Western impressed in a small sample size last weekend, opening their season with a 3-1 victory over Brock at the Seymour-Hannah Centre in St. Catharines. Next up are a pair of games at Thompson Arena, as the Mustangs welcome Laurier on Friday and Ryerson on Saturday.
 
Two familiar faces in Trent Oullette and Matt Marantz had the first two goals for the Mustangs before rookie Andrew Goldberg added an insurance marker in the third. Oullette's goal late in the second period stood up as the winner, thanks to a 30-save performance from veteran Greg Dodds that included 22 saves through the last two periods.
 
Special teams didn't factor into the game in a major way, with both teams largely managing to stay out of the box. Western had a penalty in each period while Greg Jambrosich took a goaltender interference penalty late in the third to give the Mustangs their only power play and kill any Badger momentum. Neither team was able to cash in with the man advantage.
 
Eight Mustangs played their first game in purple and white, with Cole Benson, Scott Teskey, Sean Callaghan, Spenser Cobbold, Connor Chartier, Ray Huether, and Goldberg all making their OUA debuts against the Badgers. Callaghan assisted on Marantz's first period goal to join Goldberg as the only rookies on the score-sheet.
 
Dodds was outstanding on Friday, winning his opening game for the third straight season, but don't be surprised if Peter Delmas sees some ice-time on the back-to-back this weekend. Either way Western fans will be treated to some solid goaltending, as the program that went 11-2 at home last year looks to do the same this year with new faces.
 
Friday, October 16 – 7 p.m. – Laurier at Western - Watch Live on OUA.tv; Listen Live on CHRW Radio 94.9 FM
 
Laurier finished one point below Brock last year, just barely outside of the final playoff spot. They opened their season last weekend with a victory over the only team that finished below them in the OUA West Division last year, edging the York Lions in overtime in Waterloo.
 
Third-year goaltender Vinny Merante got the win for the Golden Hawks, stopping 37 of 39 shots in an impressive opening performance. Merante was one of a number of Laurier players that struggled with injury last season but was solid when he returned, starting eight of the Golden Hawks' last nine games while compiling a .919 save percentage.
 
Western won both meetings between the two teams last season. The Mustangs pulled out a tough 4-3 victory in December before closing out the regular season with a 6-0 shutout victory over Laurier in February. That game helped keep the Golden Hawks out of the post-season, and they'll be looking to avenge their fate when they arrive in London on Friday.
 
Saturday, October 17 – 7 p.m. – Ryerson at Western - Watch Live on OUA.tv
 
Ryerson and Western have already met once this year during the exhibition season, when the Mustangs pulled out a 6-4 victory over the Rams at Thompson Arena. It will be similar circumstances on Saturday when Ryerson returns to London for a matchup, although this time the marbles count for OUA points and both teams should be sharper.
 
The Rams have already played two games this season, as they welcomed two Quebec teams for their opening weekend at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. Concordia, who finished second-last in the tough OUA East Division last year, left with a 5-2 victory while UQTR, the team that finished just a point away from tops in the East, gave up the first two goals and fell 2-1.
 
That's a mixed bag for a team that finished fourth in the OUA West last season. But Ryerson has been a tough draw for the last number of years, and with veteran goalie Troy Passingham returning along with top-scorers Kyle Blaney, Mitch Gallant, and defenceman Alex Basso, the Rams promise to be another tough test for the young Mustangs this week.