ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - Trent Ouellette scored the go-ahead goal seventeen minutes into the second period and Greg Dodds stopped 30 shots as the Mustangs spoiled the Brock Badgers' home opener with a 3-1 victory at the Seymour-Hannah Centre Friday night.
 
Western iced a total of seven rookie players in the game but it was their returning players who made the biggest dent on the score-sheet.
 
Four of the five assists registered on the night came from familiar faces while Ouellette, a sophomore, and veteran Matt Marantz accounted for two of the three goals. Dodds picked up the win with first-year Justin Tugwell serving as his back-up.
 
Marantz opened the scoring for the Mustangs in the first frame, tying the game at a goal apiece late in the first period after Mitch Nardi put Brock ahead with 7:30 on the clock. Rookie Sean Callaghan earned his first OUA point on the goal with the first and only assist.
 
Dodds was a big reason for the deadlock heading into the first intermission, stopping a game-high 13 shots in the opening frame. He got a little bit more support in the second period, when Brock managed just six shots, before facing eleven more in the third.
 
After putting up a game-high 14 shots in the first, Western added another 13 in the second to keep Brock goaltender Real Cormier busy. They were rewarded with a late goal from Ouellette, who got the puck from Alex Micallef at the side of the net and spun before firing it in.
 
Strong starts are nothing new for Ouellette as he netted a pair in Western's season opener last season against Guelph. He finished the year with three goals and eight assists through 27 games and is one of a number of possible break-out candidates for the Mustangs this year.
 
Andrew Goldberg was the only rookie to score on the night, beating Cormier just under five minutes into the third period to give Western some insurance. Defencemen Matt Herskovitz and Stephen Gaskin got the apples on the goal for their first points of the season.
 
Penalties were few and far between for the two teams. Western spent more time in the bin, giving the Badgers three power plays, although Brock had the most ill-advised penalty, as Greg Jambrosich took a deflating goaltender interference penalty late in the final frame.
 
When all was said in done, no Mustang finished with more than a single point on the night. It was a fitting start to the season for a team that enters the year without their top three scorers from last year and will be expected to spread their offence around in 2015-16.
 
Next up for Western is their home opener on Friday, October 16, against the Laurier Golden Hawks at Thompson Arena. The Golden Hawks will open their season tomorrow night against the York Lions after finishing second last in the OUA West Division last year.

Notes

Dodds win marked the third straight year that he's won his season debut… Western hasn't lost to Brock since February, 2013. Since the 2012-13 season, the Mustangs have gone 8-1 against the Badgers with a number of overtime thrillers.