WINDSOR, Ont. - The Mustangs dropped their final game of the regular season to Windsor, falling by a score of 7-1 on Saturday night. The Lancers would explode to score five goals in the third period, allowing them to move into a playoff berth.

The Mustangs will head into the playoffs with a 14-11-3 record. Depending on how other teams fare in their final regular season games, the Mustangs will finish anywhere from fourth to sixth in the OUA West, and will wait to see who their opponent is in the first round.

The Mustangs and Lancers found themselves scoreless after the first period, despite a high paced and high action 20 minutes.

The Lancers dictated the play to start the period, keeping the Mustangs hemmed into the defensive zone for a considerable amount of time. Both teams traded chances, with Matt Watson nearly putting the Mustangs on the board, with his shot missing just wide of the net, while the Lancers dinged one off the post.

While high in offense, both teams struggled defensively. The Lancers had a giveaway deep in their own zone, while the Mustangs struggled to move the puck through the neutral zone, and get the puck out of their own zone.

The second period saw a continuation of the dynamic play for the first period.

Despite two powerplay opportunities, the purple and white couldn't catch a break and were unable to worm their way onto the scoreboard.

It was the Windsor Lancers who managed to break the scoreless deadlock, finally getting on the board in the second period. Midway through the frame, Todd Ratchfort redirected a point shot past Mustangs goaltender Luke Peressini after a period of sustained offense, to put the Lancers up 1-0.

In a repeat of Thursday night's game between the two teams, the Mustangs once again conceded a late period goal. The Lancers grabbed the puck and came down the left side, as Alex Friesen blasted the puck home with 11.7 seconds left in the frame.

Although it was the Lancers who escaped the period with a 2-0 lead, Peressini came up big several times for the Mustangs, keeping them in the game.  

The Lancers got off to quick start for the final frame, with Ian Parker sneaking the puck past Peressini on a turnover on the opening play of the period, in the first minute. This set the tone for the rest of the period, as the Lancers went on to score four more goals.

Five minutes later, Kody Gagnon got on the scoresheet, scoring on a wrist shot on the right side, after the Mustangs found themselves hemmed in their own zone for an extended period of time.

The Mustangs were given an opportunity to generate some offense, finding themselves down 4-0 midway through the third, when the Lancers took a penalty. However, the Lancers penalty kill continued to thwart the Mustangs powerplay, this time with Ben Assad managing to score a short-handed goal off a scramble in front of the net, to put his team up 5-0.

Trevor Warnaar eventually broke Reinhart's shutout from the slot, and scoring the only purple and white goal of the game.

However, the Lancers were quick to respond, as captain Blake Blondeel streaked into the zone, and putting his team up 6-1, as he stormed the net.

Another powerplay opportunity for the Mustangs saw the Lancers get their second short handed goal of the night, again from Assad, making the final score 7-1.

The Mustangs will be back in action next week, as they take to the ice in the first round of OUA playoffs.