With only four games left on the schedule for the 2013-14 regular season, the Mustangs will welcome second-place Lakehead (15-6-3) on Friday and fifth-place York (13-9-2) on Saturday as they look to give themselves some space in the race for first place in the OUA West.
 
Although the Mustangs had their six-game win streak snapped on Saturday in a tough 7-6 loss to Guelph, they still have a number of things going for them. For one thing, they have still had seven games in a row that they've earned a point.
 
But there are more yet, and in advance of what is perhaps the most important weekend of the Mustangs season so far, it may be helpful to highlight some of the other positives.
 
Favourable Positioning

Western enters the second last weekend of the season five points ahead of the third-place Ryerson Rams with a game in hand, meaning a strong performance in their upcoming two matchups almost certainly guarantees them at least second place in the OUA West.
 
After the Mustangs 7-1 win against Toronto on Friday, January 24, Mustangs head coach Clarke Singer spoke about what it would mean to secure the first seed heading into the playoffs.
 
"We'd love to have it but the league's so close I think every playoff matchup is going to be critical," Singer said. "Having home ice is nice for sure—we love playing at Thompson arena—but we're just focused on getting better."
 
When asked whether there were any teams he would rather play come playoff time, Singer wouldn't bite, laughing before dismissing any notion of playing favourites.
 
"No. I mean look, we lost to Laurier," he responded. "They came in here and handed us our lunch late last week so we've just got to play our game and focus on the things we do and whoever ends up in the first round we'll play them and do the best we can."
 
Hot Goaltender

The bad news for Western from last weekend is obvious; they snapped their win streak on Saturday in dramatic fashion. The good news is that Josh Unice did not. The fifth-year Mustangs netminder was given a rest on Saturday, meaning his seven game win streak is still intact going into the weekend.
 
A lot has been made of his stats in comparison to other OUA goaltenders but there's also the question of how he measures up to all CIS netminders. The answer? Just as well. Among the 14 goalies who have played 1000 minutes this season or more, Unice ranks second in save percentage at .927 behind only Kevin Baillie of Queen's, fifth in goals against average at 2.55, and is tied for fourth in wins with 13.
 
Quick Strike Offence

Speaking of measuring up to CIS competition, Daniel Erlich also has something to boast about in that regard. His 43 points—which are good enough to tie him for first in the OUA with Dominic Alberga and Jamie Wise of Ryerson—are also good enough to tie him for first in the CIS. On top of that, his 33 assists are good enough for tops in both the OUA and the CIS.
 
The Mustangs have two other players in the CIS top ten too, as Matt Clarke (13G—24A—37P) and Zach Harnden (15G—21A—36P) sit fifth and 10th, respectively. Furthermore, two more Western players grace the top 50, as Steve Reese (10G—16A—26P) is tied for 40th and Kyle De Coste (16G—9A—25P) is tied for 47th.
 
Reese, Harnden, and De Coste all chipped in during Western's losing effort on Saturday to ensure that their recent point streaks would continue. Reese is now on a seven game point streak with 16 points during that time, Harnden on a nine game streak with 17 points, and De Coste on a five game streak with 12 points. With eight goals in his last five, De Coste is now tied for the longest goal-scoring streak in the OUA this season.
 
Special Delivery

Before last weekend, the Mustangs were rolling along on the power play, going 11-30 since the New Year to place themselves second in the OUA with a percentage of 26.3. After going 3-for-6 on the power play against Waterloo and Guelph—thanks in large part to their 3-for-5 performance against Guelph on Saturday—Western now owns sole possession of first in the OUA with a percentage of 26.3.
 
When you pair that potent of a power play with a penalty kill that has denied 34 of 37 opportunities since the New Year, you get one dangerous and intimidating special teams package.  Granted, two of those three power play goals came against Guelph on Saturday, but both of them came in the back-and-forth third period—one which the Mustangs are hoping to leave behind forever.
 
The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. at Thompson Arena on Friday evening.
 
Western vs. Lakehead – Friday, February 7 at 7:30 PM - Watch Live on Mustangs TV
 
While the Mustangs have found themselves winning at the right time, the Thunderwolves find themselves on the other side of the coin, as they are currently mired in a three game losing streak (0-1-2). Lucky for them, so is third-placed Ryerson (15-10-0) and, unlike Lakehead, the Rams haven't found themselves able to salvage a point from any of those matchups.
 
Given that Lakehead has only two players with more than 20 points on the year—compared to Western's five—it probably wouldn't be surprising to learn that among the top 15 teams in the OUA, the Thunderwolves have the third lowest amount of goals for on the season (75) ahead of only York (68) and Laurier (65).
 
With those stats in mind, it's hard not to turn directly to the team's goaltending stats for answers. If you do, you'll find that the Thunderwolves' two netminders—Jeff Bosch and Justin McDonald—have been standout performers for their team this season, splitting the entire load between the two of them and turning out 15 wins.
 
Bosch is credited for six of his team's nine losses on the season, although that statistic doesn't appear to do his performance justice. His season save percentage, .929, is good enough for fourth in the OUA and sits two points ahead of Josh Unice's .927 on the season. The third-year backstop has been in net for his team's last four games, falling in three of them despite posting a strong save percentage of .917.
 
Last time the two teams met, however, the Mustangs pounded Bosch with five goals on 33 shots to come away with a 5-1 victory on January 11. Needless to say, Western will be looking for a similar performance against whichever goaltender takes the crease on Friday night.
 
Western vs. York – Saturday, February 8 at 7 PM - Watch Live on Mustangs TV
 
With 68 goals on the season, the York Lions rank extremely low on the OUA's leaderboard in that category—second-last in the OUA West and fifth-last in the OUA, to be exact. But with only 59 goals against, the Lions find themselves ranked first in the OUA West and tied for third in the entire OUA. So it goes.
 
The reason for such a low goals against total isn't hard to find; one needs to look no further than the Perugini brothers—Andrew and Chris. Splitting all of York's first 24 games, the Lion's sibling tandem have been fantastic, ranking third in the CIS in team save percentage at .922 and fifth in goals against average at 2.38.
 
In 18 appearances, Andrew has registered nine wins and established a save percentage of .921 while Chris, an OUA rookie, has compiled an impressive .931 save percentage and four wins in six appearances. No matter which brother the Mustangs find themselves facing on Saturday, one thing is for sure; they'll be in tough against a Perugini.
 
The puck is set to drop at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday evening at Thompson Arena.