the Western netminder's legs.
 
After the game, Singer admitted that the timing of Windsor's two goals played a big part in why the Mustangs struggled to get into the game early.
 
"It's tough, momentum is so important," Singer said. "They had a great start, we had a great start—the first five or six minutes were a real battle—but they kind of got that early one and after that I thought it took a bit of the wind out of our sails."
 
Western had their chances in the first half of the frame but just couldn't seem to find their way on the board. One such chance came as a result of a nice give and go between Kyle De Coste and Zach Harnden. Receiving the puck from Harnden and taking it down the middle of Windsor's zone, De Coste drew both defenders before dishing the puck back to his linemate, who was turned aside in close by Van Buskirk.
 
Western finally got on the board late in the period, thanks in large part to a stellar effort from captain Steve Reese. After Stefan Salituro dug the puck off the boards and down to Reese behind the net, the Mustangs' veteran made a brilliant blind saucer pass with his face pressed against the boards to find Adam Stoykewych, who had no problem wiring home his second of the post-season.
 
The two teams headed in the intermission with the score at 2-1 Windsor but not before Unice had a chance to commit some highway robbery. With McDonnell sprung on a break and looking for his second of the game Unice put on a show, coming up with a huge glove save to stun the crowd and leave McDonnell looking to the rafters.
 
With the highlight of the night looking like it would be firmly locked up by Unice, Matt Clarke put his own name into the hat just 1:22 into the final frame, tying the game up with a brilliant move in tight. Picking up the puck in front of the Windsor net, the sophomore forward weaved some magic in close, pulling the puck around Van Buskirk's pad and behind the net before maneuvering it back around the post and in to send the crowd to their feet.
 
Much like through the first 40 minutes, the refs put their whistles away in the third and largely allowed the teams to play it out. Two of the times that they did blow the whistle it was to call back a goal, as Western was denied the lead at 3:12 before Windsor was forced to settle for the same fate a couple of minutes later.
 
The first infraction of the frame came with just over four minutes left, as McDonnell earned himself a spot in the box with an untimely hook. The Mustangs couldn't capitalize while he was in the box but Mckee sealed the deal a little under a minute later, receiving a breakaway pass from Matt Marantz and going five-hole on Van Buskirk for the winning goal.
 
With game one wrapped up, the Mustangs will head to Windsor on Saturday with a chance to eliminate their division rivals on the line. That game will start at 7:30 p.m. at South Windsor Arena. If necessary, a third and deciding game will be played 7:00 p.m. Sunday at Thompson Arena.
 
Post-game, Singer gave his thoughts on how Western has to approach game two.
 
"We're looking forward to going down but we've got to be a little better than tonight," he said. "Windsor played great tonight but they're going to be facing elimination and be absolutely desperate on Saturday night so we're going to have to match that desperation and played a little harder of a game than we did tonight."