Western closed out the regular season with a bye week, giving them plenty of time to rest up for their first-round playoff series against the Varsity Blues. The Mustangs head into the post season ranked third in the OUA and tenth in the nation with a record of 14-3-5-2.
 
The third-place finish allows Western the home ice advantage for their first round matchup against the Varsity Blues, with game one scheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m.
 
Offensively, April Clark has led the Mustangs throughout the season. The third-year forward has racked up 12 goals – the second highest total in the league – and ten assists to top the purple and white roster with 22 points.
 
Alyssa Chiarello and Evra Levesque have also had strong performances this season, along with Rachel Armstrong who recorded a hat trick in the final game of January against the Windsor Lancers. Two of those goals came on the power play, which has become a definite point of strength for the Mustangs throughout the season.
 
Western has put together the OUA's leading power play, notching 19 goals throughout the season for a 20.9% success rate. Not only is their power play one of the team's most effective weapons, the Mustangs also have the other side of the special teams equation completely covered.
 
The purple and white penalty kill is also among the strongest in the league, with their 93.3 success rate only bested by Queen's 95.1 mark. In addition, the Mustangs have something of a habit of adding to the scoreboard despite being down a skater with an OUA leading three shorthanded goals.
 
A common thread throughout the purple and white success has been the presence of rookie Carmen Lasis on the ice. Despite being younger than most of her opponents, Lasis has quickly developed into one of the best goaltenders in the league – currently holding a 1.48 goals-against-average that put her in fourth among all OUA players at the conclusion of her debut season.
 
Wednesday, February 21 – 7:00 pm vs. Toronto – Watch LIVE on OUA.tv
Friday, February 23 – 7:00 pm at Toronto – Tune in LIVE on OUA.tv and Radio Western 94.9 FM
Saturday, February 24 – 7:00 pm vs. Toronto (if necessary) – Tune in LIVE on OUA.tv and Radio Western 94.9 FM
 
The Varsity Blues will enter Thompson Arena on Wednesday evening with a 13-0-9-2 record, which allowed them to finish sixth in the OUA. Toronto will be looking to bounce back from their regular season finale when they dropped a 3-1 decision to the York Lions.
 
Fans can expect Kassie Roache to take a leading role in Toronto's offensive effort, as the veteran forward has a team-leading 10 goals, and 20 points. Gabrielle De Serres and Julia Szulewska lead in assists with 10 apiece, while Kiyono Cox and Roche follow with nine.
 
Since the new year, the majority of Roache's goals been assisted by Cox or De Serres.
 
First-year phenome Madeline Albert will likely be in net, as she emerged as Toronto's starting goalie throughout the first part of the season. Albert usurped veterans Valencia Yordanov and Katey Teekasingh to take the primary spot in the crease, and now holds the OUA's best save percentage (.945).
 
The rookie will need to be in top shape this week, as the Mustangs typically generate far more shots than their opponents.