The Mustangs will be back on the road to face off against the Queen's Gaels in an OUA Finals matchup as they compete for the McCaw Cup this Saturday in Kingston, Ont. Western will be heading into their game with Queen's after sweeping the Guelph Gryphons with a pair of wins this past week, clinching the series with a double overtime win at home at Thompson Arena.

Despite the sweep, the series certainly didn't come easily to the purple and white, as both games were decided by a one-goal margin. The Mustangs found themselves on the road for game one of the series, hoping to steal a win in enemy territory. However, both teams struggled to find the back of the net throughout the game, as Western goalie Carmen Lasis kept the Mustangs alive, saving 28 shots on the day to keep the Gryphons off the scoreboard.

Neither side would gain an advantage through the first two periods, but an early third-period goal from Western's Megan Taylor would give the Mustangs the only goal of the night. Lasis would hold off the Gryphons for the remainder of the game, as Western escaped with a 1-0 victory.

Both teams would find more offensive success on Friday in Thompson Arena, as Western's Ali Beres found the back of the net early in the first period to give the Mustangs a short-lived lead. Both teams would trade goals back and forth throughout the game, with Western's Amanda Pereira getting on the scoreboard, matched soon after by Guelph's Kaitlin Lowy, scoring two goals of her own and tying the game at 2-2.

Despite the early scoring surge, neither side would find a way to earn the go-ahead goal through regulation as the game headed into the overtime period. The game and series remained up in the air until midway through the extra frame, where Rachel Armstrong emerged as the hero for the purple and white, beating the Guelph defence for the game-winning goal, sealing the series, and punching the Mustangs' ticket to the OUA Finals.

Western at Queen's – Saturday, March 10 at 2:30 p.m. – Tune in live on OUA.tv and Radio Western 94.9 FM

Despite already holding a clear path to the U SPORTS Women's Hockey Championship as the host team, the Mustangs will be looking to improve their seeding with an OUA Championship win over a Gaels team which has proven themselves to be a worthy opponent to the purple and white throughout the season.

Queen's dominated Western in the first meeting between these two teams earlier this season, as they walked away with a 4-0 road-victory over the Mustangs. Despite the strong play of Lasis throughout the season, she found herself peppered with shots from the opening faceoff, facing 18 shots in the first period alone. On the other side of the puck, the Mustangs found themselves unable to beat the Gaels goalie, as she stopped all 29 of Western's shot attempts on route to the shutout victory.

However, the following meeting was a different story for the purple and white, as the Mustangs got out to the early lead and never looked back while Lasis locked down the net for Western. Emma Pearson opened the scoring for the Western offence, netting a power play goal midway through the first period to give the Mustangs an early lead. Brianna Rice followed suit just minutes later to extend the Western lead to 2-0. Evra Levesque eventually put the game out of reach late in the third with the team's third unanswered goal of the night to earn themselves redemption and a 3-0 shutout on the road.

While the two previous matchups between these two teams seem to mirror each other, their records do as well; both teams finished the year with an identical 17-7 record in the regular season. Additionally, both teams will be coming off an OUA Semi-Final sweep, as Queen's took down the Nipissing Lakers in a pair of closely contested games before moving on to face the Mustangs.

It's been a promising overall season for the Gaels so far, as the team has proven their ability to score at a high volume throughout the year, sitting top-ten in the country in both shots and goals while ranking top five in assists. However, Queen's has had trouble converting on the power play at times this season, an area of scoring in which Western has been potent in throughout the year.

Both teams sit top-ten in almost all goaltending and defensive categories, as Queen's has already shown their ability to shut down the Western offence in their previous 4-0 victory. However, the Mustangs are currently riding a ten-game win streak heading into the weekend, a win streak which began with their shutout victory over the Gaels in January.

The Gaels will be led by forward Katrina Manoukarakis, who is currently leading the team in points and goals on the season, racking up 30 points, 15 goals, and 15 assists so far this season. In the team's win over the Mustangs, Manoukarakis chipped in with a goal and an assist in the first half victory while Addi Halladay, who's tied for second on the team in goals, also earned a goal against the purple and white this season. The Mustangs will be looking to limit Manoukarakis' production if they hope to slow down the Gaels' offence once again this Saturday.