After a 3-3 start to the season, Western has rounded into form and rattled off three straight victories.
The Mustangs are coming off a home and away set of games this past weekend. In the first matchup, the Mustangs traveled to St. Catherine's to take on Brock.
Britt Loggie scored the winning goal in the third period, and the Mustangs sealed the 3-1 victory.
On Sunday, the Laurier Golden Hawks visited Thompson Arena. Goaltender
Kelly Campbell stopped all 26 shots she faced and
Brianna Iazzolino had three assists in a 5-0 victory.
Western started the season struggling a bit offensively, but have scored 12 goals in those last three wins. The offensive resurgence has been led by forward
Tia Kipfer and
Stacey Scott, both of who have five goals. Kipfer has four of those goals in the last three games. Scott has a goal a piece in the last three contests.
All-Canadian defender
Katelyn Gosling continues to be a constant force for the Mustangs on the blueline. Despite the fact that she only has three points, Gosling is a first up defenceman who plays all situations. She runs the first power play unit, kills penalties, and plays tough matchups 5-on-5.
Gosling picked up a helper against Laurier—a primary assist on a first period
Kendra Broad power play goal. Her and partner Iazzolino are consistent offensive threats while being defensively reliable.
Campbell has been consistent this year. She has 1.13 goals against average and a .957 save percentage, both fourth in the OUA. Campbell has two shutouts in her last three starts. All three phases seem to be clicking for the Mustangs.
However, something that may explain the Mustangs slow start and upward swing since could be their shooting percentage. In their first six games, the Mustangs shot 6 percent. In the three games since, the Mustangs have shot 13 percent. The league average is 7 percent. Whether that is a product of the quality of Western's scoring chances or opposition goaltending, the Mustangs are going to have to find ways to win without relying on an unsustainably high shooting percentage.
Friday November 20—7:30 p.m.—Western at UOIT - Watch Live on OUA.tv The University of Ontario Institute of Technology is 3-6 this year, after starting 2-1 but then losing five of their last six games, inlcuding a 5-1 loss to Queen's last weekend.
Averaging 1.56 goals per game and 23.2 shots, the Ridgebacks rank in the lower half of the OUA in most statistical categories, inlcuding being the only OUA team without a power play goal so far this season. Second year forward Chelsea Bell leads the Ridgebacks offence, notching two goals and three assists, while fellow forward Mikaeli Cavell and Nicole Gorda trail just behind with both recording three goals and one assist in nine games played.
Look for Tori Campbell to get the start against the Mustangs on Friday, as the third-year netminder has played in seven of UOIT's nine games so far, compiling three wins and four losses. In that nine-game span she's registerd an .898 save percentage and a 2.94 goals against average.
Although the statistics may favour the Mustangs heading into Friday's game, two of UOIT's three wins have come on home ice and the Ridgebacks would like nothing more than to upset the nation's fifth-ranked team in front of a home crowd.
Saturday November 21—7p.m.—Western at Queen's - Watch Live on OUA.tv Queen's is enjoying an outstanding start to their season, and stand atop the OUA with a 6-1-1-1 record. Four of those wins have been at the Kingston Memorial Centre, where the Gaels will welcome the Mustangs on Saturday night as they look to stay undefeated on home ice.
The Gaels are shooting a healthy 9 percent this season and have offensive production spread throughout their lineup. Forward Katrina Manoukarakis leads Queens in scoring with five goals and ten points, good for second among all OUA players, while defenceman Mary Coughlin is also a distributor for the Gaels, tying with Coughlin for the team lead with five assists on the year.
There is no surprise as to why the only Gael to play between the pipes this season is Caitlyn Lahonen. She has posted a 0.98 goals against average and a .963 save percentage, numbers that are both second in the OUA behind only the astounding 0.43 and .983 marks put up by Guelph's Valerie Lamenta. If the Mustangs want to become the first team to topple the Gaels on home ice, solving Lahonen will be priority number one on Saturday night.
