TORONTO, Ont. — A 30-save shutout performance from Mitch Maraschiello gave York their first win against Western in nearly two years on Friday night, as Trevor Peterson provided the only goal of the night to send the Lions past the Mustangs 1-0 at Canlan Ice Sports.
 
With the win, York avenged last week's thrilling 3-2 overtime loss against the Mustangs at Thompson Arena. The defeat is a tough one for Western, as they give up a crucial two points ahead of a week that will see them play two of the OUA's top teams in Windsor and Waterloo. The Mustangs now sit two points behind Windsor for top spot in the OUA West Division.
 
Next to Wednesday's two-for-one penalty extravaganza against Brock, Friday night's game seemed like a trip to the local library. The two teams combined for just six infractions—two of which were offsetting—and, save for Dylan Smoskowitz's match penalty for spearing in the second period, were largely able to keep their tempers in check on the night.
 
Neither team scored with the man advantage and—just like last week—they both employed an effective trap defence at five-on-five. Thus, facing off against a team that scores few goals but doesn't allow many either, Western was forced to play a similar game to York and couldn't play it better, firing double-digit shots in the first and third periods to no avail.
 
A big part of York's success was the fact that they opened the scoring in the first period and thus were able to retreat into their defensive shell early on. Peterson tallied his fifth of the season just under 13 minutes into the frame, beating Greg Dodds to put the Lions out in front. Colton Vannucci and Michael Santini, York's leading scorer, were given assists on the goal.
 
Dodds was solid for Western, turning aside 26 of 27 shots to keep his team in the game. The Lions had a number of chances to add to their lead in the second period, firing a game-high 11 shots on net, but Western's sophomore goaltender was there every time. He finished with 17 saves alone in the last two periods and improved his save percentage to .916 on the year.
 
Windsor didn't do Western any favours on Friday night, beating the Brock Badgers 2-1 in St. Catharines to take over sole possession of first place in the OUA West Division. The two teams will meet next Thursday in one of the most important games of the year so far before the Mustangs turn their attention to the third-ranked team in the division in Waterloo on Saturday night.
 
Both of those games will take place at Thompson Arena, as the Mustangs will play three of their final four games at home. The following week Western will close out the regular season against Guelph and Laurier.
 
Notes: Santini's assist extends his league-leading point-streak to 11 games and his team-leading point total to 18… Neither Luke Karaim or Cody Brown returned after sustaining injuries against the Badgers… The shutout victory was actually Maraschiello's first win of the season. Playing behind workhorse Chris Perugini, who is fourth in the league in minutes played, he's made just three appearances this year while putting together a save percentage of .942. Noah Schwartz had his seven-game point streak snapped on the night after his four-point night on Wednesday.