WINDSOR, Ont. – Mark MacAulay opened the scoring just over 14 minutes into the first period but it was all Windsor from there on out, as the Lancers scored four straight goals to defeat the Mustangs 4-1 at Windsor Arena on Wednesday night.
 
The loss is Western's second straight, marking just the second time this season that the purple and white have dropped two in a row. Windsor and Western are now tied for second in the OUA West Division, although the Mustangs have played one less game and have a chance to pull ahead when they face off against Waterloo on Friday night.
 
Wednesday's result was a disappointing one for the Mustangs on a night when they got an important piece back from injury in Noah Schwartz. Schwartz, who is coming off of a 21-point campaign last year, was playing in his first game of 2015-16 and made an immediate impact, assisting on MacAulay's opener in the first.
 
But Windsor would respond quickly, getting a goal from Kenny Bradford just over a minute later. From there it was all Lancers. Leading scorer Justice Dundas netted his eighth of the season three minutes into the second before adding an empty net insurance marker with four seconds left on the clock in the third. Tyson Ness had the other goal midway through the final frame.
 
Greg Dodds took the loss for Western, stopping 24 shots on the night. The purple and white actually outshot the Lancers 35-27 on Wednesday but had a tough time beating Blake Richards, who finished with 34 saves to raise his save percentage to .921. He now has six wins through 10 appearances and possesses the fourth-best win percentage in the OUA at .667%.
 
The teams combined for eight infractions throughout the game, with the biggest penalty being Dylan Seguin's 10-minute misconduct for checking to the head in the second. But the only power play goal of the night came with Western's net empty in the third while Andrew Goldberg served a Mustangs' bench penalty. Western went zero-for-four on the night.
 
The purple and white will be back in action on Friday night, when they head to Waterloo to face off against the Warriors. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m, and will be broadcast live on OUA.tv and CHRW Radio 94.9 FM.
 
NOTES: Schwartz is no stranger to starting off the year hot, as he kicked off last year's campaign with an eight-game point streak that saw him register nine points… Western has now scored a power play goal in just one of their last five games…