WATERLOO, Ont. – A solid third period effort by the Western Mustangs led to a 5-3 win over the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday afternoon at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.
 
Western would look to bounce back after losing a buzzer beat to the Ryerson Rams on Friday night, while the Golden Hawks would try to inch their way out of second last place in the west division. 
 
Western's offence was carried by Ethan Szypula who had two goals under his belt. The other Mustang goals were credited to Adam Sinclair, Kyle Langdon, and Ray Huether. 
 
Laurier's goals were scored by Anthony Conti, Mack Graham, and Christian Mroczkowski. 
 
Twelve minutes into the first period, Szypula netted the first goal of the game on Golden Hawks' goalie Olivier Lafreniere. 
 
Laurier responded just 30 seconds later with a goal by Conti. The score was 1-1 at the end of the first frame, although Western outshot Laurier 23-8. 
 
Sinclair did not wait long to put Western on the goal sheet again, scoring just one minute into the second period. This goal gave Western a one-point lead over the Golden Hawks once again. Their lead was extended to two when Langdon scored his second OUA goal just a few minutes later. 
 
However, the Golden Hawks were within one goal of the Mustangs when Graham scored at the 12:46 mark, and then were tied up with Western just three minutes later with a goal by Mroczkowski. 
 
Laurier was given a great opportunity to take the lead when Graham was awarded a penalty shot, but Mustangs' goalie Luke Peressini was solid between the iron. 
 
When the buzzer went to mark the end of the second period, the teams were tied 3-3. 
 
With 13 minutes left in the final frame, Szypula put up his second goal of the night, which ended up being the game winner. Just a few minutes later, Huether secured Western's lead, putting one last goal up on the clock. 
 
Western took the win over Laurier as the last minutes of the third period expired with the final score showing 5-3. Peressini made 33 saves, and Lafreniere kept the Golden Hawks in the game with 41 saves.
 
With the win, the Mustangs are five points behind Brock and Ryerson, the leaders of the West division, with a record of 14-9-1-1. Laurier tallies 23 points, six behind Western, and sits at 11-12-1-1.
 
The Mustangs will return to the ice on Friday, February 1 at 7:00pm when they face the Waterloo Warriors in Waterloo. Fans can catch all the action live, at OUA.tv.