LONDON, Ont. – Despite a comeback effort that saw the Mustangs score three times in the final six minutes of the third, the Gryphons held on to take a 4-3 overtime win over Western on Thursday night at Thompson Arena.
 
"Our positives would probably be our ability to control the game…again a lot of the play was dictated by our possession," said Mustangs head coach Kelly Paton. "So, if we can continue with those principles, I think we're going to continue to have success, especially in the offensive zone. And then areas to work on, we always want to work on defensive zone coverage, off the puck especially, and just support on switches and making sure our communication's strong."
 
Heading into the game the Gryphons, Mustangs, and Badgers were locked in a three-way tie for second place with 15 points, and the win gives Guelph sole possession of second with a 5-1-3-0 record. Western moves 4-1-2-2, and their single point tonight moves them to third place in the conference.
 
April Clark and Alyssa Chiarello provided the offence on Thursday, with Clark scoring two goals and Chiarello adding another. Chiarello's was her first of the season, while Clark's two goals up her total to seven, good for first among all OUA players. The Gryphons relied on a steady offence from Kelly Gribbons, who recorded two goals and two assists, including the game-winning goal. Katherine Bailey and Katie Mikkelson scored Guelph's other two of the night.
 
The first five minutes of the match were whistle-free, as the Mustangs and the Gryphons flew back and forth down the ice. Gribbons opened the scoring for the Gryphons six minutes into the frame, tallying her first goal of the game off Guelph's fourth rebound in a row.
 
The score would stay the same until there were two minutes left in the frame when Bailey's shot bounced off goaltender Carmen Lasis to score Guelph's second goal.
 
Western opted for a change of pace and put second-year Tareya Webster in net for the second frame.
 
"When you're on the bench, you always have to be mentally ready," said Webster of the switch. "So, you're going over plays in your head, you're imagining what it would be like if you were in, and then when you get that good-to-go, you have to be ready, you have to rally. You have to be there for your team."
 
A minute and a half in, Katie Mikkelson shot through a screen to net the only goal of the period and extend Guelph's lead to 3-0.
 
The teams displayed their how closely matched they were in the third, going almost eight minutes without a whistle. Fourteen minutes in, Clark scored the first Mustang goal of the night.
 
Paton pulled Webster with two minutes of play left, and the extra attacker allowed Clark to net her second of the night. Then, Mustang Alyssa Chiarello swooped in to tie the score with 20 seconds left when Webster was pulled again.
 
Although the Mustangs appeared to have the momentum on their side as they headed into overtime, it was the Gryphons who got the win as Gribbons scored her second of the game to claim a 4-3 victory.
 
The Mustangs will now look to bounce back this weekend with their next game against Laurier, who sit at 1-0-4-1, with Western looking to bring the same level of play on Saturday.
 
"We've just got to battle back, and we just have to take from that that we can't play in the last six minutes, and we gotta play the whole game," Clark said, noting their back-to-back goals in the final minutes of the third. "We're playing Laurier, and we can't take them lightly, we have to play a full 60 minutes, we have to regenerate and have good practice tomorrow, and hopefully come out with a W."
 
The Mustangs will be kicking off a set of four consecutive road games on Saturday when they face the Golden-Hawks at 3 p.m. Fans can catch the action live on OUA.tv