Box Score London, ON – The Western Mustangs fell just short of a win on Saturday afternoon at Thompson Arena after losing 2-1 to the McGill Redmen.
 
Beating the Concordia Stingers in their home opener last night, the Mustangs looked to keep their one game winning streak alive against the Redmen. McGill looked to do the same after beating Toronto yesterday evening.
 
Western's only goal would be provided by Kolten Olynek who scored his second of the season. Both of McGill's goals would be scored by Nikolas Brouillard.
 
The teams went scoreless in the first period, despite having numerous power play opportunities.
 
But, the zeros on the board wouldn't last after Redmen defenceman Brouillard blasted a slap shot from the point just one minute into the second period. Brendan O'Reilly and Jerome Verrier would get the assists.
 
A few plays later, Brouillard tried to send another slapshot through Mustangs goaltender Luke Peressini, but Peressini's glove wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
 
Halfway through the second period, Olynek blew a tire crossing the Redmen blue line. He somehow recovered from it and found his footing again, keeping possession of the puck. He would slip it past Redmen goaltender Louis-Philip Guindon, tying up the score on the clock.
 
"I tripped at the blue line, got up somehow and I think we had a three on two. I saw an opening between the defenceman's legs and put it far side underneath the blocker," said Olynek. "It felt good to get that one."
 
Western's special teams got a lot of action tonight, after spending half of the second period on the penalty kill. Head coach Clarke Singer explained that the physicality was part of the game plan.
 
"We wanted to have a strong forecheck both games which leads to a physical presence for us," said Singer. "I thought the guys played hard. We did it in all three zones, right through our lineup from the defence to our forwards."
 
In the final frame, the Mustangs looked to get a momentum switch after Peressini made a huge save with half a period to go but they were shortchanged after Olynek took an unlucky goalie interference penalty with five minutes left.
 
"Whether or not I agree with the call or not I still take responsibility," said Olynek. "Taking a penalty with that much time left doesn't feel good."
 
Brouillard would take advantage of the extra man on the ice, rifling one from the hashmarks, pocketing his second of the night.  The Redmen took a one goal lead against the Mustangs with just over 4 minutes left in the third.
 
"There was a little bit of frustration there, but you have to play through those things," said Singer. "You have to kill that last penalty. Our penalty kill has been great. It was great last night with Concordia, and it was great tonight up until that last one."
 
Western looked to get a late tying goal in the third after pulling Peressini, but were denied every opportunity by Guindon, coming up short for the win.
 
Despite the defeat, the Mustangs are feeling proud of their weekend. "We are pretty happy with two out of four points against top teams in the other division," said Peressini. "Hopefully we will continue to keep building on this."
 
Singer agreed. "I thought the guys played hard last night against Concordia and tonight against McGill. They deserved better than a late 2-1 loss."
 
The Mustangs will return to the ice on Friday, November 2 when they host the Waterloo Warriors at Thompson Arena. Fans can catch all the action live, at OUA.tv.