LONDON, Ont. – A three-goal second period gave the Ryerson Rams a lead they wouldn't relinquish as they defeated the Western Mustangs 7-4 on Friday night at Thompson Arena.
 
With the loss the Mustangs record stands at 6-11-2, with the team listed in nith place in the OUA standings, three points behind Waterloo and Lakehead for the final playoff spot in the OUA West. Ryerson maintains their spot on top of the West Divison, improving their record to 15-4-1.
 
After falling behind 3-0 early last game against York, Western flipped the script on Ryerson, as they led 3-1 after one period despite being outshot 19-8. The rest of the game wouldn't be so kind, however, as three second period goals by Ryerson sunk the purple and white.
 
Overall the Mustangs were outshot 48-24, and the Rams controlled the final period, limiting the Mustangs chances to a power play late in the frame.
 
"You can't take nine penalties against a team like Ryerson. Eventually, if they're not gonna score, they're gonna wear you down," said Mustangs head coach Clarke Singer. "I think through two periods they had 50+ attempts on net and that wore us down a little bit going to the third."
 
However, the Mustangs did strike both early and late in the first period. In the first minute, Rob Polesello found himself on a 2-on-1 with Mike DiPaolo and slipped the puck to him to bury in an empty net.
 
Ryerson would respond on the powerplay when Daniel Clairmont stuffed home a rebound.
 
Then, in the last minute of the period, Polesello led an innocent looking rush into the slot and floated a wrister over the glove of Taylor Dupuis. Sixteen seconds later, Andrew Goldberg grabbed a rebound beside the net and found the tiniest glimmer of mesh in which to place the puck in the net at an awkward angle.
 
Following that promising first frame, things completely unravelled for the Mustangs in the second period, being outshot 18-3 and outscored 3-0.
 
"We definitely got off to a good start…We just gave them some good opportunities and they capitalized," said Polesello.
 
Josh Sterk, Luke Mercer, and Devon Paliani provided the offence for Ryerson in the period, with Rams captain Michael Fine providing the assists on Sterk and Mercer's goals.
 
"When you take that many penalties, you got top guys that are playing top minutes and it tires them down and obviously it didn't work in our favour tonight," said Polesello.
 
To take the 4-3 lead, Mitchell Theoret went for a skate around the Mustangs zone, using his size to shield off any defenders. Eventually, he found Paliani parked in front for a backbreaking goal in the final minute of the period.
 
Vince Figliomeni scored on a delayed penalty early in the third period to add some insurance and push the Rams' lead to 5-3, and Aaron Armstrong took advantage of a turnover to make it 6-3.
 
Connor Chartier added a goal late in the third before Sterk restored the Rams' three-goal lead with an empty netter in the final minute, to give Ryerson a 7-4 win.
 
The Mustangs are back on the ice tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at Thompson Arena, where they will take on the Brock Badgers. Fans can catch all the action live on OUA.tv