The Mustangs women's hockey team split their games at home last weekend as they were edged out by Toronto 2-1 in shootout action on Friday night before picking up a victory on Saturday with a 2-1 shootout win over Ryerson.

With the win and the loss, the Mustangs maintain their hold atop the OUA standings with a 16-1-3 record.

Mustangs power forward Kendra Broad continued to impress last weekend as she almost single-handedly secured a point for the Mustangs on Friday night, netting a goal with just thirty seconds left in the third period to send the match into overtime.

The Petrolia, Ont., native remains as one of the best players in the OUA as she is tied for first in power play goals with six. Broad also ranks second in the league for total goals with 12 and is also tied for third place for total points with 22.

The Mustangs will have a challenging road ahead of them this weekend as they head into action short-staffed against one of the best teams in the league – the Guelph Gryphons.

The Mustangs will be without veteran forward Katelyn Gosling who is currently in Spain with Team Canada competing at the 2015 Winter Universiade, and will also be without Brianna Iazzolino.

With some key players missing from this weekend's line-up Mustangs head coach Chris Higgins stated that "Everyone [else] will have to rise to the occasion, especially against Guelph."

Western vs. Guelph – Saturday, February 7 at 2:00 p.m.

The Gryphons head into Saturday's contest fresh off of a successful weekend on the road as the team downed the Laurier Golden Hawks 4-1 on Saturday before shutting out the Waterloo Warriors 7-0 on Sunday.

With the wins the Gryphons now hold a 15-2-3 record in the OUA standings, good for second in the league.

With the Gryphons just two points behind the league-leading Mustangs, they will be looking to move into the top spot – a spot that has belonged to the Mustangs for the last 12 weeks - just in time for the playoffs.

The Gryphons' lineup of talent definitely has the ability to get them into that spot, with one of the best goaltenders in the league, Stephanie Nehring, and high-powered forward Jessica Pinkerton.

Nehring currently leads the OUA in both goals against average and win percentage with 1.22 and .857 respectively, while the Oshawa, Ont., native also ranks second in save percentage with .945.

With Nehring's strength guarding the goal line, Pinkerton has been causing havoc at the other end of the ice as the fourth year forward leads the OUA in assists with 16 and ranks second in the league for total points with 24.

With Nehring protecting the Gryphon's goal and Pinkerton executing plays up front, the Mustangs will have to be strong on both ends of the ice on Saturday as they look to defend their reign atop the OUA standings.

Western vs. Brock – Saturday, February 8 at 2:15 p.m.

The Brock Badgers will be entering this weekend's contest after a weekend on the road that saw them fall 4-0 to the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday before enduring a 3-0 shutout loss by the Laurier Golden Hawks on Sunday. The unsuccessful weekend extended the team's losing streak to seven consecutive games.

With the losses the Badgers now hold a 1-15-4 record in the OUA standings which puts the red and blue at the bottom of the league.

The Mustangs and the Badgers have met once already this season, with the purple and white edging out the Badgers 2-1 in overtime. Despite the Mustangs coming out on top, the Badgers definitely posed some tough competition as the visiting team shared equal scoring opportunities to make the game a back-and-forth affair.

Although the two teams are at opposite ends of the OUA standings, their previous meeting saw both teams battle down to the last second of overtime, proving that the Badgers can definitely compete with the top team in the league.

Mustangs head coach Chris Higgins notes that, "if you look at our record we never really blow anybody away" as he reflected back on Brock taking the Mustangs to overtime earlier in the season, as well as Nipissing taking the team to a shootout in week 10.

If the Badgers bring the same level of intensity to the ice on Sunday that they brought with them in their last match-up against the Mustangs, the result of this weekend's contest is sure to be a matter of who wants the win more.