THUNDER BAY, Ont. – A four-goal first period helped the Western Mustangs earn a convincing 6-2 victory against the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Friday night at the Fort William Gardens.

The win gives Western a 9-9-2 record and pulls the Mustangs to within two points of the Thunderwolves for sixth place in the OUA West standings. Friday's victory also extends the Mustangs season-long winning streak to five games.

The Mustangs struck quick, hard, and frequently in the win, scoring three goals on six shots in the first ten minutes of the game, while Luke Peressini made 27 saves to earn his fourth win of the season.

The purple and white got a bit of luck early on, with the home team taking a too many men penalty only 40 seconds into the game. The Mustangs league-leading powerplay capitalized on the opportunity, with Ray Huether putting the Mustangs up 1-0 in the dying seconds of the penalty.

The Mustangs continued on their offensive rampage, exploiting a fallen Thunderwolves defender, with Matt Watson finding the back of the net on the resulting three on one, with Rob Polesello notching the assist.

Less than a minute later the Mustangs struck again, as a dump and chase by Jonathan Laser ended up on net, taking a funny hop in front of Lakehead netminder Nic Renyard and ending up across the goal line.

Up 3-0 early on, the Mustangs weren't finished, with Pettit recording his seven goal of the year with a little more than two minutes left in the opening period.

The Lakehead offence had difficulty generating chances early on, with many of their shots either getting blocked or going wide of the net. Despite facing a lack of high-quality chances, Peressini made his presence in the crease known, coming up big several times for the Mustangs in the first period, and denying Lakehead the opportunity to get on the board.

The rest of the game was a much tighter affair, with both teams being held to no goals for the first half of the second frame. However, a boarding penalty against the Thunderwolves saw the impressive Mustangs powerplay take to the ice, making quick work off the face-off to score their second powerplay goal of the game in the first few seconds of the man advantage.

Despite the Mustangs scoring their five straight goals, Lakehead was not to be counted out, rallying to score their first goal of the game a mere minute after the Mustangs fifth goal of the night. Matt Alexander got his team on the board, circling the net and scoring on a delayed penalty call against the purple and white.

Not to be outdone, the Mustangs managed to restore their five goal lead a few minutes later, after a prolonged period of sustained pressure in the Lakehead zone allowed Theo Lewis to bury the puck with less than five minutes left in the frame.

Lakehead got the last word in, scoring the final goal of the game three minutes into the third, with Devin Fullum earning a spot on the scoresheet.
  
The Mustangs penalty kill went four for four tonight, and proved to be a crucial part of the win, that saw the team move two points behind the Thunderwolves in the OUA West standings, while the powerplay went two for two.

Western will face off against the Thunderwolves once again tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. in Thunderbay, as they fight for sixth place in the OUA West. Fans can catch all the action live on OUA.tv