The Mustangs women's hockey team had a lot to celebrate on Saturday evening, as they hoisted the Judy McCaw Memorial Cup for the first time in program history thanks to a 2-0 shutout win over the Guelph Gryphons at Thompson Arena. 

The win for the Mustangs marks the fifth consecutive victory in the post-season as the team went undefeated through two best-of-three-series against the Nipissing Lakers and the Laurier Golden Hawks before clinching the OUA championship title over Guelph on Saturday.  

But the Mustangs don't have much time to bask in their success, as the team heads to Alberta on Tuesday to compete in the CIS Women's Hockey Championship, which is being hosted by the University of Calgary from March 12-15. 

As the OUA Champions, Western heads in to the first CIS tournament in program history seeded No. 2 in behind the defending national champion McGill University Martlets. The Mustangs will debut their talents on the national stage when they face-off against the No. 7 seeded Moncton Aigles Bleues in the Quarterfinal matchup on Friday, March 13th at 3 p.m. Mountain Time. 

Although the CIS Championship is unchartered territory for the Mustangs, the purple and white will be going into the tournament with the same mindset they have had all year: one game at a time. The Mustangs attribute their regular season and playoff successes to that strategy, focusing on never getting ahead of themselves both on and off of the ice. 

Two Mustangs players in particular that have been huge contributors to the purple and white success, especially in the post-season, are Kelly Campbell and Sydney Kidd. Campbell's impressive performances throughout the post-season have been nothing out of the ordinary for the veteran goaltender, as she had an outstanding regular season to reaffirm her title as one of the best goaltenders in the OUA. 

The St. Thomas, Ont., netminder continued her success throughout the playoffs as she allowed only eight goals against her in five games played. Perhaps Campbell's most notable performance came just a couple of days ago, when she secured the Mustangs OUA Championship victory, and Player of the Game honours, with a 23-save shutout. 

Kidd, on the other hand, has stepped up to lead the purple and white in points in her final games donning her Western jersey. The fifth-year forward was a solid contributor to the Mustangs success in the regular season, notching seven goals and five assists, but it is her playoff performance that has been noteworthy over the past three weeks. 

The Sundridge, Ont., native has unleashed some of the best hockey of her career in the 2015 post-season, racking up up five goals and one assist through five games, earning the veteran title of Porter Player of the Playoffs.

The Moncton Aigles Bleues, who finished second in the AUS conference and earned a bye through the quarterfinals, started their post-season action in the with a best-of-three Semi-Final series against the St. Mary's Huskies. The Aigles Bleues needed just two games to get past the Huskies, winning the first game 7-2 before taking the second 3-1.  

In the AUS Championship series the Aigles Bleues went up against the St. Francis Xavier X-Women in best-of-three action. Although the Aigles Bleues dominated in their first post-season series they struggled to secure any advantage in game one against the X-Women, falling 2-0 to the X-Women. The next game was most closer, with the teams battling into a second overtime period, but StFX would eventually come away with the win. 

But regardless of that loss, the Aigles still earned a place in the CIS Championship, a short tournament where a hot streak at the right time can get any team through to the finals. And, as the third best scoring team in the CIS with 3.13 goals per game, Moncton has a ton of weapons that other teams really don't want to get going.

Leading that potent scoring lineup are Marika Lacroix, Katryne Villeneuve, and Marie-Pier Arsenalt. Lacroix is on top with 17 assists and 25 points, while Villeneuve leads the squad in goals with 14 and sits second in points with 24. Arsenault rounds out the top three with 11 goals and 12 assists for 23 points. 

Moncton doesn't just score, however, they're also near the top of the CIS in certain defensive categories, including save percentage and lowest amount of goals allowed. The Aigles Bleues are fourth in the CIS in team save percentage—- three spots behind Western— at .939 and sixth in goals allowed at 37. Western is second in the league in goals allowed. 

Moncton's regular season games were split evenly between two goalies, Gabrielle Forget and Emilie Bouchard, both of whom have been spectacular so far. Forget has the edge in numbers, with a .941 save percentage, 1.33 goals against average, and nine wins through eleven starts, although Bouchard is right behind her with totals of .938, 1.70, and eight, respectively. 

With two of the top teams in the country going head-to-head for a spot in the national semi-final, expect Friday's contest to be an exciting one. Puck drop is scheduled for 3 p.m. Mountain Time (5 p.m. Eastern) and can be watched live on CIS-SIC.tv. Fans can also tune in to CHRW Radio on 94.9 FM in London or online at chrwradio.ca/stream.