LONDON, Ont. – The Mustangs women's hockey team opened up the second half of their OUA regular season action with a win on Saturday evening as they downed the Laurentian Voyageurs 3-1 at Thompson Arena.

With the win the Mustangs continue to maintain their spot atop the OUA standings with a record of 13-0-2, while the Voyageurs now hold a 2-10-3 on the season so far.

"I thought our first period was a bit sluggish but I thought as the game went on we got progressively stronger," said Mustangs head coach Chris Higgins of his team's performance on the night.

Saturday's contest was a match that saw both teams concentrate the majority of their crowd pleasing and nail-biting moments until late in each of the three periods played. 

The Voyageurs were able to outshoot the Mustangs five-to-three in the first period but were unable to capitalize on their opportunities before the Mustang's Brianna Lazzolino put the puck past Voyageur goaltender Laura Dellar with only five seconds left in the frame. With the late goal the Mustangs took the one-point advantage heading into the first intermission. 

Despite being down by one the Voyageurs continued to battle hard in an attempt to cut the Mustangs lead, but their efforts were halted by a strong purple and white offense that outshot the Voyageurs ten-to-seven. 

The Mustangs were able to extend their advantage midway through the period when team points leader Kendra Broad put her name onto the scoresheet with her tenth goal of the season to put the Mustangs up 2-0.

If the Voyageurs were caught off guard by the Mustangs late first period goal, they went into the locker room in the second intermission with a sense of déjà vu as Mustang Sydney Kidd found the back of Dellar's net with only 31 seconds left in the period to further the Mustangs lead 3-0. 

Although the Mustangs controlled the scoreboard the Voyageurs came into the third period determined to cut the purple and white lead, and they were able to do just that with just over a minute left in the period as Amanda Pereira found the back of Campbell's net on a Laurentian power play. 

The Voyageurs then pumped up their intensity in the final minute of the game and a string of Mustang penalties left Campbell the target of a strong six-on-three power play attack by the Voyageurs. 

When asked if Mustangs head coach Higgins was nervous behind the bench in the final moments of the contest he responded, "not with Kelly in net," and rightfully so, as Campbell stayed strong between the posts and held the scoreboard 3-1. 

The Mustangs will be back in action on Sunday, January 11 when they face off against the Nipissing Lakers at 4:00 pm at Thompson Arena.