Box Score 1 After beginning their exhibition schedule with a pair of wins over Ottawa and Carleton last weekend the Western Mustangs women's hockey team traveled south of the border for games against Penn State and Ohio State this past weekend.
 
The Mustangs lined up for the puck drop on Friday night in Pennsylvania against the Penn State Nittany Lions. Heading into the contest, the Mustangs had two recent exhibition victories under their belts as they defeated the University of Ottawa 2-1, while picking up their second "W" of the exhibition season by outscoring Carlton 3-2.  Despite the recent success early this season, the Purple and White were unable to out score their competition south of the border, as Penn State defeated the Mustangs 5-2.
 
Penn State's Laura Bowman put the Lions onto the scoreboard early in the action as she found the back of the Mustangs net six minutes into the first period. The Lions continued to put forth an impressive offensive force as rookie Bella Sutton extended the Lions to a 2-0 advantage just three minutes later.
 
In the second period the Mustangs came out strong looking to put themselves onto the scoreboard, and they were able to do just that as fifth-year forward Ally Galloway took advantage of a power play to cut the Lions lead 2-1. The Lions responded with a goal of their own as Sutton tallied her second goal of the game when she put the puck past Mustangs goaltender, Peyton Parker. The two point lead didn't last long however, as Casey Rosen netted the Mustangs second goal of the game just less than a minute later.
 
Unfortunately for the Mustangs, it was Penn State who controlled the third period as Hannah Hoenshell furthered the lead with a goal early in the frame, while teammate Micayla Catanzariti secured the Penn State victory by adding the fifth and final goal of the game.
 
Following an off-day on Saturday, Western returned to the ice on Sunday for a late morning showdown with Ohio State.
 
The Buckeyes jumped out to an early lead, scoring just under four minutes into the game with a goal from Katie Matheny. Not to be outdone by their opponents, the Mustangs put forth a strong attack themselves and it was Marlowe Pecora who put the team on the scoreboard, tying the game at 1-1.
 
As the first period began to wind down the Mustangs were awarded a power play, giving the purple and white an opportunity to take the lead, however it would be the Buckeyes that found the back of the net with a shorthanded goal to take a 2-1 lead into the second period.
 
Western responded early in the second as Galloway netted her second marker of the weekend, converting assists from Ali Beres and Katelyn Gosling to even things up at 2-2.
 
Just over a minute after Galloway's goal the Buckeyes appeared to regain the momentum as they were awarded a penalty shot, however netminder Katie Jacobs turned aside the attempt keeping the game locked at 2-2.
 
The third period was filled with tough battles on both sides of the ice as both teams fought hard to control possession of the puck, however neither side was able to solve the other, sending the game to overtime. It would be more of the same in the extra frame with both sides refusing to allow a goal, leaving the game to be decided by shootout.
 
Ohio State's Kendall Curtis was the lone scorer in the shootout action as she found the back of the Mustangs net to capture the win for the Buckeyes, 1-0 in three rounds.
 
The Mustangs will be back on the ice on Friday, October 3 at Thompson Arena in London, to face-off against Concordia in more exhibition action. Puck drop is set for 4:00 p.m.