The Western Mustangs' offence has come out of the gate strong to open the season. Scoring at least five goals in both games last weekend, both being victories, the purple and white will look to keep their momentum going heading into this weekend's home opener.

Western took on the Nipissing Lakers, last season's McCaw cup runner-up, at the Memorial Gardens, scoring six goals in a 6-3 win despite being outshot 26-19. The Mustangs scored four goals in the first period against Lakers goalie Jacqueline Rochefort, last season's OUA leader in goals against average and save percentage, heading into the first intermission with a three-goal advantage.

Opposite to Rochefort, first-year goaltender Carmen Lasis kept Nipissing off the scoreboard through the first two periods in her OUA debut. The Lakers scored early in the third to put them within reach of tying the game, but two empty net goals sealed the victory for the Mustangs.

Western played at the Countryside Arena the following night to take on the Laurentian Voyageurs. The Mustangs did not open the game with the torrid pace they had the night before, but nonetheless opened the scoring on their first powerplay opportunity of the game. Hanging on to a one-goal leading to open the third, forward Evra Levesque scored her first of two goals in the period less than two minutes into the frame. The three-goal period was bookended by an empty-netter from April Clark, en route to a 5-1 victory for the Mustangs.

Western vs Brock – Friday, October 27 at 7 p.m. – Tune in live on OUA.tv and Radio Western 94.9 FM

Western will greet the Brock Badgers on Friday night, beginning their first home stand of the season. The Mustangs will have to contend with Brock's veteran goaltender Jensen Murphy, who made the most saves in the OUA last season and placed in the top five in save percentage. Murphy has kept the Badgers competitive in both of their games this season, making 35 saves in a 2-0 defeat to open the season against Queen's and allowing only one goal in Brock's first victory of the season, a 5-1 win over UOIT.

The Badgers defeated the Mustangs in their only meeting at the Thompson Arena last season, a 2-1 overtime victory that extended Western's losing streak at the time to three games. Forward Annie Berg scored the winner in that matchup and totaled three goals between the two games these teams played last season. Coming off a two-point performance against UOIT, Berg will look to keep her recent success against the Mustangs going.

Western vs Ryerson – Saturday, October 28 at 7 p.m. – Tune in live on OUA.tv

The Ryerson Rams take their 3-0 record this season to the Thompson Arena to take on the Mustangs the following night. The Rams have opened the season in impressive fashion, scoring seven goals in their season opener against the York Lions, defeating the defending McCaw Cup champion Guelph Gryphons on the road, and recording a shootout victory against the Laurier Golden Hawks in their home opener. The Mustangs swept the series between these two teams last season, but this appears to be a different Rams team; it took nine games for Ryerson to register their third win last season as part of a 7-17 campaign, whereas they've already hit that mark through three games this season. 

The Rams scored five power play goals against the Lions in a game that had 50 combined penalty minutes between the teams. Forward Kryshanda Green, a former Mustang and Ryerson's top point scorer last season, found the back of the net twice in that matchup and repeated her two-goal performance against the Gryphons in her next match. Freshman Brooklyn Gemmill scored the only goal in the shootout against Laurier, which was also a shutout for goaltender Sydney Authier, proving that Ryerson is playing a well-balanced and potent game to open the season.