LONDON, Ont. – Five different players registered goals and Kelly Campbell shut the door as Western Mustangs defeated the Laurier Golden Hawks 5-0 on Sunday afternoon at Thompson Arena.
 
"I thought we played pretty solid, as the game wore on we got stronger," said head coach David Barrett after the win. "I was very comfortable with how we finished the game. We talked between periods about if we're going to be a championship team, and you have a two-goal lead going into the third, you have to be able to finish teams off and I thought we did a pretty good job of that."
 
The win, Western's third consecutive victory, gives the Mustangs a 6-3-0-0 record and puts them into a tie for fourth in the OUA standings alongside the Waterloo Warriors.
 
Defenceman Brianna Iazzollino led the team in scoring notching three assists in the game, while Tia Kipfer and April Clark each recorded both a goal and an assist. Despite the high score, the game was a hard fought physical showdown that featured 17 minor penalties between the two teams.
 
The Western offence has been struggling a bit this season, being shut out in three of its first seven games, but against Laurier the offence came alive as the Mustangs poured on 31 shots including 16 in the second period alone. Laurier goaltender Lauren Webber was strong but couldn't handle the relentless Western offence.
 
Campbell made 26 saves to get her fifth win and second shutout of the season. The St. Thomas native also helped the Mustangs penalty kill go a perfect four-for-four while playing with a man down on Sunday.
 
The first period started with back and forth action, but a penalty to Laurier forward Blair Connelly just over two minutes in gave the Mustangs their first power play opportunity of the day.
 
Western made quick work with the man advantage as Brianna Iazzolino worked it across the point to Katelyn Gosling who fired a shot on net. Weber was able to make the save but Kendra Broad slid the puck by the netminder to give the Mustangs the 1-0 lead early in the game.
 
Despite the goal, the Golden Hawks carried the play for most of the period and outshot the Mustangs 15-6. The score remained 1-0 going to the second.
 
In the second, linemates Clark and Kipfer connected for the Mustangs second goal. With Western putting pressure on the Hawks, Clark was able to control the puck behind the red line and fight Kipfer in the slot. The Mustang one timed the pass and tucked it over Webber's right pad to extend the Mustangs lead to 2-0. 
 
The Mustangs ran away with it in the third with three goals in the frame. Clark, Marlowe Pecora and Stacey Scott all found the net to give the Mustangs a 5-0 victory.
 
Western now gets set to head on the road to take on the UOIT Ridgebacks and Queen's Gaels next weekend. The Mustangs will face off with UOIT on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in Oshawa, before heading to Kingston on Saturday night at the same time for a showdown with the Gaels.
 
NOTES: With both Kipfer and Scott etching their names on the scoresheet on Sunday, the duo remains tied for the Mustangs goal scoring lead with five each on the season…Kendra Broad's goal gave her sole possession of first place on the Mustangs overall point leaderboard with seven so far this season. Close behind are Brittany Clapham, Kipfer, Scott, and Clark with six points each…