After spending last week away from competition the Mustangs return to the ice at Thompson Arena this Friday when they'll host the Queen's Gaels in a highly anticipated matchup.

The Mustangs won back-to-back crucial matchups in their most recent games against the Brock Badgers and York Lions to keep them firmly entrenched in the OUA playoff race. With 29 points on the season, the purple and white are in a tie for seventh place with the Laurentian Voyageurs and four points ahead of the Badgers.

Freshman Shelby Ryan got the start in net in both games, stopping 42 of 45 total shots she faced to pace the Mustangs to consecutive victories.

Despite a two-goal effort from Badger forward Annie Berg (both of which were game-tying goals), Brock was unable to match Western's intensity as they got outshot 36-20 and gave up four goals against for the first time in 2017. Forward Tia Kipfer scored her first goal of the season in that matchup, which wound up also being the game-winner. The victory avenges a 2-1 overtime defeat to the Badgers earlier in the year at the Thompson Arena and ensured that Brock remained behind Western in the playoff race.

The Mustangs followed up their win over Brock with another stellar performance against the York Lions, whom they defeated 5-1 in their first matchup of the season.

Four different players scored Western's four goals on the afternoon as defencemen Emma Pearson and Brianna Iazzolino as well as freshman Alyssa Chiarello and team-leading goal-scorer Lyndsay Kirkham put the puck in the back of the net against the Lions.

The consecutive four-goal performances mark the first time since November 19 and 20 that the Mustangs scored at least that many goals in back-to-back matches and come on the heels of a stretch where they failed to average two goals per game in three prior matches.

Queen's Gaels at Western Mustangs – Friday, February 3 @ 7 p.m. – Tune in live on OUA.tv and CHRW Radio 94.9 FM

The Mustangs face a stern test in their return to action following a near two-week break as they take on the Queen's Gaels for the first time this season. The Gaels, whom the Mustangs will also face in their regular season finale on February 18, have climbed up to fourth place in the standings on the strength of an eight-game winning streak, tying them with Guelph for the highest active winning streak in the OUA.

The Gaels have sustained this long winning streak mainly by preventing their opponents to score; they have only allowed 1.85 goals against per game during their streak. However, despite scoring an average of three goals per game they haven't found the back of the net on the power play for four consecutive games. Queen's has also found a way to come through when it matters most, winning three games in overtime or in a shootout, scoring the tying goal in the third period to force extra time in two of those games.

Western's reinvigorated offence will need to come through against an especially tight defence and their own defence must watch out for veteran forward Nadia Larocca, who had seven points in six games in January.