After over a month away from action the Mustangs shook off early rust to beat the Guelph Gryphons 4-1 on Friday night.
 
Just 2:06 into the 1^st period the Gryphons struck first on a shot from the point that was tipped past Luke Peressini to make it 1-0 Guelph.
 
"You can practice as much as you want but it's never like a game situation so there was some rust and it was really sloppy execution to start" said Patrick Ouellet, Mustangs Assistant Coach "It got better as the game went on but it's still not up to par"
 
The Mustangs would respond quickly, at 3:42 Mitchell Brooks picked up the puck at the blue line and made a tape to tape cross ice pass to Mitchell Fitzmorris for his 1^st goal of the season, that evened up the game at 1-1.
 
"Monkey off my back for sure, nobody wants to go the whole first half without scoring" Fitzmorris commented after the game, "It happens, I had a slow start last year but at the end of the day I feel like I'm contributing in other ways".
 
Western's powerplay would convert on their 1^st opportunity when Ethan Szypula tapped home the rebound after a scramble in front of the Guelph net. The goal was his 7^th of the season to make it 2-1.
 
"To come into the 1^st game of the 2^nd half and bury one was big for us" said Szypula post game "If we can keep that going and keep scoring like that it will be great for us".
 
The Mustangs would continue the offensive pressure to start the 2^nd period. Alex Di Carlo deked through the defence and slid home a backhand shot at 2:23 to extend the Western lead to 3-1.
 
The Gryphons had a golden opportunity to make a comeback in the 3^rd period when Luke Peressini was called for delay of game which gave the Gryphons a 5 on 3 for :37 seconds. The Mustangs had a strong defensive effort and killed off both penalties to keep the game at 3-1.
 
The Mustangs would add an empty net goal with :57 left in the 3rd period from Anthony Stefano to extend their lead and secure the victory.
 
Peressini faced 35 shots on the night while Gryphons goaltender Andrew Masters saw 37 shots on his net.
 
With the win the Mustangs record now sits at 10-6-1-1 on the season while Guelph moves to 6-9-2-2 .
 
The Mustangs are right back at it tomorrow night at home against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. Puck drop is 7:00pm at Thompson arena, you can also watch the action on OUA.tv.