After heading into the break coming off a disappointing 8-1 defeat to the Windsor Lancers, the Western Mustangs women's ice hockey team will look to bounce back as they continue a five-game home stand against the Ryerson Rams and the Toronto Varsity Blues.

The purple and white were a team that experienced streaks in the first half, winning three games in a row immediately after dropping three consecutive matches. Forward Lyndsay Kirkham had a successful half, finishing tied for most points and second in goals in the OUA, while defencemen Brianna Iazzolino and Anthea Lasis each rank in the top five for points by defenders. Goalkeeper Katie Jacobs earned six wins in 10 appearances to give her the third highest win total in the OUA.

Western closed out 2016 at .500, with a 5-2-6-1 record en route to 20 points and fifth place in the OUA standings. It's a close race near the top of the standings, with nine teams separated by only six points. This weekend's slate of matchups will be crucial for the Mustangs as Toronto and Ryerson have 17 points each but have three and two games in hand respectively.

Western vs Ryerson – Saturday, January 7 at 4 p.m. – Watch live on OUA.tv

The first matchup between these teams took place at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto with the Mustangs earning the victory by a score of 6-3. The game saw all but one goal be scored either on the power play or on an empty net, and a hat trick for Kirkham. Their next matchup could be another special teams affair as Western has scored the second most power play goals in the OUA and Ryerson own a bottom four penalty kill. The Mustangs have improved their penalty kill since then, riding a five-game streak of no power play goals against at one point in the season.

Former Mustang Kryshanda Green was a bright spot for the Rams against Western; she contributed to all three goals her team scored including two power play tallies. She has registered a point in all but two games this season and sits in the top five in goals and points.

Western vs Toronto – Sunday, January 8 at 3 p.m. – Watch live on OUA.tv

Western's last matchup with Toronto was not nearly as high scoring as their game against the Rams: goalkeeper Valencia Yordanov and the stingy Varsity Blues defence handed the Mustangs their second shutout defeat of the season in a 2-0 victory. Their defence continues to be tough to beat as they have allowed three goals or less in seven straight games. Statistically, Yordanov is among the best goalkeepers in the OUA, ranking third in goals against average and second in save percentage while starting in all but two of her team's games. The two games she did not appear in goal resulted in losses for Toronto.

While goaltending and defence help Toronto keep pace with some of the toughest opponents they faced, their offence has been their Achilles heel: they rank second to last in goals scored with less than two tallies per game. The scoring has come around lately, however, with 10 goals in three games to close out their first half including a six-goal outburst again Queen's. Western's top five offence will need to crack the Varsity Blues' armour to secure the victory and pad their lead over Toronto in the standings.