LONDON, Ont. – The Western Mustangs played the second half of their weekend set Saturday night. The Mustangs faced off against the York Lions, looking for their first home win of the season.
Western got off to a hot start peppering the Lions' net with shots. The Mustangs controlled play in the York end for the first five minutes but were unable to capitalize.
York would counter with the first goal of the game at 5:20 of the first period. From the first goal, the game became an exciting affair that saw both teams play a fast and physical style.
The Mustangs answered at 13:49 of the first frame when Sean Montgomery scored his second goal of the weekend. The tally came on a partial breakaway that Montgomery buried with a wrist shot.
The contest did not stay tied for long, however, as York regained their lead just 20 seconds later. The Lions' goal would be the last of the period as Western entered intermission with a one-goal deficit.
The Purple-and-White controlled the play throughout much of the period but went to intermission without the lead. The Mustangs assistant coach spoke after the game about how the team dealt with controlling the play but not having the lead.
"There's frustration obviously, but the team has the right attitude. Guys weren't deflated on the bench, and there weren't negative comments. You have two options, either you just keep going or you give up, and lose. We kept going."
The Mustangs opened the second frame with a powerplay opportunity that carried over from the first period. Western could not convert on the game's first extra-man opportunity and the score remained 2-1.
The Mustangs controlled play throughout much of the period, but had difficulty solving the Lions' goaltender. Finally, they broke through at 10:22 as Carson Moniz shoveled the puck into a wide-open net at 10:22 of the second period. The chance was facilitated by Anthony Stefano who slid the puck to Moniz.
Moniz spoke after the game about his first game of the season.
"I had a lot of fun out there. They guys were great, and the coaches just told me to keep it simple and play my game and go from there."
Shortly after the goal, York took a penalty that gave an opportunity for the Mustangs to take their first lead of the game. This time, Western made no mistake as they converted with the extra man. Stephen Desrocher was the goal scorer with assists from Kenny Heuther and Kyle Petit.
From there the Mustangs killed off two penalties as they took a 3-2 lead into second intermission.
The third period started out with a scare for the Mustangs. Franco Sproviero was shaken up after a hit along the boards. Fortunately, Sproviero returned to the game soon after. No penalties were called on the play.
The Mustangs added an insurance goal at 10:13 of the third period when Stephen Desrocher tallied his second goal of the night.
Desrocher spoke after the game about his two-goal performance.
"It's just been getting in the right areas. I've been getting a bit lucky just putting the puck on net. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don't, but right now they're going in."
Western would put the game on ice with an empty net goal from Franco Sproviero with 6:21 to play in the third.
The Mustangs once again added to their lead as Kenny Huether added an empty net goal of his own.
Western kept the score even from there and picked up the 6-2 victory. The Mustangs will return to Thompson arena next Friday as they take on the University of Windsor.
