OUA Banner Season continues this week as five teams—men's hockey, women's hockey, men's basketball, women's basketball, and women's volleyball—continue their quests for championships at home and on the road. The basketball and hockey teams will each be competing on campus in at least one game this week, while women's volleyball heads to Toronto for the Final Four.
 
Men's Hockey – OUA West Finals (Best-of-Three)
Game 1 – Thursday, March 3 – 7 p.m. – Guelph at Western – Watch live on OUA.tv; listen live on CHRW Radio 94.9 FM
Game 2 – Saturday, March 5 – 7:30 p.m. – Western at Guelph – Watch live on OUA.tv; listen live on CHRW Radio 94.9 FM
Game 3 (If Necessary) – Sunday, March 6 – 7:30 p.m. – Guelph at Western – Watch live on OUA.tv; listen live on CHRW Radio 94.9 FM
 
David Corrente capped off an inspired comeback for the men's hockey team in Game Three of their OUA West Semi-Final matchup on Sunday, scoring in overtime to help Western eliminate the underdog Varsity Blues and move on to the third round. It's the first time since 2012 that Western will make an appearance in the West Division Finals. Only one member of the current team, Shaun Furlong, was on the roster for that series, meaning most of Western's players are experiencing a deep OUA playoff run for the first time. Western will now square off with the Guelph Gryphons, who won Game Three of their semi-final series against Ryerson by an impressive 11-3 score on Sunday. The Mustangs have won both of their two meetings with the Gryphons this season, taking each game 3-2, including a victory in front of over 4,000 Guelph fans in January.
 
Women's Hockey – OUA West Semi-Finals
Game 1 – Wednesday, March 2 – 7 p.m. – Western at Nipissing
Game 2 – Saturday, March 5 – 4 p.m. – Nipissing at Western – Watch live on OUA.tv
Game 3 (If Necessary) – Sunday, March 6 – 4 p.m. – Nipissing at Western – Watch live on OUA.tv; listen live on CHRW Radio 94.9 FM
 
The women's hockey team booked a spot in the OUA Semi-Finals for the second straight year thanks to a pair of round one shutouts against the Waterloo Warriors last week. Kelly Campbell stood tall in net to lead the Mustangs past the Warriors, posting back-to-back shutouts to open the playoffs. Next up for Western is a series with the fifth-seeded Nipissing Lakers, who eliminated Queen's in the opening round of the playoffs to make the OUA Semi-Finals. The first game will be played in North Bay while the final two are scheduled at Thompson Arena. Nipissing may have finished one point back of Western in the regular season but they've been a problem for the Mustangs all year. The Lakers have picked up wins in both of their meetings with Western, shutting out the Mustangs in October adding a 3-2 victory in January.
 
Women's Basketball – OUA Playoffs Preliminary Round
Wednesday, March 2 – 6 p.m. – Toronto at Western – Watch live on OUA.tv; listen live on CHRW Radio 94.9 FM
 
The women's basketball team split the final weekend of their regular season last week, losing to Lakehead before bouncing back to top Algoma on Senior Day. The win on Saturday gives Western a 14-6 record, good for second place in the OUA West Division heading into the playoffs. Now that the Mustangs have finished their regular season, the fight for the Critelli Cup begins. Western's first playoff game is on Wednesday, March 2 at home against Toronto. Toronto has won both meetings between the two teams this season, although both games were close. The Varsity Blues are led on offence by Rahshida Atkinson, who has averaged 15.6 points per game and has compiled a 37.8 field goal percentage.
 
Men's Basketball – OUA Playoffs Preliminary Round
Wednesday, March 2 – 8 p.m. –Lakehead at Western – Watch live on OUA.tv; listen live on CHRW Radio 94.9 FM
 
The men's basketball team picked up a pair of wins to close out their regular season over the weekend, defeating both Lakehead and Algoma to finish in second place in the OUA West Division. Next up is a familiar opponent, as Western welcomes Lakehead back to Alumni Hall for an OUA preliminary round matchup to determine who moves on in the OUA playoffs. That game takes place on Wednesday night with tip-off set for 8 p.m. The Thunderwolves are led on offence by Bacarius Dinkins, who has compiled 17.2 points per game so far this year to go with a team-leading 8.3 rebounds per game. Their next-best scorer is Henry Tan, who has put up 15.6 points per game, while their next best rebounder is Alexandre Robichaud with 6.1 rebounds per game.
 
Women's Volleyball – OUA Final Four
Friday, March 4 – 7:00 p.m. – Western vs Ryerson in Toronto– Watch live on OUA.tv
 
Despite a few missteps in the third set, the women's volleyball team bested the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday, taking their OUA Quarterfinal matchup in four sets (25-14, 15-25, 25-18, 25-17) and securing a place in the OUA Final Four for the second consecutive year. The Mustangs are back in action this weekend, when they head to University of Toronto's Goldring Centre to continue their quest for gold. First up is a rematch against Ryerson on Friday in the OUA Semi-Finals. Ryerson and Western have met just once this season and the Mustangs got the best of the Rams, hammering out a 3-0 victory in their regular season finale. The Rams then handed a similar fate to Queen's in their OUA Quarterfinal matchup.
 
Squash
Friday, March 4 – Sunday, March 6 – Canadian University and College Championships
 
Members of the Mustangs women's squash team will head on the road this weekend to take on the best in the nation at the Canadian University and College Championships. The University of Toronto is hosting the event, which takes place from Friday to Sunday.
 
Fencing
Saturday, March 5 – Sunday, March 6 – Fencing Ontario Provincial Championship
 
Fresh off of hosting the OUA Women's Fencing Championship two weeks ago, members of the Mustangs fencing team will head to Kingston this weekend to take on the top competitors in the province at the Fencing Ontario Provincial Championship.