Box Score LONDON, Ont. - A slow start on the scoreboard proved costly for Western, as the Windsor Lancers rode a three-goal second period to a 3-1 win to eliminate the Mustangs from OUA playoff contention at Thompson Arena on Sunday night.
 
"Tremendous effort," Mustangs' head coach Clarke Singer remarked after the game. "We asked the guys before the game to give us everything they had and they did. I thought they left it all out there."
 
With the 2-1 series win, the Lancers will advance to the OUA West Finals to take on the Lakehead Thunderwolves. After the game, Singer gave Windsor full credit.
 
"We've got a great team just down the hallway that played one heck of a series against us and we've got a great group in this dressing room that left it all on the table," Singer said. "Credit to Windsor—they did a great job. They had a great game plan, great goaltending and they were better than us this series.
 
"We wish them well going forward," he added.
 
Western's tough luck so far this post-season on the power play continued into Sunday's first period, which saw the Mustangs earn two power plays and squander them both. It wasn't for lack of chances either, as Western fired a 14 shots at Lancers' netminder Parker Van Buskirk compared to Windsor's seven.
 
In the second period, however, the majority of chances would swing the other way, setting the Mustangs on their darkest timeline. By the time the last second clicked off the clock in the period, Western's fate was all but sealed.
 
Mac MacDonnell opened the scoring for the Lancers just over three minutes into the frame, taking a feed from linemate Spencer Pommells off a neutral zone faceoff win and burying the puck behind Unice. Three minutes later, with MacDonnell looking for his second of the night, Unice bounced back big time, robbing MacDonnell on a breakaway before stoning Pommells on the rebound.
 
Despite Unice's efforts, a couple of defensive breakdowns from the Mustangs would allow Windsor to get on the board twice more before the period's end. Mike Christou scored with 11:11 on the clock, followed quickly by Matt Beaudoin on a Western giveaway at 10:15.
 
When asked after the game about a possible turning point, Singer was quick to point to the third goal.
 
"The way we were creating some chances [prior to the goal]—we were squeezing our sticks a bit—but when you're only down two you can get a couple back in a shift sometimes," he explained. "That third goal, when it went in, that's a real big mountain to climb for us."
 
With their three-goal lead in hand, Windsor did an impressive job of shutting down Western's offense to close out the second, limiting the Mustangs to just six shots. Whenever the Mustangs did get a chance, Van Buskirk was stellar, making a number of game-saving saves with time winding down in the frame.
 
The Mustangs had their strongest start of the game in the third, pinning Windsor in their zone for the majority of the first ten minutes. Alex Micallef made sure that zone time wouldn't go to waste, potting Western's first goal of the game 6:10 into the frame on a feed from Daniel Erlich.
 
That would be as close as Western would get though, as the Lancers were able to shut down the Mustangs' offence as they pressed in the dying minutes. Van Buskirk stopped a game-high 16 shots in the period to close out his great performance, finishing the game with 36 saves total.
 
While Western won't continue on in the OUA playoffs, they showed a ton of promise and fight—qualities that they can look to build on when they return to the ice next season. For the five Mustangs that won't be returning to the team next year, Singer had nothing but praise after the game.
 
"These guys give their heart and soul not only to the program but to each other and the university, travelling all over the country and playing hard," Singer said.  "We're proud of them, proud of everything they give."