If the Western Mustangs had a say in the matter, they may have chosen to forgo the OUA's December break altogether in favour of continuing their regular season schedule. After all, the Mustangs closed out the 2014 schedule on an impressive hot streak, winning eight of their last nine games and topping off a six-game road stretch with a big win over CIS no. 6 Windsor.
But Western didn't have a say in the matter, and so they'll have to get back into their groove when they return to action this weekend for home games against RMC and Carleton. The Mustangs head into the second half ranked second in the OUA behind Windsor and still stand as the only team in the CIS not to have lost at home yet this season.
Leading the Mustangs on offence this year has been captain Steve Reese, whose 16 assists and 23 points rank first on the team ahead of fellow veteran Stefan Salituro (8—10—18). On defence, Western has five players—David Corrente (4—3—7), Matt Paltridge (0—7—7), Jake Worrad (0—7—7), Stephen Gaskin (3—3—6), and Alex Micallef (2—4—6)—with six or more points— a demonstration of the team's impressive scoring depth.
Reese also leads the league in power play goals with six, helping keep Western atop the CIS with a power play percentage of 26.8%. The Mustangs also have the seventh best penalty kill in the OUA at 84.3%, thanks in large part to backstop Greg Dodds. Dodds has been rock solid for Western in net so far this year, registering the second-most wins in the CIS with 10 and the OUA's fourth-best save percentage at .930.
Western vs RMC — Friday, January 9 at 7:00 p.m. — Watch live on OUA.tv
With 13 regulation and two extra-time losses in 15 games so far, RMC stands as the only team in the OUA without a win on the season. But on the bright side, their two extra-time points came in their last two games before the break, as they took both Laurier and Concordia to double-overtime to close 2014 out on a strong note.
Both of those games were at RMC's home arena, where they've performed better in almost every aspect this season. By all accounts, the Paladins have had a rough go on the road this year, taking more penalties, scoring at a lower rate, and performing worse on both the power play and the penalty kill. With a matchup against the country's best home team on tap for Friday, RMC will be in tough to snap their eight game road losing streak.
Eric Louis-Seize leads the Paladins in both assists and points this season with 10 and 16, respectively. Behind him are Kyle Phillips, who has a team-leading seven goals in eleven games, and John Livingston with five goals and six assists for 11 points.
In net, the team is led by Evan Deviller, who helped earn RMC both of their points this season and has put together a .895 save percentage so far, an solid stat considering he's faced 40 or more shots in seven of his eight starts this year. Twice this season he's been peppered with over 50 shots, his highest total coming on October 24 when he stopped 55 of 59 shots against Carleton.
Western vs Carleton — Saturday, January 10 at 2:00 p.m. — Watch live on OUA.tv
Luckily for Western, three of Carleton's four losses this season have come on the road, although you wouldn't know it just looking at their stats. The only areas where the Ravens have performed worse on the road this season are in team save percentage and goals against average, while their power play, penalty kill, and overall offence have been significantly better in opposition arenas through two less games.
So Western has to be ready for a mixed bag when the Ravens roll into town on Saturday, especially considering Carleton sits second in the OUA East and fourth overall in the league. Western's goalies will also have to be on edge, as the Ravens have registered the third-highest goal per game average on the season (4.19) while managing the most shots in the OUA (729).
Leading the Ravens on offence are Michael McNamee and Joe Pleckaitis, who have 23 points and 21, respectively, this season. Two of the Ravens' defence men have proved crucial to the team's offence so far too, as Matthew Stanisz and Owen Werthner each have at least ten assists on the year. In net, Patrick Killeen has two less starts than teammate Francis Dupuis but has made the most of them, earning seven wins and a team-leading .922 save percentage.
