THUNDER BAY, Ont. — A string of four Lakehead goals to open the game proved to be too much for Western on Wednesday night, as the Mustangs fell to the Thunderwolves by a score of 4-3 at the Fort William Gardens.
 
The loss means Western will head into Saturday's game at Thompson Arena down 1-0 in the best-of-three OUA playoff series. They weren't the only highly-ranked team to drop their opening matchup either, as the Windsor Lancers fell to the last-place Brock Badgers 2-1 in Windsor.
 
Western showed a ton of character in the loss, charging back to make things interesting after coming out of the gates a bit slower than they would have liked. Jake Worrad made it a one-goal game with just under seven minutes left in the final frame and the Mustangs kept pressing, firing their fair share of shots towards Lakehead's Justin McDonald to no avail.
 
Marc Nother was brilliant for Western in the third to give his team a chance, turning aside all 10 shots that came his way in the frame. Greg Dodds got the start in the game but was injured in the first period on the Thunderwolves' third goal, when Nathan Cull crashed into the net after tipping the puck past Western' backstop. Nother ended up making 20 saves in relief.
 
That goal from Cull was his second consecutive goal in the game— an impressive feat on it's own, but made even more so considering that he scored just two goals throughout the entire regular season. E. J. Faust netted the other goal for Lakehead in the first frame, opening the game by beating Dodds through the five-hole. He had five goals and 12 points through 27 regular season games.
 
Nother would allow just one goal on the night, giving up a tally to Lakehead's regular-season point-leader in Mike Hammond just under eight minutes into the second period. He shut the door after that and Western began to get their legs back underneath them. Their first goal of the night came midway through the second period off the stick of rookie Trevor Warnaar, assisted by two veterans in Julian Cimadamore and Matt Paltridge.
 
The third period would be when all the action took place, though. First-year Trent Ouellette gave Western some hope with just over 13 minutes left, banging the puck past McDonald to get his team within two. With Carson Dubchak out of the game for a charging major and a teammate serving his infraction, Worrad would get Western within one at 13:31.
 
But that would be all that McDonald would allow, as he closed out his excellent performance by shutting down the Mustangs late. He finished with 39 saves on 42 shots for the night, and was by far the first star for a Thunderwolves' team that seemed to lose their cool as the game drew on.
 
Western and Lakehead will return to London for game two, which will take place on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. The Mustangs will be looking to force a third game in the best-of-three series, and if they are able to do so that game will take place at home on Sunday at 7 p.m.
 
NOTES
Wednesday wasn't the first time that Nother had played at the Gardens, as he spent time with the Thunder Bay North Stars of the SIJHL during his junior career. He tended the net during the 2012 Dudley Hewitt Cup for the North Stars… Dubchak's charging major came at the expense of David Corrente, as the veteran defence man was forced out of the game after the hit…