Currently on a five-game winning streak, the Western Mustangs will face their toughest test of the year so far when they host the Queen's Gaels and Guelph Gryphons this weekend at Thompson Arena.
The Gryphons and Gaels currently sit one-two in the OUA standings, and Guelph is also listed at number one on the CIS Top 10, meaning that the visitors should give the surging Mustangs a good midseason test.
Western's five-game streak has them tied with Queen's for second in the OUA. Western's active winning streak is second only to Guelph's, who, with a win over a tough Waterloo side on Thursday, will come into Saturday's game boasting eight consecutive wins. To keep their winning streak going, the Mustangs will have to play two of their best games of the year.
The Mustangs have been led by
Kendra Broad during their recent winning streak, as the Petrolia, Ont., native has five goals in her last three games including four this past weekend which earned her Western's female athlete of the week honours. Broad currently leads the team with 12 points overall, a total is good for second in the OUA.
Both
Tia Kipfer and
Stacey Scott have played key roles up front during the Mustangs current winning streak, recording six and four goals respectively over that five game span. Kipfer's six goals have put her atop the Mustangs leaderboard with seven markers on the season, while Scott's six goals places her in second alongside Kendra Broad.
Goaltender
Kelly Campbell has started between the pipes in all but one game for the Mustangs this season. The All-Canadian goalie has been steady all year, registering a 1.25 goals-against-average and a .955 save percentage, and has allowed the team to develop an identity in front of her. Opponents are only shooting four percent against Campbell, almost half the league the average.
Friday, November 27 – Queen's @ Western – 7 p.m. at Thompson Arena – Watch Live on OUA.tv It will be second game of a home and home when the Gaels visit London on Friday. Last Saturday in Kingston the Mustangs powered their way to a 4-1 victory and the Gaels will be looking to respond in kind when they take the ice at Thompson Arena.
In the win, the Mustangs were able to do something the rest of the OUA (save Guelph) had not been able to do, solve goaltender Caitlyn Lahonen. She made 30 saves in the loss, but gave up more than two goals in a game for only the second time this season (the other, was a similar 4-1 loss to Guelph on November 1). Broad found the net twice against the Lahonen and will be looking for a repeat performance on Friday night.
Katarina Manoukarakis scored the lone goal for the Gaels in the loss, and she leads the team in scoring with six goals and 13 points.
Saturday, November 28 – Guelph @ Western – 7pm at Thompson Arena – Watch Live on OUA.tv; Listen Live on CHRW Radio It will also be the second meeting between Western and Guelph this season after Guelph topped the Mustangs when they visited Gryphon Centre Arena for their season opener. Back in October the Gryphons scored a goal each period and shut out the Mustangs 3-0, but that was a different Mustang team than the one that's won six of their last eight games.
Guelph hasn't lost since October 17, going 7-0 in that span. The Gryphons possess a powerful offence that can score goals in bunches, finding the net 35 times in only 11 games to top the Mustangs by two for the league lead.
Forward Averi Nooren leads the team with seven goals and 13 points on the year, tying for the OUA lead in both categories. Not only is Nooren on top of the stats charts, she's been on a hot streak lately with eight points in her last four games, including scoring a hat trick against Queen's on November 1.
While the Gryphons are good and putting the puck in their opponents' net, they're equally good at keeping pucks out of their own, leading the OUA with only 11 goals allowed this season, two better than Western's 13 goals against.
A key factor in Guelph's strong defence has been the play of starting Valerie Lamenta who's been having an outstanding season. She has started nine games and only allowed seven goals, and four of Guelph's nine wins have come via a Lamenta shut out. Her 0.77 goals-against-average and .968 save percentage are both second in the league, just behind Waterloo's Stephanie Sluys, although Slyus has played in four fewer games.
Opponents are shooting only three percent against Lamenta, and she is always poised to steal a game for the Gryphons, even when they don't need it. Just as with Lahoten and the Gaels, if the Mustangs want to topple the nation's number one ranked team, priority number one will be finding a way to solve Lamenta.
