After starting the season with a 4-3 record, the Mustangs have struggled to add to their win total recently, coming out on the losing end of their last three matchups including two one-goal losses to Guelph and Brock.

The losses give Western a 3-1-5-1 record (12 points) through 10 games, placing them in a three way tie for seventh in the OUA standings.

The Mustangs played strong defensively over the weekend, successfully killing all eight penalties they committed and allowing only four regular strength goals overall. However, their opponents have also been strong on the defensive side, holding the Mustangs to three goals over the last three games.

The purple and white jumped ahead to one-goal leads in the first period against both the Gryphons and the Badgers but failed to score in the remaining periods en route to defeats. In the second period against Guelph, Kaitlin Lowy scored in less than 40 seconds for the second consecutive period to tie the game, and Karli Shell scored the game-winning goal midway through the third. The Mustangs held onto a 1-0 lead for the majority of the game against the Badgers, but Maggie Spratt-Mallick leveled the score early in the third and Annie Berg scored the overtime winner 37 seconds into the extra frame to secure the victory for Brock.

Western at UOIT – Saturday, November 19 at 3:30 p.m. – Watch live on OUA.tv

The Mustangs will be back on the road to begin their weekend schedule as they head to Oshawa to take on the tenth place Ridgebacks at the Campus Ice Centre. This meeting will be the first between these two teams this season, after Western won both regular season matchups against UOIT last year, scoring six goals on the road and shutting them out on home ice. It could be tough to replicate that six-goal performance this time around, though, as UOIT has allowed more than two goals only twice in their last six games.

The Ridgebacks have some momentum coming into this game, having won three of their last five matchups including victories against teams currently higher in the standings in Toronto and Queen's. The Mustangs will have to contend with two players with recent success in forwards Kassidy Nauboris and Mikaeli Cavell. Nauboris is coming off a two goal performance against Queen's, while Cavell is averaging a point per game over her last five games.

Western vs. York – Sunday, November 20 at 4 p.m. – Watch live on OUA.tv

Western will return to the Thompson Arena the following day to host the struggling York Lions. The teams have yet to face each other this season with the Mustangs victorious in both games last season.

The Lions have dropped their last five in a row including back-to-back overtime losses to Nipissing and Guelph a few weeks ago. Defenceman Jenna Gray has been a bright spot for York as of late: she is tied for the most goals by a defender in the OUA and tied for fourth in points at her position, and she has registered a point in three of her team's last four games.

On paper, this game presents the Mustangs' offence with an opportunity to once again find success. Western's most recent opponents – Guelph and Brock – are in the top three in goals against average in the OUA while York sits in last in that department.