TORONTO – Noah Schwartz has been finding ways to contribute since he returned to action in December but there's nothing quite like scoring a game winning goal.
 
The junior winger potted his first of the season nine minutes into the second period and it ended up being the difference, as the Mustangs edged out the OUA West-leading York Lions 3-2 at Canlan Ice Sports on Saturday night.
 
Schwartz has played in six games since returning from injury on December 2, compiling four assists through his first five and playing key minutes on the penalty kill. His timely blocks against Guelph on Thursday helped to keep Western's penalty kill perfect on the night.
 
But he took his game to another level on Saturday, assisting on Spenser Cobbold's goal early in the middle frame before adding the winner seven minutes later. It was his first multi-point performance of the season and it couldn't have come at a better time, as it helped Western pull within one point of the Lions and two points ahead of third-place Waterloo.
 
Greg Dodds got the start and made 25 saves to earn the win. The only two goals against him both came on the power play courtesy of a team that entered the weekend third in the OUA with the man advantage. The junior backstop has now won two in a row while stopping 71 of 74 shots. His record moves to 8-4-0 while his save percentage bumps up to .911.
 
Derek Sheppard got the scoring started midway through the first, beating Dodds on a feed from Trevor Peterson. But Western came out of the gate strong in the second period, getting a goal from Jonathan Laser 32 seconds in and another from Cobbold just over a minute later. Schwartz scored Western's third straight 9:16 into the frame to extend their lead to 3-1.
 
All three of Western's goals came at five-on-five and two of them were assisted by Shaun Furlong. The Mustangs weren't able to score on any of their three power plays but that's not surprising, as York entered the week with the OUA's best penalty kill at 86.4%. Their penalty kill has now stopped 87.4% of chances while their power play is firing at 28.4%.
 
Looking ahead, the Msutangs will match up against Toronto and McGill next week. The Redmen are the team to beat in the OUA this season, standing atop the league with a record of 18-3-1. 
 
NOTES
The third period featured some strong defence from both teams, as each side only managed five shots on net… Furlong is now on a three game point streak with five points over that span and a career-high 18 points on the year… Western will play York at home before the end of the season so they have a chance to decide their own fate…