The Mustangs were victorious on the road over the weekend, recording two big wins against the Brock Badgers, 15-13, and the Toronto Varsity Blues, 15-7.
Western now sits at 3-1 putting them on top of the CUFLA West division standings beside the strong Badger team.
Brock Homecoming set the mood for the rivalry game Saturday, September 19, with tons of Badger fans looking to celebrate a win. Unfortunately for Brock fans, the Mustangs put a damper on their plans.
Western played strong defense the entire first half, holding the Brock attack. Freshman goaltender Manraj Nijjar played solid in net, even when faced with tight inside shots. At the end of 40 minutes, the score was 9-5 for the purple and white.
Brock rebounded in the second half and came back with a surge in the third and fourth quarters. Western reasserted themselves and took control of the game late in the fourth, with exceptional transitional play from Jordi Jones-Smith and
Sam Neeb. Penalties proved to be a problem once again for the Badgers, especially against the Western extra man offence, who can make the best of teams pay for being a man down.
Thomas Masterson played the top of the EMO well, commanding the play and helping capture the 15-13 win for the Mustangs.
Topping the points leaders were
Ryan McCrory who went 4-1,
Ryan Myles had three goals and two assists,
Sam Neeb with three goals,
Thomas Masterson went 2-1, Cody Ward had one goal and three helpers, and finally Jordi Jones-Smith finished with two goals.
The Ontario CUFLA finals may feature a Brock and Western rematch, as both teams are favourites to head to Nationals.
Sunday, September 20 at Varsity Stadium was a tough night for the last place Varsity Blues. Western controlled the ball and play for most of the game and could have put up bigger numbers on the scoreboard if not for skilled Toronto goaltender Andrew Paton.
The Western attack of McCrory, Masterson, and Ward appears to be developing chemistry as the season heads to the mid-point. The three moved the ball quite well, proving only good things to come for the Mustang offence. The Western draw team looks to be coming together and this provided opportunity for the Mustangs to try some new things and move toward their goal of Nationals in November.
Western displayed teamwork Sunday night, with 12 different players adding points to the game sheet including goalie Nijjar with an assist. Point leaders includes McCrory with three goals and one assist,
Dallas Clancy with three goals,
Nikolai Farrus and Jonathan Tokiwa with two goals and one assist each.
The Mustangs take on Toronto for the final time of regular season play this Friday, September 25 on their home turf at Mustang Field. The game is set to begin at 8:30 p.m.
