Box Score WINDSOR, Ont. – For the second game in a row, the Windsor Lancers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second period, conjuring up memories of Thursday's come-from-behind win for the Mustangs.
 
On Saturday, however, the Lancers were able to change the story and exorcise those demons, turning in a solid 60-minute effort to hand the Western Mustangs a 3-1 loss at South Windsor Arena and force a third game in their OUA West Semi-Final series.
 
That game—which will decide who moves on to the OUA West Finals—will take place at Thompson Arena on Sunday at 7:00 p.m.
 
With a chance to eliminate Windsor on the line, the Mustangs found themselves unable to get the scoring they needed late in the game. David Corrente cut Windsor's lead to one with 7:01 left in the game but that's all Western could manage, despite being handed their third power play of the period with 4:28 on the clock.
 
Back in January, when the Mustangs' penalty kill and power play were both firing on all cylinders, head coach Clarke Singer stressed that continued success on special teams would play a big part in any playoff success, suggesting that in the post-season, at least most of the time, "the teams that win special teams win the games."
 
Whether or not that statement has been true so far in the playoffs, Singer probably wished that it wasn't on Saturday night. Western scored once on seven power play opportunities in the game, going just 1-for-4 in the tightly-played third period, and didn't do much better on the penalty kill, allowing the Lancers to go 1-for-3 and score the game-winning goal with the man advantage late in the second.
 
That power play goal came with just 38 seconds left in the second period off the stick of Saverio Posa, who now has two goals and four assists for six points in the post season. Blake Blondeel scored the other goal for the Lancers just 2:15 into the second, finishing on a play from Evan Stibbard and Mike Christou to open the scoring.
 
Certainly, power play success isn't the only indicator of success; but there's no doubt that the power play can be a game-changer in the playoffs and Windsor showed that on Saturday night, scoring once on four less infractions than their opponents to take the win.
 
Josh Unice was strong in the loss, stopping 32 of 34 shots on the night to continue his strong post-season. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, the Lancers' netminder Parker Van Buskirk was just as strong, turning aside 41 shots for his third win of the playoffs. The third-year backstop has been stellar so far in the playoffs, registering a goals against average of 2.01 and a save percentage of .944%.
 
Western will look to get back on track when they welcome the Lancers to Thompson Arena for game three. With the season on the line, the Mustangs will have their experience from the quarterfinals—which saw them defeated Guelph in three games—to pull from as they look to hand Windsor a similar fate.