At this time last year, Western was preparing for a trip to Toronto having just recently lost their first home game of the season to the Carleton Ravens. With a 14-4-1 record and 29 points, the Mustangs held down second place in the OUA West Division behind Windsor. Things were looking up.

Fast forward to the present, eleven months after Western was upset in the first round by the Lakehead Thunderwolves, and things are looking up once again. Yes, the Mustangs have double the regulation losses and seven less points, but thanks to a weak division they occupy a similar position in the standings: heading into the weekend, they're tied for second in the West with Guelph and Windsor.

Some key losses in the offseason and early-season injuries have caused parts of Western's game to regress, most notably their power play (27% vs 20.3%) and penalty kill (88.5% vs 84.9%). Despite the addition of former pro Peter Delmas, their goaltending numbers have declined as well.

But Western is also scoring more (3.95 vs 3.70 GPG) and there are signs that their goaltending woes have begun to turn around. The Mustangs have strung together a .901 save percentage so far this season, although through their last seven they've raised that to .912. Both Delmas and Greg Dodds have put together game-changing performances in their recent starts.

That's not all. After the team struggled through injuries and played with four defencemen for long stretches in the fall, reinforcements have finally arrived. New additions Stephen Sanza, Robert Polesselo, and Mike DiPaolo made their Mustang debuts last week while sophomore Cody Brown got into his first action of the season, scoring a pair of goals to mark the occasion.

Last year, Brown was a sparkplug for the Mustangs before going down with an injury in mid-January. This is his second consecutive year starting the season in the New Year and, if he can stay healthy, he'll be a key part of any late-season run from the purple and white. If Matt Marantz, Western's leading point-getter at 24, can get going again then there's no reason to believe this offence can't get better.

In the end, the first half of the season counts for barely anything. Which is to say, no matter a team's position heading into the playoffs, an upset is always possible. The sixth and seventh place teams from last year both made it through the first round and one of them—Guelph—went on to win the Queen's cup.

Western at Guelph – Thursday, January 14 – Watch live on OUA.tv; Listen Live on CHRW Radio 94.9 FM

Thursday's game against Guelph is a special one, as it will be played at the Sleeman Centre, home of the OHL's Storm. At stake is the Frosty Mug, which is handed out to the winner of Guelph's annual Gryphons Winter Homecoming game in mid-January.

There's nothing as exciting as a chance to rain on another school's winter parade, especially one that drew over 3,000 fans last year. But if Western is to do that they'll have to take down a Gryphons' squad that has won eight of their last 10 after losing four of their first five in October. Before falling to Waterloo last weekend, Guelph had won four straight to climb to second in the OUA West standings.

Guelph's surge has largely come on the back of some excellent goaltending from sophomore Andrew D'Agostini and, to a lesser extent, rookie Scott Stajcer. D'Agostini has started 15 of Guelph's 18 games while compiling three shutouts and a .932 save percentage. Stajcer has appeared in three games, winning two of them while posting a .936 save percentage.

The Gryphons don't have much in the way of offence, averaging 2.78 goals per game and running a power play with an 11% success rate. Junior Rob De Fulvis is their leading scorer with 16 points in 16 games, followed by defenceman Nick Trecapelli with 14.

Western at York – Saturday, January 16 – Watch live on OUA.tv

The only team ahead of the Gryphons in the OUA West standings are the York Lions, who own the best record in the division at 11-5-3. The Lions started the season by grabbing points in 10 of their first 11 games, and have since gone back and forth between wins and losses.

York has been solid on special teams this season, posting the best penalty kill rate in the league at 86.4% and the third-best power play rate at 27.8%. They've been able to put that power play to good use on a number of occasions, drawing the fifth most penalties in the league at an even 90.

In net, the Lions are led by Chris Perugini, who has started 17 games while posting a respectable .917 save percentage and 2.42 goals against average. He has started York's last four games and won two of them, giving him a record of 9-8 on the season. Backing him up in limited action has been Mitch Maraschiello with a 2-0 record and an .830 save percentage.

The Lions' leading scorer is a defenceman, as Derek Sheppard has posted a team-leading 17 assists and 25 points through 19 games. He's currently third in the league in scoring from the point behind [incredibly] the two leading scorers in the OUA, both of whom are from McGill. Also scoring above a point-per-game pace for York are Justin Larson (21p), Greg Milner (19p), and Trevor Petersen (18p).